The Reliable Freelance Writer Guide

Thanks to everyone who joined Paula Hendrickson and me for the Writers Worth chat on Tuesday! Lively discussion from everyone — we’ll have another one soon.

Every now and then I like to read through old blog posts — not all great advice is recent, you know? I came across Peter Bowerman’s post from a few years ago about what his home remodeler taught him about freelancing.

Having just been through two experiences with home remodeling — and two different contractors — I completely agree with Peter’s assessment. A good contractor is a lesson to us all on customer service and satisfaction.

Let’s look at the two remodelers I had in recently.

First, our window installer.

Tim is basically a one-man operation. He’s been in business for decades, and we located him when he was installing a neighbor’s windows. That’s what we needed. So we invited him over to give a look.

Let’s just say after the heavy sales push from two other companies (one whose sales guy accosted us with that hours-long sales pitch), Tim was a breath of fresh air. He came in, looked at our windows, measured, and then he listened. He listened to what we wanted, what we didn’t want, the problems we were hoping to address, and he left, promising a quote within a few days.

In a few days, there was his quote. Just like he said.

After some back-and-forth on what we wanted (we kept changing our minds), Tim got to work. Six to seven weeks later, we had new windows and new trim around the roofline.

Tim did some things that, quite frankly, has spoiled us for any other contractor.

• He showed up every day at the same time
• He communicated everything
• He anticipated needs and made smart suggestions
• He solved problems before we even noticed them (in one case, he ordered a new window to replace one damaged in shipment — then he told us about it and about the impending solution)
• He worked hard
• He cleaned up every day before he left
• He stuck to his word

He wasn’t cheap, but then again, a skilled, reliable professional isn’t. They demand a higher rate because they work at being their best. He took much longer than the companies that promised two-day installation, but he was dedicated to getting it done right.

Unfortunately for our house painters, Tim was on the job before they were. Why is that unfortunate? Because Tim’s diligence was worlds above theirs.

Not that they were bad at what they do — to the contrary, they were really good house painters.

They just weren’t as diligent as Tim.

This is what they did that didn’t sit well:

• Getting them in to get a quote was tough — they often didn’t return calls
• They didn’t show up the day they said they would — we had to text the owner on a Saturday to get any response (we did have to pester them to get a start date)
• They started the job late — two weeks late (the weather is only partially to blame) and with no explanation
• They power-washed the house before starting, but didn’t do the entire job — and left us with no explanation as to why they didn’t get the one section that was worst
• They left their equipment in our garage — in my parking space — for two weeks, again without explanation
• They came in to our locked garage while we were gone and took their equipment (that in itself nearly got them fired)
• The price went up sometime in the midst of it all, a battle they didn’t win (thank God for contracts)

That said, they are highly rated in this area. And very busy — their signs are everywhere. And they did a good job in the end.

But I wouldn’t go out of my way to give them a positive Angie’s List review.

All of the issues the house painters had could have been cleared up very easily with one thing — communication. In every single one of the instances above, they could have sent us a text, called us, or shown up to explain what was going on. They did the job well, but the lack of communication lost them some major points in my book.

But they beat the guy who showed up for five minutes, visibly melting in the humidity and heat (it was a hot day), and gave us a quote for double the price. He could’ve phoned it in. In fact, he sort of did. Didn’t seem one bit concerned about winning the job or our confidence. At least the house painters we hired were pleasant and happy to have our business.

Freelance writer, your skills and talent matter.

But so does your attitude and approach.

How can you take Tim’s example and improve your business?

Show up on time.

Be where you say you’ll be. Finish deadlines on or before the due date. Make that client your priority for the time they or their projects are in front of you.

Communicate.

Problems become so much less problematic when you talk it out. Currently, I’m trying to get an article written in which not one interview subject has yet to agree to an interview. I let the editor know. He’s digging up more sources, and I’m on the phone trying to get the sources to at least tell me one way or the other what they intend. Editors can help you sort out issues. Clients can be warned well in advance of any impending problem. Don’t hold it in thinking you can solve everything yourself. You don’t always have to.

Anticipate need.

Suppose they’re trying to target a consumer magazine, but you happen to know of a trade magazine that would love their article or their column idea. Or maybe they could make a good impression with case studies, yet they’ve not considered it yet. That goes for what they’re trying to push that they don’t need, too. Suppose they want desperately to announce that they’ve finally joined Twitter. Could that harm their reputation by making them appear too dated? Could announcing they now have a website make them feel out of touch? Tell them. Help them tone down the message and frame it so they’re not looking foolish.

Solve problems before they’re noticed.

There could be something about the project that they may need to rethink or review. In one case, I had a client that wanted a script, but the wording they wanted wasn’t going to play well on the radio. Then there was the client whose article sounded a little to patronizing. I suggested they take a different approach that was less stuffy.

Work hard.

This is the no-brainer. If you’re not giving your client all of your effort, you have no business freelance writing anyway. Each client deserves your best effort. Period.

Clean up after yourself.

Do those edits and make that client happy. Yours isn’t to question why they’re tearing apart your prose. Your job is to do the right thing by them. Give them the cleanest copy you can, and don’t fuss when they want to make changes.

Stick to your word.

You say you’ll have it to them by the 24th. Then by gawd, give it to them by the 24th. You promised to write four blog posts a month? That’s what you deliver then. It’s not hard to stand by your word. Just say what you mean, don’t over-promise. Take on only what you can, and be realistic about your own expectations and limitations. It’s better to tell a client you can’t get it done until a week from now than to promise a two-day delivery and be five days late.

Writers, what contractors have impressed you and how?
In what ways have contractors let you down? What can you learn from that as a contractor yourself?