Comments on: A Freelance Decision You Don’t Want to Make (but should)

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 19:45:46 +0000

Oh Paula, I remember every one of those former clients of yours. I’d have done the same. The first one sounded like bad management and, you said it, lack of respect for freelancers. I would never lift a finger to the keyboard for someone like that again.

The second, cheap-assed people.

That last one, though. That was a liar. You made the best decision to not work for someone who lies. I mean, even school kids are better at it than that, seriously.

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 16:39:50 +0000

I’ve “fired” three clients. The first I’d worked with for years, but a new team of editors didn’t have a clue what they were doing. They would assign things they wouldn’t use for months (they paid on publication, or I wouldn’t have cared when the ran), and they butchered copy to the point that I wish I didn’t have a byline. The publisher didn’t respect the freelancers that created the content that his beloved salespeople used to draw in advertisers. The last straw was when I hadn’t been paid for an article 13 months after I turned it in and at least two months after it ran. I spent the last couple months hounding them for payment. Every time I called to speak with the accounting person I was told he was at lunch and he’d call when he got back. After two weeks of that, I told the receptionist, “That’s the longest lunch in history.” He called back that afternoon. One of the editors called me to lambast me for going behind his back (I’d asked him numerous times when I would be paid and he blew it off every time). By the end of the day the executive editor hand-delivered my check and I knew I never wanted to write for them again.

Around the same time, a marketing newsletter I frequently wrote for changed hands, and the pay was cut from 50-cents a word (this was in the late 90s) to 10-cents a word. The new editor asked me to write a 600-word piece (for $60) and cram in more sources than necessary. I told her “Good luck with that.”

Dropping two clients at the same time wasn’t easy, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. They sucked time and energy from me and I got little if anything in return. It wasn’t worth it.

The third was the chronic late-payer who, for three weeks, used “the flu” has an excuse not to pay my invoice. I finally told him that even school kids have to do homework when they’re out sick—he could sign a check from his sick bed or authorize one of his staffers to issue checks if he was truly out of commission. (Didn’t help that he posted photos of himself playing golf while he had “the flu.”) Again, he had no respect for freelancers. I really enjoyed the topics, but I can’t deal with such blatant disrespect. Or being lied to. Both are deal breakers.

That was another wise decision I have never regretted.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 12:39:32 +0000

In reply to Gabriella. They thanked me and wished me well. It was just a bad fit for me, and I think they realized it. I had to turn down assignments because I knew that accepting them meant I wouldn't get something done or miss a deadline. Since I'd rather walk over hot coals than miss a deadline, the choice was easy. I did tell them why, and I did so cordially. I had no animosity toward this client. I simply couldn't continue because of those things I mentioned and all my other commitments.

By: Gabriella

Gabriella — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:42:56 +0000

Interesting, Lori. So true.

Just curious. What was the client’s response to your backing away politely? I think sometimes clients know they’re sucking your time and energy like vampires, and other times they have no clue why you wouldn’t be continuing with them.

Either way, it’s still adios. Haha.