A while back we started exploring various client scenarios to see if the offer in front of us was worth it. The reason: If you can get used to vetting them, you can certainly be able to respond accordingly — or at least have a system in place by which you can measure their offer.
Let’s look at this scenario, which happened not long ago to someone I know:
The client, who had been in touch with the writer nearly a year prior but had never hired her, contacted her unexpectedly. Would she be available for a gig that involved travel to Denmark?
The gig: A 20K-word ebook on a specific topic within the industry the client worked in. The writer would be required to attend two weeks of meetings in Denmark. The compensation: $25K.
Other details: the publication date was September 15th. The date the writer received this notice was May 20th.
It was a request that required an answer within 24 hours. Fortunately, the writer knew her answer within a few minutes.
She turned it down.
[bctt tweet=”A great #freelancewriting offer has to pass the sniff test. Does this one?” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Here’s why:
The travel requirement.
Normally, the writer would have seriously considered it, but she was booked already with a large client project that would be arriving at the same time she’d be jetting off to Denmark. Her time was already taken. Then there was the time away — two weeks in another country means if you’re in meetings for two weeks, you don’t have time for other client work. Nor would the client who wanted you there appreciate you dividing your time.
However, she was considering it until she looked at the other factors.
The deadline.
While it may seem like enough time to get a 20,000-word book finished, this writer knew that anything written for a corporate client involves many more rounds of revisions, additions, and legal reviews to get the product completed. The writing was the easy part. Herding the corporate cats was going to be tougher.
The compensation.
Most writers would salivate at a $25K payday. But this writer did the smart thing; she stepped back, looked at the time involved, calculated, and realized her time did not add up to even $1/word. In fact, it was more like getting paid 30 cents a word. That’s if everything goes smoothly, which could not be guaranteed.
For this writer, this particular project was not worth it. She even mulled over whether it would bring in additional work from this client. The answer: No. This was a one-time need by this corporation and the only reason she was being tapped for it was that their staff was shorthanded because of an annual project that this would tie in with.
It came down to the amount of work, the amount of disruption for the compensation, and the amount of compensation for the effort involved.
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Did the writer do the right thing in your opinion? What would you do in that situation?
5 responses to “Freelance Files: Is This Client Worth It? #2”
Very interesting!
Did the writer not counter because of the schedule?
I would salivate at that for the whole Denmark thing!–A place I want to visit!
I’d have countered at much higher, which they’d have probably taken because they were in a bind, also at a rate that included a good amount of revisions.
The only glitch then was the work for a regular client coming in. I get it. Regular client comes first. But I wonder if there was any prep work that could be done to still meet that regular client’s deadline or if there were a few weeks play in that regular client’s time frame?
Haha. I’d have WANTED to make this work, but you’re right–not at that price!
Great post, Lori!
There was a counter, but the budget was written in stone. Still wondering if there were any takers. At that rate, I doubt it. I mean, they can’t afford to pay a serious rate? Next!
Those meetings were where the preliminary work was happening, Gabriella. The writer was expected to interview execs for the book in those two weeks (why it couldn’t be done on Zoom is a mystery). There was no wiggle room. Oh, and if there was a delay on the corporate side, you know you’d be the one with the shortened deadline. As we always do.
While it would have been great, the time commitment (9-to-5 type days) and the stress of getting it done for crap wages would have killed any joy attached to going to Denmark.
Also, the gig was being offered by an untested client — one who had ghosted this writer after getting her info and talking about projects/pricing (so I’m told). I’d be concerned about being ghosted at payment time.
I like Gabriella’s idea of asking for a higher rate and prepare ahead. Initially I thought: Who wouldn’t want two weeks in Denmark? But having to attend meetings all day wouldn’t leave much, if any, time to actual see Denmark. (Reminds me of my uncle, who traveled the world for business, but never really got to see any of the places he visited.)
Oh, the client was asked. I would have, too. But they were saying the price was the price. That means the job is theirs, am I right? 😉
It wouldn’t leave any time, Paula. Agreed. If you’re working every day except weekends, you’ll be too tired to do anything.