7 Sh*tty Things You Don’t Have to Take as a Freelancer

A show of hands (or comments, in this case) — how many of you thought freelancing would be easier than it turned out to be?

For the record, my hand is up.

Funny thing, though. It’s not necessarily the work that is hard. It’s the people. Oh boy, is it the people some days.

While these days I am blessed with terrific clients, that’s not always been the case. As I was reading a thread on LinkedIn in which a writer was asking how to obtain permissions for books she was editing, I realized that sometimes, clients just pile that shit on you without thinking or, in some cases, caring.

It reminded me that it’s been far too long since we’ve had a roundup post of the things you shouldn’t be accepting as part of your job.

These are things that you, freelance writer, would be smart to avoid.

Responsibility that isn’t yours.

Let’s start with the question the writer on LinkedIn had. How should she go about gaining permission from the myriad people/sources in the book she’s editing? She shouldn’t. That’s the author’s job. She can check the sources that are provided, but typically it’s best to leave that to the publisher’s fact-checker.

But responsibilities misplaced — that’s a pretty common occurrence. The client who wants you to take photos. Or select artwork. Or format the document. Or taking on legal responsibility for changes that happen well after you’ve finished your side of the project (someone tried that on me once). Or legal responsibility for it beyond anything you’ve done. Read those contracts. Don’t accept responsibility for anything that you have no control over. (Hint: You have control over your own work. Period.)

Rounding down.

Yes, they did. One quickly former client hired me to write something, but we never got past the negotiation phase. He wanted to pay me per word for “just the content I use” meaning if I wrote 2,000 words and he used 500, I’m skunked for the rest of it. Worse, he said he “rounds down” to the closest ten dollars. Seriously. That in itself is the best advertisement for why a contract is essential.

Being watched.

There was a practice happening in the mid-2010s where clients expected writers to clock in and be monitored to ensure they were at their desk when they said they were. There is so much wrong with this.

• That’s not a trust relationship.
• The client is pinching pennies.
• That’s just damn creepy.
• You are not an employee.

The last one is the most important one. If you are required to be somewhere during certain hours, you’re an employee. We freelance writers are contractors. We do not have to answer to anyone for when or where we work. Any client who wants to monitor you is not a client you want to be working with.

Working without a safety net.

The way you weed out the idiots and the control freaks is simple — insist on a contract. That contract is your safety net. It guarantees that this client owes you this amount for this specific work product. Okay, they may not pay, and you may have to push it, but the contract is your proof of a valid agreement. Also, the contract makes it damn clear what you’re to do. You can see pretty quickly who’s trying to sneak something in, like that prospect who told me I’d be paid $4K a project only to try slipping in $1,200 instead.

New client? Get a contract. And get a partial advance on payment.

Scope creep.

That contract will keep the never-ending project from happening, though in most cases, the clients do this unconsciously, not realizing that each ask is extending a contracted job beyond the agreement. Some keep piling on edits and changes and oh hey, why don’t we go this direction instead decisions because they’re used to working with employees, who are paid to revise endlessly.

But you, freelance writer, don’t have to go beyond a stated number of edits (I give two). On the third edit, remind them that they paid for two. If you like, tell them it’s a one-time courtesy, but any further edits will be billed at your hourly rate. I was once 12 fussy little revisions into a marketing piece when I had my epiphany on this. Don’t be like me. Learn that lesson now.

Client anger.

I don’t care if you screwed up royally or it was a simple misunderstanding. No client ever has the right to shout at you, call you names, or treat you like sh*t. The few who have done so with me over the last 25 years were instantly former clients with whom I halted all communication and sent a final invoice.

You owe them your best work. You do not owe them a pound of flesh.

Sh*tty pay.

That job posting touting a “per click” pay rate is bullshit. So is the job posting that uses convoluted math or payment tiers to make you work your ass off for pennies. If you’re making $20 an article or working 12 hours a day to make it to a tier that pays minimum wage, what the hell are you doing to yourself? Get a job at the grocery store and get paid more. Better yet, learn how to market proactively and get better clients. Stop accepting garbage for payment. Set your price and expect it.

Writers, what sh*tty conditions have you turned down?