By now my time at the conference has ended. In two days, I hope to have secured enough work to sustain me through December. We’ll see.
I was busy right up until the last hours before bed on Friday. I wanted to arrange for some posts, but I wanted to get things squared away for my Writers Worth Week blog tour starting this coming Monday. It’s the first time I’m taking it on the road, and I hope we’re able to raise awareness and reach more people than ever before. If you can visit the links I’ll be posting, I’d greatly appreciate it. And if you can, tweet it for me. The goal is to reach the most writers we’ve ever managed. One more writer who sees the light is one less writer taking too little for too much work.
Avid Writer Kimberly Ben has a great post up about reliability. She had been thanked by one client for being reliable. Having been told that myself, I know what a compliment that is.
Back in the day, I worked for the local newspaper as a stringer. They’d hired about 20 the day I was hired, but within a few weeks they were down to a handful. I had an editor who worked with me on the local government and school board articles I furnished, and since it was my first gig, I was a little frustrated. She was an overworked woman, and rarely did I hear one ounce of feedback.
That changed. She called me one day, saying she wanted local business profiles. She wanted me to work with her on these because, as she put it, “You’re reliable.”
That’s it? Reliable? Wow. She never noticed my writing style.
Wrong. She did. But to her, a woman with a huge newspaper to fill, she didn’t have time to dole out compliments to wet-behind-the-ears correspondents. It wasn’t until years later that I realized just how big a compliment she paid me.
I’ve worked with writers on several occasions. I can now see why a busy editor would turn to the reliable writers first. I came to appreciate reliability so much more than actual talent. Never thought I’d say that, but I’ve worked with my share of writers who craft brilliant prose but couldn’t hit a deadline if it was a stinging bee taped to their faces. When you’re working on tight production schedules, that missed deadline creates a huge hole in your magazine.
If you’re on staff and miss enough deadlines, you’re not getting that raise you’d hoped for. If you’re a freelancer and miss enough deadlines, you’re not getting work. Huge difference.
Here’s how to ensure your reputation for reliability remains pure:
Do what’s promised. Don’t say “Sure, I can write that article in two days” unless you really can. Case in point – I just turned down an assignment because the editor needed it in eight days. I had too much going on already. No way I could have done a good job in the time allotted.
Plan for success. If that deadline is next week, don’t start working on the project an hour before five pm on the deadline date. Come on. Plan ahead. It’s what all the cool kids are doing.
Don’t go silent. I remember an incident when a kid I knew wanted to quit their job. Instead of telling the boss, the approach taken was to hang up every time the boss called the house. Not cool. Don’t take evasive action. If the job becomes too much, get in touch with that client immediately. Either ask for more time or pass along regrets. Just do so in enough time so the client can find a replacement and meet her deadlines.
Meet that deadline. The client said the project had to be in by Thursday. Don’t send it over Friday or Monday unless you’ve already cleared it with the client. If you miss a deadline, they’ll notice. Mind you, if they miss a deadline that’s not going to even be mentioned. It’s one of life’s little inconsistencies that we have to learn to live with (and it’s an entirely new post on how to deal with that). Just meet your deadlines religiously.
How do you up your reliability factor?
9 responses to “The Reliability Factor”
I'll chime in here and second that motion on reliability. Now that I've moved into a position of Copy Director this year, I can say unequivocally that it is paramount. If someone is having trouble completing an assignment, I want to know as soon as possible. I'm here to help them if they get stuck, provide more info if they need it, and if for some reason they aren't going to make the deadline, I would like to know that so I can make other arrangements. I'd be far more likely to hire someone again who was honest with me about not being able to complete the job on time, than someone misses the deadline but finally turns in the assignment. I've been very fortunate this year in that the writers I'm working with are all excellent in this regard.
I do what I say I'm going to do when it's due. Period.
You know it amazed me to learn that something as simple as doing what you promise to do what be something that could set you apart from other writers. I assumed reliability in business is a given if you're a professional, but that's obviously not the case.
I like what Eileen said about her willingness to continue working with a writer who was upfront and honest about not being able to meet an approaching deadline versus a writer missing a deadline with no warning. If you're going to make a living doing this your reputation is important and following through on what you say is a huge part of building a positive, professional image.
BTW, Lori – I'm VERY impressed that you have scored enough business to carry through the rest of 2011. VERY inspiring – great job! 🙂
Here's hoping you're on your way home with more work than you can handle, Lori! I'll be plugging Writers' Worth Week on my blog. Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve this year.
I may be spoiled by some long-time clients who already know how reliable I am, and that they can trust my instincts when they have a sketchy idea and let me run with it. A newer client is the total opposite. They have a narrow idea of what they want and expect you to give a detailed progress report (down to how many times you've tried to call and / or e-mail contacts on the source list they provided).
Guess which clients wind up with me best work? I don't intentionally do less-than-stellar work for the micro-manager, but having someone look down your neck while you're working is never helpful. For the first article or two, fine. They're getting to know you. After a certain point they should trust you to do your job, well and on time.
I've had a couple of clients call me after other writers left them in the lurch. Why? They knew they could rely on me to get the job done. One editor paid me double to turn something around in one day. (Thank goodness it was a single-source profile and the guy was available for the interview on short notice.)
Lordy, I was so surprised when, maybe 5 years into freelancing I discovered that many writers were late delivering what they had promised. I decided that meeting deadlines was a skill I'd keep.
Later, when I edited magazines, the reliable ones were my stars.
Welcome home Lori, we missed you.
Congratulations on a successful conference!
I completely agree about not over-promising, and about (sadly) sometimes having to refuse projects if there's no space on your deadline calendar.
My strategy for reliability is to manage my calendar ruthlessly. I have become pretty good at estimating how many hours each project or article will take. Of course the unexpected often occurs – but the secret is to try and budget a little time for the chaos factor, too.
Ideally 🙂
As someone who has sat in both the editor's seat and the writer's, I can say reliability is a gem all around. There is nothing more stressful than waiting for work from a freelancer who is late unless it's being that freelancer who is late. It's a lesson best learned sooner rather than later. If you currently balance a day job with tbe writing, it is even more critical to be realistic about what you can and can not do. Gotta run – I'm on a deadline!