uniglobe travel: What Writers Want to Tell Clients?But Can't

Monday, March 5, 2012

What Writers Want to Tell Clients?But Can't | My Writing Tips

Posted by Lisa Mason on Mar 4, 2012 in Article Writing, content writing | 0 comments

By Rodney Southern

Anybody that has written for a living knows the frustrations that come with the job. The job has built in frustrations that simply are hard to replicate in any other field of work. With writing, there are millions of reasons why a particular paper could get rejected. Many of them are purely subjective and easy to argue about, yet we have to smile and drive on. The point is, we take the largest brunt of hassles when it comes to the client/writer relationship. As someone that has worked on both sides of that ledger, I can tell you that it is tough both ways?.but tougher for the writer overall.

Certainly this is bound to be a bit controversial. Some will agree while others will vehemently disagree. Regardless, nobody will deny that writers have it tough and usually have more to lose for speaking up. Clients are expected to talk about what they want and how they want it. Writers generally do not, though they should speak up about more.

Just once as a writer I would like to say:

?Pay me what I am worth and not what the market calls for.? ? Make me prove myself, of course, but then pay me what I am worth to you.
?Don?t hire me until you have the funds to pay for it.? ? Nothing makes me more frustrated than to wait on payment with no warning. If a client knows they are going to have to wait on funds, then they should say that upfront at the very least.
?If you don?t know about the subject and hire me as an expert, don?t turn around and tell me what to do.?? ? You can do what you want because you are paying for it. I get it. But it is not really bright to hire an expert and then depend on your ignorance instead?while paying for it.
?If you need a job by a certain time, tell me when you hire me.? The guessing game is impossible.
?Give solid instructions if you want solid results.? ? It is nearly impossible to do a job without instructions and completely impossible if the client wants it a very specific way. If you want specifics, include them in the initial correspondence.
?Don?t completely disappear after ordering and then be upset when the job is late.? ? This one drives me absolutely nuts. A client will order something, then go off the grid until the day the job is due. Meanwhile, a question has come up that can?t be answered because they are gone. Now it is too late to do it so once again we as writers had to guess.
?If I suck you won?t hire me again. Remember that goes both ways.? Sorry but clients seem to forget that simple notion. Everyone has to perform to get repeat business, right?

There are other things I would like to say, but these are the most common I hear among my fellow writers. What else would you add for the clients from hell? What would you really love to say?

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Rodney Southern is a longtime online writer that runs several online venues including rodneysouthern.com and toptenisms.com. His first novel is right around the corner, but his first love is still online copy.