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Topic: How to bail on a freelance gig ...
| Author | Message |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 11/8/2006 10:12:56 PM | show profile With all the talk about landing work - have you ever bailed on one? I recently started doing a weekly story for a longtime editor but now realize the stories are taking way too much time and effort, causing major stress and are detracting from other (better-paying) work. So I'm ready to tell him I'm not going to do it anymore but it just feels so weird. I considered asking for more money/fewer assignments but realized today after yet another nightmare phone call, that they can't pay me enough for it. (Lots of other BS too - interference from higher-ups, lots of pointless rewrites and masturbatory editing, the topic of the column is not really a good idea to begin with, etc.) I didn't get into this freelance thing to spend all my time doing work that I hated for really crappy money, right? I am getting more work and better assignments elsewhere and that's where I'd really like to spend my energy. (Man, I sound whiny.) I'm not going to leave him in a lurch - I'll give him enough copy to find a replacement, so I don't think I'd be totally slamming a door. My question - how do I tell him? I'm thinking something along the lines of: "While I enjoyed doing the stories, it is turning out to be the kind of work that demands time and effort far beyond X dollars." (I'm ashamed to even admit how low it is.) Sound good? (Of course I'd like to tell him he's a mindless twit but ? probably not a good idea, right?) |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/8/2006 11:26:43 PM | show profile It really isn't that big a deal or that uncommon. Just tell the editor: "Unfortunately, after doing several of these stories, I find it is taking more time and work than I expected and it isn't worthwhile for me to continue for this amount of money. I'll finish the current piece, but won't be able to do any after that." Nothing wrong or unethical about that. If he wants to offer more, you can negotiate. Going in, just be clear with yourself on the minimum you will need to continue and what your line in the sand is. |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 11/9/2006 9:31:19 AM | show profile They're right. I had this situation and the editor understood -- what is it with this board that everyone is afraid to state the truth candidly but politely and do what's best for them in that situation? Why are we all so afraid of each other? |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 11/9/2006 10:03:50 AM | show profile Lotus; Had to laugh at that last bit - What is it with people on this board? Hm... like most writers I'm plagued by self-doubt and obsessive over-analysis. :) |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 11/9/2006 1:28:00 PM | show profile I'm the most guilty of all -- I lose sleep over this stuff. I think we need to take a leaf from Arianna Huffington and be Fearless! Life's too short, we gotta do what we gotta do and not everyone will like it but they'll survive. I think women seem to suffer with this type of worry, but I could be wrong... |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/9/2006 3:00:25 PM | show profile That is funny. You should always be businesslike and sometimes you need to be tactful. But for most situations, the best approach is just being straightforward. Writers, especially when they're starting out, tend to be nervous types, though. They're right. I had this situation and the editor understood -- what is it with this board that everyone is afraid to state the truth candidly but politely and do what's best for them in that situation? Why are we all so afraid of each other?-- |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 11/9/2006 4:50:14 PM | show profile But when you're freelancing, you're always just starting out-- that is, there's always a new client or a new project to prove yourself to and new relationships to build. It doesn't stop after you get a few years under your belt. But the one beauty of freelancing is we CAN say no and walk away. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 11/9/2006 5:17:16 PM | show profile | email poster I once walked away from a situation where I was given a bundle of stories to do (for x amount of dollars, and it was lowish any.way -- I gave them incredible packages of articles for one set rate) - but then they changed the parameters, making the job more difficult. It was a mandate down from advertising -- you know the kind, "All the experts you interview have to come from this sliver of the city, all the parents from that one." I knew this would make the research much more challenging, and I told them I would have to pass on writing to the new specs for that kind of money. Every so often, we have to "fire" our own clients. I think the key is to not leave them in the lurch and also to be civil about it. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 11/9/2006 9:03:03 PM | show profile Good - all of this makes me feel much better - glad to know I'm not the only one. I don't even think it's a case of thinking I'm not worth the money or that I'm afraid of ticking him off ... it's got more to do with that "I am super reporter I can do anything and everything - Ha HA!" You know - like backing off is admitting failure in some way ... At least that's what my shrink says. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 11/9/2006 9:12:59 PM | show profile <"I am super reporter I can do anything and everything - Ha HA!" You know - like backing off is admitting failure in some way ... > It's not "failure" to conserve your energy and talent for more challening and better-paying work. It shows you know what you're doing. Someone else will be thrilled to do it... |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/10/2006 8:55:53 AM | show profile 'Masturbatory editing'? Can someone elaborate on that? I thought editors need both hands to type. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 11/10/2006 9:33:04 AM | show profile mkelly; masturbatory editing - adj. 1. Rewriting solely for the editor's own intellectual, self-indulgent pleasure. |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 11/10/2006 10:29:45 AM | show profile masturbatory editing is a noun! :-) Or should I say a gerund. And an all-too-common practice! An editor that leaves your voice intact and brings a solid piece of work up to another level is a find and should be cherished. Masturbatory editors are to be tolerated only if the money is good or you haven't any other gigs lined up... |
| writesonwater | Posted – 11/10/2006 11:00:16 AM | show profile | email poster I got a good chortle out of "masturbatory editing" -- ha! Made my day -- and made me think of an incident or two long ago. Bravo. |
| cornfrost | Posted – 11/10/2006 2:08:12 PM | show profile we really should connect this up with the kiss-off thread going on. they cancel each other out! |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/25/2007 3:01:07 AM | show profile | email poster I find myself wondering when to let a freelance client go as well. Has anyone else noticed the work at one client deteriorating -- and then wondered what to do about it? |
| ConfidentDesigner | Posted – 2/25/2007 11:47:45 AM | show profile I did this recently for a pro bono project I had taken on for a small non profit. It just got so complicated because of their disorganization, countless contradictory emails, and my time spent doing things over and over again. And for this? No money, no satisfaction, and worst of all no recognition, if you can believe that. I told them on Thursday that I had no more time for the project now or in the future and handed it back to them. I feel "a little" guilty but I'm over it now. It just ended up easier for all concerned if they took it back and left me out of it. |
| redheadedone | Posted – 2/25/2007 1:52:52 PM | show profile Has anyone ever hung up on a editor? This post has to deal with freelance work and editors, but in a slightly different vein- has anyone been approached by an editor for a project and then through ensuing conversations realized that said editor(s) was such an ass, they hung up on them? I think there's something in the water- in a short space of time, I was approached by three different editors/publications seeking work from me. When the conversations came down to the nitty gritty (money, direction of pub, etc) they were so ridiculous that I actually hung up on them. I can't even begin to explain the joy I had on hanging up on them! And I'm a professional. I've dealt with all sorts of loonies, yet when I hung up on these idiots I felt like dancing! |
