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Topic: question for freelancers/those who hire them
| Author | Message |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/3/2007 1:24:06 PM | show profile I've done about 12 freelance assignments for a publisher, over the last year. They responded enthusiastically and gave me more work promptly. Now, they won't return my calls. So I'm wondering if I did something wrong, took too much time, etc. The more time that passes, the greater probability I attribute to these possibilities. My question is this: Should I ask what the problem is? Is it expecting too much to be told "you did x or y", or, "we've restructured," or "we're doing that in-house now"? On the other hand, I asked someone else who I did a few freelance jobs if everything I did was OK - he replied "no news is good news" (i.e., I would only have heard from him if there was a problem). Is that attitude more typical? I think there is value to both parties to having an open exchange. A case could be made that people are "too busy" to give feedback. My opinion is that it improves morale and efficiency. But I'm no expert, so I'd like to hear others' opinions. Thanks! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/3/2007 1:58:24 PM | show profile Yes, it is strange if a steady client won't return your phone calls. |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/3/2007 1:59:23 PM | show profile Would you call/write to inquire about it? |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 10/3/2007 2:49:06 PM | show profile What have your recent messages been regarding? Pitches for potential assignments, or something else? I only ask because you mention "feedback" and "open exchange". |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/3/2007 2:53:00 PM | show profile I have been asking for more assignments. I haven't yet asked for feedback. If there's been a problem with the work I've done, I'd like to know. Is that something that you think would be welcome, or a pain to deal with? Thanks. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 10/3/2007 4:04:55 PM | show profile You're right that clear and open communication is more productive. Do you know, or can you find out through other means than calling them yourself, if this publication has suddenly faced some crisis, financial or otherwise? To simply disappear without a word is bizarre, in my 30 years' experience, 15 of those freelance. I wouldn't keep calling, but I would try to find out in any other way possible if there are other reasons why they have fallen off the radar. |
| brooklynn44 | Posted – 10/3/2007 4:11:23 PM | show profile | email poster it could have been a number of things... I wouldn't ask what the problem is per say...it could be anything. One...your contact could have left unexpectedly...maybe call someone or try a different contact? Two...your projects are done...they have no obligation to you. You could have done the best job ever, technically they don't owe you an explanation. That's the freelance world. It ends, and you move on. You're lucky to have had it ongoing for that long. It's really nothing you did, most likely. They probably ran out of a "freelance budget" or you lost your contact...happens all the time! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/3/2007 4:20:12 PM | show profile I disagree with this. There is no benefit to just shrugging and accepting it. And there's no downside to calling and finding out why they've stopped assigning you pieces. I get a lot of business simply by contacting old clients and reminding them I'm alive. If you've been steadily freelancing and they stopped sending assignments your way, I see no harm in asking if something has changed. --it could have been a number of things... I wouldn't ask what the problem is per say...it could be anything. One...your contact could have left unexpectedly...maybe call someone or try a different contact? Two...your projects are done...they have no obligation to you. You could have done the best job ever, technically they don't owe you an explanation. That's the freelance world. It ends, and you move on. You're lucky to have had it ongoing for that long. It's really nothing you did, most likely. They probably ran out of a "freelance budget" or you lost your contact...happens all the time!== |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/3/2007 4:56:55 PM | show profile Thanks all for your thoughts ... I think "that's just the way freelancing is" is an unfortunate perspective. I'm trying to get a sense if that's the prevailing view. I've hired people before too, and would always try to give them some idea if the work met my expectations or not. I did a bit of writing pretty far out of my specialty recently, and didn't hear back from the agency first when I emailed a quesiton, then when I emailed to ask if they needed anything else on the project, and then when I asked if they would ever have another assignment. I was left wondering if I had done just a horrible, unsalvageable job, or just plain mediocre, or what. I finally ended up with a good reason to call (no payment), and when that was cleared up I finally said "would you mind giving me some idea of how the work was received? The answer was "the client loved it!" What would it hurt to have told me that? Is anyone really "too busy" to take five minutes and let someone know that they did a great job? Or is that "just the way it is" in freelance editorial? Redundant thanks. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/3/2007 9:58:37 PM | show profile A lot of this is really just writerly ego and insecurity, to be honest. When people pay for a professional service, they expect it to be good, and they often don't seek out the service provider to thank them for doing what they were paid to do. This is especially true if you are doing corporate writing. A lot of times I'll send material off and never hear a word about it. As long as the check clears, I'm fine with that. --What would it hurt to have told me that? Is anyone really "too busy" to take five minutes and let someone know that they did a great job? Or is that "just the way it is" in freelance editorial?-- |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/9/2007 10:57:05 AM | show profile I think there is value to feedback, positive and negative. I'm sure there's an element of insecurity to my comments. On the other hand, feedback can be intensely practical. If you are paid a fixed fee for an assignment, and it far exceeds what is expected, you can reasonably devote less effort to it next time. I think the product suffers when freelancers are thought of as "plug and play". I wonder if the "plug and play" approach is the province of those who are efficient, or those who don't like the awkward feelings involved in providing feedback. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 10/9/2007 11:56:46 AM | show profile It is less likely a question of emotion but time management; if it's perceived freelancers need no/little feedback, they won't get it. Even if you do... |
| seeattleme | Posted – 10/9/2007 4:41:01 PM | show profile actually if you watch bylines of ANY magazine, you will see that writers will write several articles for a publication (or three or four, si that several?) and move on. It's just the trend, unless youa re a staff or contrib writer. So move on. Take your clips and go to the competition, or elsewhere. But don't beat a dead horse. It really is just the cycle of the business. Yes, writers will write for certain publications for years and years, but they are usually contrib writers and this is rare. If they're not returning yourcalls, don't take it personally. Just move on. I knew a mens mag editor who liked to use a writer, get he she comfy, then ignore that writer , just to "Keep 'em on their toes." Screwed up, yes. Butso are most in the industry. Work it. Go pitch the competition. |
| eddytompkins | Posted – 10/9/2007 5:23:32 PM | show profile Well, thanks, Granite Girl, for reminding me that there are passive-aggressive types out there, and people who enjoy exercising whatever power they have in the industry. That gentleman sounds like a nightmare. I hope he isn't typical. And if that type of thing is a trend, well, I for one favor reversing the trend. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/10/2007 2:47:46 AM | show profile In your original post, you said the editors responded enthusiastically and gave you more work quickly. I don't know what kind of feedback you are looking for: a detail critique of every assignment you turn in? That's not going to happen. On rare occasion, I'll have an editor call me with some praise when something extraordinary happens (like when I wrote a piece for a section on AOL that had a record-breaking click-through rate for them). But mostly, editors just send emails saying, "Nice job" or "Good work" and such. And the reality is, in the freelance game, you will eventually lose every client you have, and usually when they leave, they disappear fast. I've had clients who gave me $75,000 a year in business, who were getting great survey scores for my work, disappear out of the blue because of an internal change, never to be heard from again. I've had magazines for whom I'd written hundreds of articles for drop me suddenly for no particular reason. That's life. We are professionals performing a service for pay. We are generally not buddies with the people we work for. Don't expect them to treat you like a drinking pal from your college newspaper. --I think there is value to feedback, positive and negative. I'm sure there's an element of insecurity to my comments. On the other hand, feedback can be intensely practical. If you are paid a fixed fee for an assignment, and it far exceeds what is expected, you can reasonably devote less effort to it next time. I think the product suffers when freelancers are thought of as "plug and play". I wonder if the "plug and play" approach is the province of those who are efficient, or those who don't like the awkward feelings involved in providing feedback.-- |
| ConfidentDesigner | Posted – 10/10/2007 10:52:13 AM | show profile I'd just ask them if everything was fine with your work. Explain that you've put them on your list as an important client and were wondering if'when more work was coming your way. Very legitimate question to pose to a steady client. |
