I dunno...this writing gig seems fishy to me...

Have you been wondering what standard practices are in the freelance writing world?

I mean…there should be a rule book somewhere you could consult, to know if you’re getting a good deal from a client. Right?

If you’re wondering what is acceptable practice in freelance writing, you are definitely in good company! I get a steady stream of questions about what norms are for a variety of freelance writing assignments.

Questions like:

“This prospective client just asked me to write three articles by 9 pm tomorrow night, and I haven’t even seen his contract yet. Is that normal?”

“My client keeps sending back my articles for rewrites…on round three now. Is this OK?”

“I get $25 for 500-word articles, and now they want me to write 900-word ones for the same price. What’s your opinion of that?”

“My client wants me to not just write their blog posts, but find photos (or maybe take them?), schedule posts, and post them in WordPress. Do clients usually make you do all that?”

Here’s what you really want to know

If you find yourself asking “Is this what writing clients usually require?” you should stop.

Think.

What’s really happening here?

You’re asking the wrong question.

There’s a reason you want to compare your gig with some standard.

It’s because you’ve got an oogy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

It’s a gut instinct you’re having – and it’s telling you you’re being exploited.

That’s a good instinct. Stick with it, and you will avoid a lot of crappy gigs.

The truth about what writing clients want

If you’re looking for the yardstick by which to compare your deal terms and deadlines and editor attitudes to get a reality check, here’s the thing:

Every writing gig is unique.

Every client wants a different thing.

And every writer is in a different place in their career, and has different goals.

Some clients are dysfunctional messes who want to IM you 24/7. Others are a joy.

Some pay low, some high.

I’ve tried suggesting that blog posts should pay at least $50, only to hear from writers who’ve told me, “I’m writing for $5. $20 would be a gold mine.”

I’ve left gigs that I thought were too lowball, or the editor was too much of a pain in the butt…and referred them to other writers who were thrilled to have them.

So stop trying to find the secret, Universal Code of Good Freelancing Rules. It doesn’t exist.

One writer’s scam is another’s opportunity. Like the writer who recently commented here on the blog that she was happy to make $200 a month on Examiner, for writing 60 articles. She said she has other income streams and does her Examiner sites mostly for fun.

Like I said…it’s all about where you’re at, and your goals as a freelancer.

Now that we’ve looked at the “is this usual?” question more closely, let’s reframe the question.

The real question to ask yourself is: Does this gig feel fair to me?

Not saying you shouldn’t run the scenario by your writers’ network…you should.

But the bottom line is, only one opinion really matters: yours.

If you think you’re getting a raw deal, ask for a raise. Or quit the gig.

Create your own standards

As you progress in freelance writing, you’ll find yourself creating your own rules. And they’ll evolve as you go.

For instance:

“No more clients that pay less than $200 $300 $500 an article.”

“No more blog clients who want two posts a day.”

“I’m not doing any more overnight rush work for peanuts!”

“No more doing tryout free samples — I have a portfolio now.”

These are the rules that matter: the boundaries you decide to draw with clients. The moment when you decide what you’re worth, and that you demand to be treated fairly.

Just keep raising that bar, and you’ll find yourself moving up to a higher-earning place as a freelance writer.

What are your rules of freelance writing? Leave a comment and let’s compare standards.

Does it seem like the impossible dream to move up and get good-paying writing clients?

If you’re a newbie, you can’t land bigger businesses that have ongoing work at great rates, right? That’s all sewn up by the established freelance writers.

If that’s what you think…today I’d like to give you a peek through the looking glass.

I got a reach-out recently from a website editor, who told me about her experience trying to hire bloggers for $50-$100 a post.

Given that most blogging ads seem to offer $5-$20 a post, you’d think it’d be easy to find quality writers who’d turn in awesome stuff just ready to publish.

But…it’s actually not easy to find a good writer 

Even at decent rates.

This editor related to me that she had placed an ad on one of the big paid job boards for bloggers online, with a description of the gig along these lines:

Need regular writers to contribute content relating to the tech/cloud-database industry, worker productivity, worker empowerment, etc. We are looking to pay around $50 an article, and would like to have some regular contributors that can write articles weekly around these topics.

Well! You’d think given that the majority of blogging gigs seem to pay $20 a post or less, there would be a crowd of solid writers lining up for this gig.

The editor hired 20 writers…

The editor dug through the resume stack and chose 20 writers to try out, based mostly on who submitted the best headlines. She assigned each a $50 article as a trial run.

OK, so maybe they weren’t all going to turn out to be awesome. But surely some of those writers turned in stellar work, yes?

No.

There was a lot of English-as-a-second-language stuff. Mostly, everything I’ve gotten is like a poorly put together Wikipedia article.

I feel terrible turning all of these people away, but it’s just too much. I’m not sure what to do with all these messy pieces of writing.

I figured I would at least get usable posts. Boy was I wrong!

This editor’s quandary? She couldn’t decide whether to attempt to rewrite the 20 junk blog posts herself, or to reject all the posts and start over again trying to hire writers.

Either way, it was a big mess, and it was putting her behind schedule for launching her site.

And one thing was for sure — none of these writers was getting a second assignment.

Mediocrity is common

Yes, there seem to be a million writers out there. But there aren’t a million good ones.

I know, because I’ve been the writer called in to mop up messes like the one above. To rewrite everything into something that could be published.

These kind of writing-assignment train wrecks happen all the time.

What’s really keeping you from good pay

Now that you know there’s plenty of opportunity for you to poach gigs from mediocre “pro” writers…all you need to know is how you’re going to identify great clients who’re a fit for you, contact them, and convince them to hire you.

When I ask most writers what they’re doing to market their writing business, the most common answer is: nothing.

To earn more, you’ll need to change that.

Is life with your writing clients a few sandwiches short of a picnic?

Maybe your client insists you attend their staff meetings without pay. Or they pay 90 days after checks are due, only after you nag them a half-dozen times.

Then there’s the screamer. The company that has your work gang-edited by an eight-person team. The magazine editor who sends back your work covered in red ink. The solopreneur who wants to instant-message you at all hours, seven days a week.

And, of course, the one who pays you one-tenth what you should be getting paid.

Whatever the particulars, it adds up to one thing: Your client is a Pain In The Ass.

It can be sort of fun to complain about your PITA clients. “Can you believe they did this?” you moan to your writer friends.

But even more fun is resolving your PITA problems and having only pleasant, productive, positive relationships with your clients.

Here are my five tips for keeping your client list PITA-free:

1. Make initial contracts short. I like a 60-90 day initial contract. This gives you a natural opportunity to redefine your working relationship after a short period of time. Once you find out your client is desperately needy or really wants 750-word blog posts, not 250, this is your chance to raise your rates — or to bow out and move on.
2. Clearly define boundaries. Without exception, PITA clients are boundary-pushers. Whatever they should reasonably expect from you, they want more. So make sure you spell out exactly what you are doing for the money. You want to know when things are due, how soon they pay, the length of your piece, how many interviews they expect, when you’ll need to be available for calls or meetings…the works.
3. Ignore them. Often, PITAs want loads of your time. Simply be unavailable, at least sometimes. You don’t have to answer that email, phone call, or instant message right away. You want to communicate to them that you are busy and they are not your only client (even if they are). Make it clear you are not going to be their 24/7 on-call staff writer at freelance rates…or you’ll find that’s exactly what you’ve become.
4. Charge them more. It’s amazing what doubling your rate can do for your feelings that a client is a PITA. Suddenly, their annoying foibles don’t seem as oppressive. Whenever you feel frustrated, you can always take a look at your bank balance to remind you why you put up with them.
5. Say goodbye. In the end, you’ve got to weigh all the factors: How bad do you need the income from this client? How stressed out are you by them? If you asked for a raise and they’re not going for it, and you feel like you’re gonna puke every time you have to talk to them, it’s probably time to give notice that you’ll be moving on. The bonus? Often, as soon as you do, a better client comes along. You’ve just made room in your life for something better, so it has a chance to appear.

No matter what strategy you use to rein in your PITA, remember the most important rule: Stay professional.

Yes, I know they throw tantrums and talk nasty. But don’t you do it. Leave all your doors open and bridges unburned — never know when you might want to use them again.

Have you had a PITA client? Leave a comment and tell us how you dealt with it.

One of the most frequently asked questions freelance writers had on my free call earlier this month was, “How can you tell if an online writing gig is legitimate?”

Funny story — I got a very strange email earlier this week that I think illustrates how difficult it can be to tell very solid opportunities from bogus ones. Here’s the story:

I got this email at 10:30 pm. The sender name and the company names involved are disguised, but otherwise this is letter for letter how the email looked:

hi Carol
My name is (person’s name) and I’m looking for a writer for a project I’m managing.  I’m not sure if you are available but thought I would reach out.  The project is really to create an annual report for a few business programs for my large client in the SEattle area.  I need someone to work with me better now and May 5th.  Not sure if you are available but i’d love to chat.  all teh best (name).

Kind of suspicious-looking, huh? Looks like someone typing on their mobile device or something — someone who doesn’t care how their message looks. And they’re sending me an inquiry at a pretty weird time for doing business.

In general, when I get feeler emails like this that don’t include a company name and phone number, and the email doesn’t reveal a company name — which this one didn’t — I tend to be extremely wary.

I often fire back an email saying if they’re from a real company to please reply with their company name, address, phone and URL. I have a habit of never wanting to spend time discussing projects with anyone who won’t give me those basic pieces of information.

But there were a couple things that made me give this email a second look.

The first was the mention of a big client. The second was the fact that her email did end in a name that I knew was associated with a service offered by a big local company. That gave it enough chance of being a real offer that I wrote back:

Hi (name) –

Thanks for reaching out to me! Annual reports are definitely up my alley — as a longtime business reporter I’m very familiar with that format. I’m pretty slammed for about the next week, but after that my schedule should get better. Why don’t you give me a call tomorrow to discuss your project?

In the meanwhile, maybe you could send me a bit more contact information for you and your company so I can take a look online?

Also would love to hear how you found me — thanks!

After I sent this inquiry, I decided to run the sender’s name through LinkedIn with “Seattle” attached. Bingo: The sender was affiliated with a very large company. I wasn’t surprised when I got her response below. Marketers, note the interesting way she found me:

hi Carol
I’m with (major project management agency)  and we are working with (Fortune 500 company) on a large project for the office of the CTO.  I found you through linked in online to be honest and was looking for someone with adequate experience.  This is a huge project and I need someone for 80hours between now and May 5th.  Let’s chat tomorrow

I also need to know if you can help me with interviews and a few client meetings to review documents once we are done or are you jsut remote?

thanks much

(name)

All of which brings us back to our question: How can you tell if a writing gig is legit?

Answer: You have to do some sleuthing. Don’t take prospects at face value. Start researching and find out if they’re who they say they are.

My experience with this prospect shows how hard it is in our casual-email era to tell good from bad. So you really need to look hard at the prospect before you leap.

Ways to investigate a prospective writing client:

1. Get their contact information and look them up online. Have they been around a while? Do they sell a real-world product or service — or magazine — with a proven track record of success? If they won’t provide a street address, run.
2. Ask around your writer forums on LinkedIn or wherever you hang out — has anyone worked for this company? If so, what are their impressions?
3. Poke around in social media to see what this company is saying…and what others are saying about them. Also try the contact person’s name on Twitter and Linked In — does their bio say they work for the company they told you they represent?
4. Try Googling that company’s name + lawsuit and see what you turn up. Use the Google News tab to see if there are news stories about the company.
5. Ask the prospect: What is your business model? (If it’s “we get you to write tons of content cheap or free and then we put ads next to it,” run.)
6. Ask: What are your pay rates and your payment schedule? You want to know up front if they pay on an instant bank transfer or take six months.
7. Be on the lookout for obviously scammy propositions — it they ask you to write a bunch of free samples, or to write for peanuts because they might be able to pay more later on, or if you get enough pageviews…run.

Ever gotten scammed in a writing gig? Leave a comment and let us know what happened, and what you learned from the experience.

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Photo: stock.xchng – lilinhah