by Rachel Smith
24 October 2014
We often talk about the great parts of being a freelancer (autonomy and freedom being just a couple of them), but I’m the first to admit the job has its downsides, too. And hot on the heels of our recent post about whether you’re cut out to freelance – I’m having a rant. Here are the worst things about freelancing, according to, well, me.
Some months, I’d give my right arm for a regular paycheck. Over the years I’ve worked hard to try and create a reliable monthly income that stays the same – makes meeting bills and mortgage payments easier! – but unlike being on salary, the amount I make is never a given. The longer you freelance, the easier it becomes to create a regular cashflow – but for many freelancers, the need to hustle, find clients and chase payments can be anxiety-inducing.
Often, this is the client who can’t write, hires you to do it and is stoked with the succinct, easy-to-read copy you turn in. So pleased in fact, at how beautifully it reads, that they assume it took you no time at all to knock up. Ditto the cheapskate clients who give you a lengthy brief then say, ‘This should only take you an hour or so’. Grrrr. I’ve only had a couple of clients try to dictate my quote or jerk me around on agreed money after I’ve delivered the brief and one way around this, if you suspect it might happen, is to get payment up front AND to have a watertight contract the client signs before you start, which stipulates the number of revisions, and when a revision is actually ‘scope creep’. On big jobs, getting 20-50 percent up front should be your standard practice.
I know I always bang on about how important it is to act like a business and not just a writer (or designer, or whatever creative avenue you fit into). But that doesn’t mean to say doing tax and tallying up receipts and chasing invoices doesn’t make my eyes glaze over. (My tip: sign up to Rounded, and if you’re a Rachel’s List Gold member you can get a great discount on your first year.)
As we’ve covered before, mags or websites which pay on publication can wreck havoc on your cash flow, so the smart move is always to have the bulk of your work for employers or clients who pay promptly. I like to chase up outstanding invoices quickly, but sometimes you can’t when your story is yet to run – which unfortunately means delayed payment.
This happened to me once and I knew it was my pitch because they used both my headline and sell and ideas presented as part of the pitch. I was inclined to let it go because the title in question gave me a lot of work, but if it happens at all, you’re within your rights to speak up.
I did write on spec a couple of times when I was starting out, but when I was asked to do it recently by a magazine editor, I declined. When you’re established (and have a decent online portfolio to show for it) you shouldn’t need to write on spec. (We have a script in our 25 Scripts ebook covering this very thing – the actual script I used, and which got me a commission 2 days later). I’m also not a fan of having to do an unpaid writing test (or several) before you get the gig. Decent portfolio of work and referees should be all a client needs to hire you.
I don’t find this happens much these days in terms of mags / websites – even though I might not always get offered the rates I want. And I won’t chase work at high-profile online outlets notorious for not paying freelancers. If you’re asked to write for free, you can simply say, ‘Thank you, I’m flattered but due to limited time I do prioritise my paying clients. If you have a freelance budget in the future I’d be thrilled to discuss working for you as a paid contributor’.
Do you agree? Is there anything that really gets your goat about being a freelancer? Feel free to vent below…
(Ergh, number 2!) My ‘worst thing’ is that I’m expected to be available during regular business hours. I do my best writing in the evenings and at night (no distractions) but have to wait until business hours to have a conversation with a client. Part of why I freelance is so I can wake up at 10am if I want to, do my grocery shopping, go to the movies or go for a swim in non-peak times… but the expectation of being available can be difficult to handle.
That’s a good one. A big attraction of freelancing for me is the ability to work when and how I want, too. I’ve been lucky lately in that my main client had a baby and got everything done after 10pm! And very rarely would we chat in the day. Suited me!
Vagaries in the regularity of being paid for hard work that’s already done and dusted, ie subbing, really suck. And I’m talking about major publishing companies, not fly-by-night operators. So galling!
Yes. Sucky.
Cashflow, cashflow, cashflow. One of my main clients is a major corporate that is painfully slow to pay. It’s frustrating when in *theory* you have several grand in your bank account, but in reality you’re paying interest on the overdraft waiting for these clowns to get around to handing over the cash.
I agree Liz – slow payers are the worst. Huge source of stress and juggling for the average freelancer I reckon.