Yesterday I received a call from a client. I've been writing for this particular client for over a year and a half now, and she's never called me before, so at first I was worried that there was something wrong.

As it turned out, though, she called to tell me personally how much she appreciates my hard work. She had received an article from another of her writers on the same day that I turned in one of my articles, and evidently the difference was so striking that she felt compelled to call and compliment my work.

I've already mentioned that I have a lot of work to do this week. I've been busy and a little stressed, so getting a compliment like that made my day — maybe even my entire week! It certainly was a nice reminder of why I do what I do.

Labels: clients

I am in the process of updating my portfolio right now (or at least, I will get back to work on it once this crazy week is over), but in the meantime I wanted to direct your attention to my most recent project: a website I wrote for a Kansas City cleaning company.

I'm quite proud of this website: I not only wrote all of the copy, but designed the website as well. You'll no doubt notice some similarities to my website — I used the code from my own site as a template, changing things such as color and spacing in order to create a different overall appearance. I figure the company's potential clients will never see my website, so the similarities won't matter.

I've also written the first three blog posts for the company blog, though it remains to be seen if I'll continue blogging for the company.

Labels: clients

On Monday, Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware posted on a disturbing trend that has been growing recently: The tendency of vanity presses to prey on child authors. Her post got me thinking, for two reasons:

1) Because I also started writing novels as a teenager,

and

2) Because I have had firsthand experiences with one of the child authors she mentioned in her post, Adora Svitak.

In regards to #1, I agree with Victoria Strauss completely when she says that some youngsters may be able to write beautifully, but most don't have the maturity to deal with the publishing industry. We're talking about an industry that can be pretty cutthroat — there is a lot of competition and a lot of rejection, whereas most children and teens are still at the point where social rejection is the end of the world. Plus, they lack both the experience needed to know the publishing industry's standards, as well as the maturity to learn and apply those standards.

Of course, as with any rule there are exceptions, but I am pretty certain I wasn't one. I wrote my first novel at age 14, and I know looking back at it that it was not and will never be publishable. My second novel was better, but it is my third novel — written when I was 15 — that I think has the most potential. However, even that one needs work — revisions and corrections that I don't think I would have seen the need for earlier in my career.

In spite of the fact that I once complained about my parents not encouraging and helping me to pursue publication, I think now that I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe I haven't published a novel yet, but I'd rather get there on my own two feet than to have my work sell because I was some kind of child prodigy, an oddity and a fascination.

Which brings me to #2: My experiences with Adora and Joyce Svitak. I got involved almost exactly two years ago, when Adora's book, Flying Fingers, was first published. Joyce advertised looking for reviewers, and being a little naive about how the industry worked, I agreed to work with them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I got burned.

Victoria's post about Aultbea and their child authors made me start thinking about the situation with the Svitaks for the first time in many months. It occurs to me that Adora was not the only one whose work was being exploited — by looking for writers to work for free and betraying our initial agreement regarding my review, Joyce was also taking advantage of other writers. This makes me wonder: Is it only the vanity publishers who are guilty of exploiting children's talents? Or are some of the parents equally as guilty?

Labels: becoming a writer, clients, freelancing, other writers, publishing, writers beware

I have had a couple of problems lately with clients who don't tell me the full story of what they want, yet expect me to know it anyway.

Client #1 was someone who hired me to work on a personal letter. Aside from the obvious problems that arise when someone else is writing a letter that is supposed to personal, this client was continually unhappy with what I wrote, but gave me little or no direction as to why or what could be done to fix it. Usually, the client simply said, "This doesn't work for me."

As you can imagine, after going through both of the two revisions I include in my project rate, I was mighty sick of hearing "This doesn't work for me."

Client #2 has been an ongoing issue. They hired me many months ago to write some web copy for them. As they were a new client, I requested 50 percent of the project fee up front, and they agreed. I did everything right, yet they still have been a pain in my you-know-what.

First it was nonpayment. The project stalled at 80 percent completed, because they were supposedly waiting for keyword research they'd ordered in order to complete the remaining web page. I clearly stated that I was willing to wait a few weeks, but if it took longer than that I would need to be paid for the work completed so far. They completely ignored that email — no response whatsoever.

Some time passed, and with no word at all about the project, I emailed them again. And again. And again. Finally, I sent an email letting them know I expected payment for the work already done, and that if I did not receive it by a certain date (two weeks out, I believe it was), I would report them as nonpaying clients — and the first place I would contact would be the company they are affiliates of.

That finally received a response: I had an email from them within just a couple of days. They claimed they were "on holiday," and whined about why I had to be like that. They said they'd pay me when they got home, which was supposed to be in less than a week. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it didn't happen.

What is surprising is that a week or two later, they unexpectedly did pay me. I had been too busy to follow through on reporting them, so imagine my surprise when I received payment! It was in full, too — I had told them that, in light of the payment issues, if they wanted me to finish the project they would need to pay me for the remaining work in advance.

At last they sent me the keyword research and asked me to write the final page of copy. I did, as per what they had told me about what they wanted and the keywords they had given me. When I turned it in, however, they informed me that it was not what they wanted. I explained that there was no way to change the copy to what they wanted and still use the same keywords, as the two targeted entirely different markets.

This is when it gets really fun: They decided that they wanted to make the page a "double" page. Basically, they wanted to use the copy I'd already written and have me write what they'd originally wanted, and put it all on the same page so that they could get double the copy for the same price.

In hindsight, I could have refused. I could have stated that I had written the copy as per the information that they had given me at the time, and that giving me different information entailed a change in project scope. I could have charged them for the additional work, or refused to do it altogether. But I didn't. Instead, I told them I would write the additional work at no charge, but that any future work would need to be renegotiated.

Here's a big surprise: When I turned in the new copy, they didn't like it. They want me to rewrite it, but are only giving me vague directions on what it should include. They might be offering to pay me to fix it, but then again they might be demanding their money back — their English is so atrocious I can't tell. (The line says, "send me the pay for this page!" and in the context I can't decide whether they meant "payment" or "invoice.")

I decided to say NO. I really don't want to work with these people anymore, not even if they do pay me to fix the page. I had taken the job assuming — from their description — that it would be fairly quick and easy, and priced it accordingly. Months down the road, the job has entailed much more of chasing payment and waiting for the client than actual writing. A big fat NOT WORTH IT!!!

The moral of the story: Before providing a quote or accepting a gig, make sure you get complete details about what the client wants. Ask them to clarify anything that seems ambiguous, and don't take the job if they can't.

Furthermore, never assume a project for a new client is going to be "easy" — always build a "pain-in-my-a$$" fee into quotes for new clients. You can always adjust your quotes later if the work does turn out to be exceptionally easy.

Update: After receiving my email declining further work, Client #2 responded, calling me "moody and emotional." (Oh, is that what it's called when you "fire" a client who has been nothing but trouble?) With that in mind, I'd like to update the moral of the story to say: Never work with a client who patronizes you!

Labels: clients, payment issues

I've gotten a couple of emails lately from a fellow Rich McIver, asking me to share his article with my readers. The first time I didn't mind so much (although I never got around to reading the article, I'm afraid). This time it is beginning to feel like spam. However, I think the article is rather worthwhile, so I'm going to put my mild irritation aside and provide the link.

The article is "Top 10 Ways to Fire the Client from Hell." It sounds funny — probably because anything with "hell" in the title usually is supposed to be comedy — but it actually contains valuable tips for getting rid of bad clients.

I have personally dealt with almost every type of client on this list, as I'm sure many of you have. However, I've found that my biggest problems tend to be with the clients who are overly demanding — either of my time (i.e. wanting a full-time writer at part-time contractor prices) or of my work (i.e. wanting more work for the same — or less! — money). I have also used the "I'm too busy right now" excuse with clients who have been problematic in the past, and I assure you, it is beautiful empowering to actually exercise your right to pick and choose your clients!

Labels: clients, freelancing

I just ran across something that seems to indicate an even greater likelihood of Laray Carr (LCP) being a scam. Apparently, Quincy Carr is a proven scammer.

This also explains the company's connection to the address. In my last post about Laray Carr, I mentioned the confusing contact information writers had been given. A company address turned out to be a rental that was neither owner nor rented by anyone in association with the company. No one could figure out what the company's connection was with this address, and it was making everyone suspicious.

As it turns out, it's even worse than we suspected. Thelma Smith, the little old lady who rents the house, is apparently Quincy Carr's grandmother. Her name is listed in connection with another scam run by Quincy Carr.

I wonder what Hope Hunt's relationship is with Quincy Carr and Thelma Smith? Is she actually getting paid for her work with LCP, and is she knowingly helping with a scam? I guess we may never know the answers to those questions. However, it is looking more and more unlikely that any of those writers who worked with Laray Carr will ever get paid.

Labels: clients, payment issues, scams, writers beware

I have been active in threads on other blogs about Laray Carr (a.k.a. LCP) and Hope Hunt, but I have not added to my own blog about this potential scam. After reading the newest comments today, I decided to go ahead and post a warning on my own blog.

First of all, here are the other threads:

* Comments on Deb's Freelance Writing Jobs

* More comments on Deb's Freelance Writing Jobs

* A post and comments on Deb's Freelance Writing Jobs

* A post and comments on Writer Beware

* A post and comments on A Musing Scribe

Here are the details:

* LCP is launching 30-some magazines at once. According to those who have worked in the publishing business, this is not just impossible, but laughably so.

* A couple of weeks ago, Laray Carr was running ads asking for lots of articles on short notice. The deadline was something like the end of August, to my memory, and launch/payment was to be in mid-September.

* Although I haven't seen the ads myself, apparently LCP was advertising $50 for 500 words. However, many writers have reported being offered a different rate when they applied. Reports vary from $50 for 1,000 words, $50 for 1,500 words, and $50 for 2,000 words.

* Fifty bucks for 500 words isn't bad. Fifty bucks for 1,500 or 2,000 words sucks. To make it even worse, LCP reportedly was asking for fact sheets and contact information for experts, as well. That's an awful lot of work for gas money!

* From what I understand, the contract takes all rights until the articles were published. Thirty days after publication, resale rights reverted to the writer. However, the way it was described to me, it sounds like LCP can basically hold the articles forever and never pay the writers.

* Aside from the blatant unfairness of the contract terms, the contract did not state the company name or contact information. Writers who complained or asked for that information to be included were subsequently removed (or threatened with removal) from the company's list of writers.

* Laray Carr had no company website until very recently -- it was created a week ago, in fact, just about the time people started raising suspicions. There is nothing there, though, supposedly because they haven't paid the designers, so the designers haven't released the work.

* The fax number given to the writers is registered to a steam-cleaning company. Hope Hunt recently admitted in comments on Writer Beware that they're using her husband's business's fax number.

* Laray Carr is supposedly owned by a multi-millionaire ex-football player, but Hope Hunt and others won't say who the owner is.

* No one can find information on Laray Carr, even though companies are legally required to file their articles of incorporation, which would then become public record.

* LCP is apparently threatening writers and website/forum owners with legal action for voicing their concerns (or publishing writers' concerns).

Here are the issues.

Needless to say, writers who have signed on with Laray Carr are worried about the possibility of this turning out to be a scam. Here are my concerns:

* The records for tracing them are confusing, and maybe even dead ends. People are getting different addresses for everything: WHOIS records, the steam cleaning company, etc. Someone paid Intellius for a reverse address check, and the address they were given has someone else's name on it -- it's a residence. All of this means it'll be difficult to track these guys down if they don't pay as promised.

* They demanded lots of work all at once, before anyone actually got paid. Many scams will demand lots of work in a short period of time, so that by the time you find out you're not getting paid, you've already been drained dry. This sounds an awful lot like the same stunt to me.

* The way the contract is written, they can retain all rights to the work until they publish, yet publish the work elsewhere without telling (or paying). The way the contract is written is quite sneaky. From what I understand, if the magazine deal doesn't happen, Laray Carr still gets all rights until they've had a chance to publish the work -- and the writer doesn't get paid until it's published. Even if they're legit, they can simply hold the work hostage forever without paying the writer. If they're not legit, they can claim the magazine deal didn't work out, and then quietly publish the work elsewhere; if the writer doesn't know, and s/he is honest, s/he will be prohibited from reselling the work to anyone else (which would provide competition for LCP's content).

* They are using legal threats to try to prevent writers from speaking out. This is another thing you often see from scammers: They make empty legal threats to try to frighten writers from telling others about their experiences. When Micah started asking questions and voicing her concerns, Hope showed up on the thread and accused her of spreading lies. It seemed to me she was strongly hinting that what Micah was doing was wrong -- even though all Micah was doing was asking other writers for information and advice! Shortly afterward, I heard that LCP was threatening writers with legal action for speaking out.

Here is the problem with that. As long as the writers are either 1) stating the facts, or 2) clearly stating their opinion, they are entitled to speak (or write) freely. Despite what any company may tell you, as long as you stick to the facts and/or state your opinions clearly as such, you are not committing libel. Don't let LCP or anyone else scare you into thinking otherwise!

Conclusion and recommendations:

There has been a lot of debate over whether it can actually be said yet that LCP is scamming writers. As far as I'm concerned, as of this moment they are not proven scammers -- but I will not be surprised at all if it turns out they are. Some of Laray Carr's policies and practices make me suspect a scam, such as their refusal to put company information on the contract, their push for as many articles as possible in a short period of time, and the general lack of information about the company.

Even if Laray Carr is not a scam, though, in my opinion they are a bad deal for writers, and someone you should stay away from. I would never accept a client who advertises one rate, and then offers another. Likewise, you should never work with someone who keeps demanding more work without increasing your pay as well. But most importantly, never work with anyone who refuses to give you contact information -- you should always have a way (other than email) to contact your clients, just in case!

Please click here for an update with new information on Laray Carr, LCP, and Quincy Carr.

Labels: clients, payment issues, scams, writers beware

Just a few days ago, Deb of Freelance Writing Jobs launched a discussion about what writers won't write about. A lot of writers mentioned that they won't write about things they don't know very well. I didn't mention it in my comments or my previous post on the subject, but I found this pretty funny, considering: a little over a year ago, I took myself completely out of my element when I signed up to write for a gay and lesbian parenting website.

If you have looked through my portfolio, you may have already seen that I list several article credits with The Rainbow Babies. In fact, I have written many articles for the site over the past fifteen months, and the founder has become one of my favorite -- and one of my most constant -- clients.

Angela has joked before that as long as I have been writing for the site, I am probably the gayest straight person around. (Her words, almost exactly.) Just the other day, in fact, she sent me the following email:

OK, so get this: apparently there is a "Lesbian Journalist's Association Convention" being held in San Diego in August. I read and started laughing because I thought to myself it's a good thing I'm not rolling in money right now, because I'd actually send you to the conference, and you would be the straightest little lesbian writer there! ROFLMAO!

First of all, I thought this was about the funniest thing I've heard. I could totally see her doing something like this, too -- and snickering about it the entire time I was there, no doubt.

Besides that, though, this email got me thinking... How often do we get lucky enough to have a relationship like this with a client? Most of you can understand me when I say that a client with a good sense of humor is a client worth keeping.

Labels: clients, freelancing, funnies, writers' events

I spent several hours this morning and afternoon pruning the lilac bushes that surround our yard. They create a really great privacy screen, especially on the south border of our yard, where the fence is just a low picket fence. However, the bushes on that side are probably thirty years old (at least), and have rarely been pruned, if ever. The result is a tangled mass of overgrown lilacs -- pretty in summer, because they leaf out so thickly, but quite ugly for the rest of the year.

I meant to prune the lilacs last year, but I didn't get around to it early on, except for one lone bush. Naturally, that bush looks the prettiest and bore the most flowers this year. So I'm trying to be a good little gardener this year and take care of our pretty lilacs. The trick is to prune them around the right time -- lilacs need to be pruned right after the flowers bloom, because the plant starts making next years blooms almost right away. Our lilacs finished blooming only a week or two ago, so it's now or never.

As I was pruning (with gusto, I might add -- I was never big on working in the yard, but oddly enough, I enjoyed this), I started thinking about my work. I've been really dragging lately, and it seems I have more ideas for books (fiction and nonfiction) than ever. Since I started freelancing, I've been saying to myself, "When I have more time I'll work on my stories," or other promises along those lines. Of course, I never seem to have enough time, and except for NaNoWriMo last November, I haven't made time, either.

The last couple of days, I've been kind of toying with the idea of cutting back some of my freelance work and devoting more time to writing stories, novels, and nonfiction books. And of course, as an avid reader and writer who thinks in metaphors (don't we all?), I started thinking about how pruning the lilacs was kind of like what I want to do with my business. I'd like to move on to higher-paying work, so that I can spend less time doing it and devote the extra time to other types of writing. I have a few regular clients that I'm not going to give up at this point, even though they pay me at "last year's rates," but I'm not going to take on any more at those levels.

I've also thought about how to work a little fiction- or book-writing into my regular work day. The usual idea -- making myself do the paying work first, and doing the fun stuff if I have time at the end of the day -- isn't going to work for me, because it's just likely to make me start staying up later and later every night. Instead, I think I'm going to give myself a certain block of time every morning to work on my current story or book project. The reason I think this will work better is because I tend to diddle around for an hour or two, blogging or checking up on my favorite blogs to "warm up" before I get to work. My idea is to replace that time with writing the stuff that really gets my fingers flying -- it should be a more effective way to warm up, anyway.

Of course, I don't feel I'm quite ready to start that schedule. Right now I have a few projects that I need to get out pronto -- I've had a hard time being productive since we got back from the honeymoon, and a few things have piled up. Besides, the very first thing I want to do is to revise my NaNo novel, and I want to take Stephen King's advice and read over it all in one day.

Once I get going with the new schedule, I have a few projects in mind. One is an ebook, another a chick lit type of novel, not to mention a handful or so of other ideas in the works. I'll announce my little projects as I start on each.

Wish me luck with my "pruning" and rejuvenation!

Labels: burnout, business, clients, ebooks, freelancing, goals, home sweet home, miscellaneous, NaNoWriMo 2006, novel writing

The car thing set me back a little on my work, but I've gotten a lot done lately and I finally feel like I'm almost caught up. Now that the stress is lessing a little, I need to take the time to voice a little appreciation for my clients.

Andi, Angela, Lee, Chris, Todd, Logan, and Scott --
Thank you all for your understanding, your sympathy, and your flexibility! I appreciate it more than I can say!

Labels: clients, freelancing, plain ol' fun

After writing my earlier post about deadlines, I started thinking about the term "blowing a deadline." I don't think it accurately describes my meaning, and probably not Kristen's, either, really.

"Blowing deadlines," in my opinion, is when you miss a deadline without the courtesy of informing your client that you're having a problem finishing the work on time. It is, essentially, not just blowing the deadline, but also blowing off the client.

I definitely don't do that - I'm always in touch with the client when I'm going to be late on something. Even if all I do is shoot off a quick email to let the client know - ahead of time - that I'm running behind, it makes a big difference.

So my revised list of lessons states:

1) Don't miss deadlines when you can avoid it.
2) Let your client know when you can't.
3) Appreciate the clients who are understanding when you do #2.

Labels: advice for writers, articles, blogging, clients, freelancing, goals, other writers

The end of the month is looming, and it seems deadlines are on everyone's mind. Harmony posted on Sunday about what she needed to do before the month ended, and Kristen King posted Monday about a blown deadline (and how upset she was about it). I have comments about both posts, and they (my comments) seemed kind of related, so I decided to talk about both tonight.

Not too long ago, I blogged about getting burned out. Then, more recently, I mentioned that I was starting to feel more like my old self. Unfortunately, that feeling comes and goes; I'm still struggling somewhat, so I have a backlog of work that I feel like I'll never be free of.

I have a confession to make, one that I suspect will make a whole bunch of guilty freelancers feel a little better: I miss deadlines. Not always - like I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to miss a deadline or two when I get burned out, which usually follows a period of insane amounts of work. Not all deadlines, thankfully - my brain seems to know the difference between deadlines for print publications (that have to go to the printer by a certain date), and deadlines for online venues (which are more flexible).

I mention this in response to Kristen's post, because she was clearly very freaked out about missing a deadline. The truth is, I haven't found missing a deadline here and there to be a major problem in my career (although, like I said, I have yet to miss any truly crucial deadlines). Most of my clients are wonderfully understanding and forgiving. They understand when I explain that I'm not feeling well, or that I'm running behind for some other reason.

There are three lessons to learn from this:

1) Don't miss deadlines when you can avoid it.
2) Don't worry about it too much when you can't.
3) Appreciate the clients that understand when you can't.

In response to Harmony's post... I have roughly 14 articles that I'd like to finish by the end of the week (not by the end of the month, thankfully!), as well as several (paid) blog posts. With a little luck, my productivity will hold and I'll accomplish all I set out to do...

Labels: advice for writers, articles, blogging, clients, freelancing, goals, other writers

A few days ago, I wrote about a potential client whose idea of "modest" rates was $1 per article. In the middle of telling them off via email, I had an epiphany, and changed my email to a sales pitch explaining why they need quality writing at my rates.

Unfortunately, the sales pitch didn't work, as I haven't heard back from them. However, I'm guessing that sort of email has a better chance of being read than one that tells someone off.

Lately, I've also been dealing with a lot of requests for what I call "custom" writing samples - when clients request that you prepare a writing sample on their specific topic. There are several problems with this, but I think one of the major ones is that these requests usually are made in a form letter that was obviously sent out to everybody that replied, rather than just a few likely candidates. As a result, the writer would be taking a lot of time to prepare a custom sample that is going to compete with 200 other custom samples. The odds just aren't good enough to justify taking that time away from paying work.

The other problem is, of course, that many of those requests for "samples" are actually scams - the "client" asks every respondant to write or edit a different piece, and as a result gets a lot of work performed without having to pay for it.

The risks are just too many, as far as I'm concerned, so I always very politely redirect them to my online portfolio (which they already received a link to in my initial email and on my resume).

Although this happens periodically, a few incidents in particular caught my attention recently. One was a response to my email that stated:

In lieu of reading dozens of resumes, I am really just interested in seeing how you write. If you want to apply for this position, write a short ad of 200 words or less pitching the following program...

He then described a very specific ad that he wanted written, including the intended audience and a special sale. His email ended with, "The best ad gets the job!"

This irritated me in several ways. One, he doesn't bother telling me how many other writers are taking the "test," leading me to believe that probably all 200 or so respondants are being requested to write a sample. There's a lot of potential for a scam there, especially since there's no mention in the email of who he is, what his business is, etc.

Two, his choice of words screams "Liar!" He claims that he doesn't want to read "dozens of resumes," yet he's basically setting himself up for reading dozens of 200-word ads. Seriously - how long does it take to look at a resume, skim the first section (which is all that usually gets read), and move it into the "keep" or "discard" pile? Certainly not any longer than it does to read a 200-word ad and decide where it ranks.

Basically, either this guy is extremely inconsiderate by making every applicant write a sample, whether or not they're truly suited for the job; OR he is running a scam and asking each applicant to write something different. I resent him the link to my portfolio, and offered to do a paid trial run - basically telling him that I'll write any sample he wants if he pays me for it. I never heard back.

But although you can't win them all, you can definitely win some. I responded to an ad the other day with a price quote and an explanation of why I'm the perfect writer for the job. I got the job, as well as the right to quote future work as it becomes available (rather than tying me into my present rate, which is slightly lower due to the the project being an easy one). Although it's not as stunning a success as the first example would have been, it's still good to know that my sales skills aren't the problem.

Labels: advice for writers, clients, freelancing, freelancing admin, job search, lowlife clients, payment issues