On the Job
On the Job
Having a contract that spells out the rates, scope, and payment terms of the document or project you will be working on is essential. The contract should detail exactly what work you will be expected to do as well as the expected duration of the project. You should also consider stipulating that costs could change if issues or problems arise or if the client asks for additional (or less) work. No one likes to be surprised by additional charges.
There are many templates available on the Internet. You will just want to make sure you pick a template that's right for you. There are many books about freelance work and starting your own business, and you should have no trouble finding a guide to writing legal documents. However, it's imperative that you remember to outline every contingency in your contracts. There is no template or guide on this planet that knows your specific situation.
You will certainly want to outline copyright and acknowledgement issues at the contract stage of your relationship with a new client.
If your job is strictly editing or proofreading, copyright considerations generally aren't an issue, as the author or institution producing the material will likely retain all rights. If you end up doing any writing, or even think that you might, it's worth discussing rights before you start work. A publication will probably have a complex range of rights up for negotiation. Most other organizations will offer only a work-for-hire type contract for writing assignments (that is, you are writing for them and give up all rights to the work). In some situations, work-for-hire will be perfectly acceptable, as you are not likely going to want to (or even be able to) resell the article you wrote on P32 Model 6vA widgets. In other cases, you'll have to consider your options and your long-term goals.
If you want credit for your work as a proofreader, you need to negotiate that with your client. For example, if you are going to be producing advertising copy for a company, it is ideal that you be able to use the work you produce, at least as examples of your talents.
In business, one should never, under any circumstances, discard documents haphazardly. For legal reasons and for tax purposes, documents such as contracts, invoices, bank and credit card statements, and receipts can save your business if your accounting of things is ever challenged.
A contract explicitly lays out your responsibilities as a proofreader. It is a legally binding document, so if you run into a situation in which a client refuses payment, you can pursue payment through the legal system. However, just because you're done with a job doesn't mean you should get rid of your contract.
Old contracts are useful because, after years of freelancing for many different clients, you will have a wealth of templates to use in any situation that might arise. When you are presented with a new and unique business opportunity, it would be helpful for you to look back over previous contracts. Sometimes items from different contracts can be cut and pasted together. That way you won't have to write an entirely new contract, and you'll reduce the chance that you will forget to include essential items.
Keep copies of all financial transactions for tax reporting purposes, including copies of all receipts, bank and credit card statements, and health care expenses for yourself and your employees. The general rule is to hold onto these documents for seven years.
Develop an orderly filing system for all your financials, as it is important that you be able to locate any document at any time for any reason. If your accountant or a government tax agency calls and requests a document, you'll know exactly how to find it.
At some point in our lives, we all have to deal with nasty situations with clients. Sometimes these situations arise because of the client's personality, and sometimes they arise because of the work involved. While these situations are typically few and far between, it's important to be prepared for them. Let's look at a few of the more common problems people run into.
Occasionally, a client will ask for discounts on rates. When this happens, you'll have to ask yourself a few questions. First, how valuable is the client? Was obtaining the client a long and arduous process? Does the client provide steady work? Does the client provide easy work? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to consider providing an occasional discount.
However, clients that constantly demand discounts can end up costing you a good deal of time and money. If it costs money to keep a client, then you are giving your work away for free. This isn't a good habit to get into.
Whatever the case, be cautious, remain professional, and attempt to negotiate with the client. If you are unable to satisfy the client, do everything you can to part ways in a friendly manner, even if it means eating some of the costs. After all, replacing a client that costs you money with a client that earns you money will effectively negate any smaller losses you may have incurred. You also want to avoid burning bridges or earning bad online reviews, as this would hinder your ability to find new clients.
This one doesn't have so much to do with the problems you face with clients as it has to do with problems with too many clients. What happens if you get to the point where you have too much work to do?
The first, and perhaps easiest, thing you can do is work for longer periods of time. Start an hour earlier, and stop an hour later. Or start two hours earlier and take a longer break in the afternoon. Then, finish your work two hours later. Just make sure you are not working longer hours for weeks at a time.
Your next option is to work faster. There are many shortcuts you can take throughout the day that provide you with more time to do work for your clients. However, you don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity. If you get a lot of work done, but all that work is terrible, it's better to move on to your third option.
When these first two options fail, you may want to consider turning down work. Obviously, you don't want to lose business. If you must turn down work, avoid turning down established clients at all costs. If you are approached by a new client, explain your situation. Say that you have a backlog of work and you can't take any new projects on. If you can find a way to do so tastefully, indicate that your work is very high quality and in high demand. You would be astonished at how many people will return after being turned down because you've given the impression you provide quality content.
Sometimes people want the impossible. If a client suggests a deadline that is truly unmanageable, and you don't have any way of negotiating a new deadline, refuse the work. We don't say this lightly. Refusing work is never optimal. But if a client asks, for example, for 40,000 words to be proofread in two days, you know that, if you follow that deadline, the work you turn in will not be worth the client's money, and you know that you will be sacrificing your own hard-established work ethic to get the job done. Try your best to negotiate something more reasonable, and turn down the job if it cannot be done. It's better not to do a job at all than to take the money and turn in sub-par work.
We should also stress that you should never accept a project without a deadline. Deadlines are necessary for both clients and for proofreaders. They let clients know that work is being done in an organized manner, and they help proofreaders develop consistent and predictable work habits.
Invoices are typically paid within about 60 days. Sometimes clients pay for a job as soon as it is completed, and some clients have to send their invoices through several bureaucratic channels at their place of employment. While most clients, and most people, are honest and pay their bills, the sad fact of life is that some clients don't pay on time, and some never pay at all.
Luckily, non-payment isn't that common of an issue. Invoices get lost on desks and in stacks of paper, and often all that's needed is a friendly reminder that a bill is due. Send your first reminder 45 days after the invoice has been sent. A written reminder should be sufficient. If you have not received correspondence or payment after 60 days, make a friendly phone call and send a written reminder. After 75 days, you will want to be a bit more firm, but remember to remain friendly. After 90 days, you may need to consider legal action. We can't really stress enough how important it is for you to stay friendly throughout this process. It isn't a personal issue; it's a business issue. Keep it professional.
Some people cannot be pleased. We've all met people like this. They ask you to complete a job in three days and then email after one day asking if the job is done. When you complete the job in two and a half days, they express displeasure, even though they originally asked for the job to be done in three days. When dealing with individuals like this, follow these general guidelines.
Explain the way you work. Perhaps the client doesn't understand how the work is completed. After explaining your processes, the client may be perfectly happy. It is often the case that clients themselves understand their projects less than you do.
Ask the client to outline exactly what he or she doesn't like about your work. Show an interest in all complaints and take an active part in fixing the problems that are brought to your attention.
Don't get defensive. Even if you are personally attacked, stay professional. Ask for constructive criticism and maintain the focus on the work itself.
Don't take rudeness personally, even if the client seems to be intentionally trying to attack you directly. As a professional, you should always take the high road.
Often, staying professional turns a tense situation into a positive experience. Consider this scenario: a graduate student that has been hard at work on her dissertation asks you to do a final proofread of a draft. She's been working long days and late nights for months, eating poorly, and sleeping infrequently. You pour your heart and soul into the proofread and end up doing quite a bit more work than you typically do for a proofread because you want to satisfy the client. The draft is in pretty rough shape when you start work, so you do everything you can to make improvements. When she receives the proofread draft of her dissertation, she calls you and tells you that you did a terrible job and you are a terrible proofreader. Maybe she even calls you a few choice names. Instead of yelling back and telling her that her draft was terrible to begin with, you speak calmly with her, ask her what kinds of issues she has with your work, and offer to explain why you made the decisions you made and fix anything that was clearly done in error. By the end of the conversation, the student apologizes and explains the stress she's under. You agree to do a final pass on her document, and she thanks you. Things couldn't have happened more perfectly.
Unfortunately, some people don't have valid reasons for their behavior. They are not under stress, they are just rude and abusive individuals. If you find yourself in a situation where you are being verbally abused by a client, simply thank them for their work and cut off contact. There is no need to "tell them how you feel" or inform them that you won't work with abusive clients. Just walk away. If you act professionally, it will only reflect positively on you.
We can boil this lesson down to two key points:
Keep accurate, detailed records.
Stay professional.
If you keep detailed records and maintain your professionalism, all the other instructions we have provided in this lesson will logically follow. Now, it's time for you to get out there and get some work done . . . after you take your last test.
Last Updated: 09/09/2022