Freelance writing–whether you write copy, content or features–is a feast or famine endeavor.

 

And it isn’t because writers like me aren’t top-notch.

 

It’s because clients tend to confirm a project, state the date it will start, and then–on the date their project is slated to start, or the night before–say they’re “a little behind schedule–“life happens”–and they’ll be sure to get the source materials or talking points to me “in the next day or two”–and then they don’t…again!

 

It can go on like this for weeks, sometimes months.

 

Right now I have five confirmed clients (with $5K worth of work they want me to do for them) hovering in this manner. Any day now–any moment now, in fact–any of them can get back to me, ready to roll, with their deadline closer than it’s ever been before.

 

As a newbie freelance writer 12 years ago, my inclination  was to wait for one or more of them to get back to me, so I hesitated to find something else to do in the interim. That caused me to fall into a scary and often-painful “feast or famine” type of existence–doing fine some months and barely scratching by on others.

 

It didn’t take me long to figure out that looking for work needs to be a daily process.  I need to be constantly on the lookout for long-term clients, short-term clients, and one-off clients so my writing schedule remains as robust as I want it to be.

 

These days, as a semi-retired freelance writer with a very slight monthly Social Security check and a puny pension, I’m not as dependent as I once was on freelance writing, but I love to write and still want to work–and need to, because Social Security and the pension just barely cover my cost of living and I don’t want to feel on the edge of disaster every month should my car need repairs, one of my pets needs veterinary care, or I want to take a short trip requiring gas, or if I just plain want to take a break for a few days.

 

I know a lot of freelance writers aren’t at the stage where they can work just part-time; to survive and thrive as writers, they must work full-time. So I hope my strategy helps.

 

Always be looking for work, whatever that looks like to you: business networking, online freelance platforms (Upwork, Thumbtack, Fiver, etc.), running craigslist and other free or low-cost ads, etc.

 

You never know if your new clients will be Johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to showing up when they say they will, or if you’ll find yourself with a hole in your writing schedule that will cost you money instead of earning it.

 

If clients don’t come in as scheduled and don’t communicate why and when you can next expect to hear from them, follow up! Ask them immediately; don’t be shy. (You’re a provider–like a doctor, dentist, attorney or surgeon–not a hired hand. Your work schedule requires answers.)

 

You’ll be able to tell by their replies, most times, how confident they are that they can commit to a new date. (It’s true: life does happen, and death happens, and people get sick, and sometimes working life has to stop for a time until fires are put out and your clients can get back to their businesses. No harm, no foul, but you shouldn’t be left flat-footed when it happens; you should have something else to do.)

 

If you get a new client and an older one suddenly drops back into your lap, their hiccup or crisis over, don’t feel obligated to delay serving the new client until you find out which of the two projects are most deadline-driven, and which are most valuable to you as a provider.

 

The clients who didn’t engage when they said they would will usually understand that your schedule doesn’t allow you to sit and wait for them and that you now have another client whose project will just take a day or two, so they’ll have to be patient with you, as you were with them.

 

If they flip a switch and start giving you a hard time when you say this to them, that’s your first clue that they consider you a mere “hired hand”, not a professional provider, and that they’ll probably become a thorn in your side as a result. Consider letting them go (or at least not working with them again until they develop a firmer understanding of your professional needs and why you need to keep your project pipeline filling up…)

 

Because I’m proactive, when a client can’t commit on the date he or she said a project could commence, I simply say, “Not a problem. Your deadline is mine. What’s your projected date for when your project will get to me?” and I make a note of that.

 

I also say, “Just be aware that I need to keep my writing schedule filled, so let me know as soon as you do if the new date isn’t going to work for you, because I pop people into my writing schedule on an almost daily basis and I’d hate to be double-booked on the date you need me. I don’t want to have to make you wait if I can avoid it.”

 

This way, they have a firm understanding that you’ll do the best you can to serve them on the day they want, but that unless they keep you in the loop, there will never be a guarantee that you can start work on the day they are scheduled to get back to you.

 

I also never work on weekends (to catch up with tardy clients or serve new ones) unless additional RUSH fees of $100 per weekend day are agreed to. Again, I’m a professional provider, not a sweatshop worker; I need time to rest my brain and live life as a retiree.

 

If you aren’t a retiree, you need down time, too, or your product or service won’t stay up to snuff. Burning the midnight oil seven days a week is a recipe for disaster in any field of endeavor, but especially when it comes to Creatives; we need to be fresh and alert to make sure we’re able to give our best every time, because reviews and testimonials last forever in cyberspace. One off day, and it can take months to recover from a single sub-par review.

 

Go thou and do likewise!