Wise Advice

Veteran authors share their experience

with Sam Greengard, Florence Isaacs, Ben Kamin, Russell Wild and Minda Zetlin

Q:A new client, a marketing consultant, is sending me steady work (two 750-page reports per month for at least a year). It's part of a bigger project that she's running for her client, a large corporation. My problem: My client seems to view me as a project-team member, rather than a freelancer. She wants me to attend weekly phone meetings, follow the client's Twitter feed, comment on other project materials, etc. I agreed to write two reports per month at a per-word fee—which I cut to get the job—and this other stuff seems way outside that agreement. On the other hand, she's giving me lots of work. Do I need to set boundaries here? If so, how?

Ben Kamin

Because parameters were not clearly established at the outset, this difficulty may have now set in. Or, the client is simply indulgent. Either way, a phone conversation, friendly but firm, has to take place during which the writer establishes: a) the great value to him/her of the account and the relationship; b) the sense that he/she is "uncomfortable" with what has become a trend, and the taking of responsibility for a good deal of this new awkwardness; c) a clear explanation of the details of the problem; d) "How do we get back to the way we started?"

After coming to a good understanding, an email should follow reiterating the nature of the relationship, with many thanks going forward.

Russell Wild

Ah, the per-word formula of remuneration.... Where does this craziness come from? Has it ever made sense? Anyone who has freelanced for any time knows that $2/word is not necessarily going to make you any richer or happier than working for, say, $1.50/word....It depends on how much research, how much rewriting, and how much (in your case) extracurricular activity is involved in a project. If any of those factors means that the per-word formula you worked out with a client is not working out to your financial benefit, then you need to address it. Yours is not a boundary issue. If the client wanted to, say, have long chats with you about her sad love life, or her child's hyperactivity, that would be a boundary issue. In your case, your being asked to follow the client's Tweets or comment on project material is indisputably within the boundaries of your work.... Clock the time you're actually spending with such activities, and discuss it with your client. Added compensation, if you decide you are being undercompensated, might take the form of a special payment, or you can perhaps tuck it into a higher per-word formula. Minda Zetlin

It sounds like she's not actually asking you to produce extra work (with one exception) but to be well informed about the client. Assuming you want this customer for the long term, that's a good thing.

Following someone on Twitter takes only a few seconds, and is something I usually do for all clients whether they ask me or not. Attending weekly meetings is obviously more of a hassle, especially if they're long meetings. Commenting on other projects is the exception noted above—in this instance, she is asking you for further work. Is she simply asking your opinion at the weekly meetings, or looking for detailed comments and suggestions in writing? If the latter, you can and should be paid an hourly rate for that work, which clearly is outside the scope of writing reports.

I tend to think that if you were happy with your pay, you would simply feel these other tasks were part of the job. That makes me think you're sorry you cut your fee and would like to now ask for more. If so, you can use the meetings and input on other projects as a reason, explaining that you had not figured in this extra time when you originally came up with your price.

Sam Greengard

This problem is as complicated or as simple as you make it. The reality is that you are performing a certain amount of work and receiving a certain amount of money. What does this add up to per hour? Is it within the bounds of what you want to earn? If so, then perhaps it's wise to do the work and accept that you're getting paid for all these ancillary activities. On the other hand, if the hourly figure comes out low, you need to increase your billing rate.

If the latter is the case, why not tell the client that you must charge extra for the other activities because they fall outside the bounds of the scope of the project? I'd probably say something like: "I've found that there's a lot more time involved with this work than I originally envisioned." Propose a fee structure and explain that you're willing to work with the client so that you're both able to get what you need out of these projects. The worst that can happen is the client says "no" and you're in no worse place than you are now. As long as you don't threaten or corner the client, there should be no ill will.

Florence Isaacs

The time to set boundaries is early in the game. But even at this late date, how can it hurt to broach the subject, as long as you think through what you're going to say, avoid "demands," and come across as cooperative? In your place, I'd say something like, "I've been attending weekly phone meetings, etc. for over a year, adding up to _ hours of unpaid time a month, which goes well beyond my contract. I feel I need to be compensated, and I'd really appreciate your help." What if she says "no"? She's highly unlikely to say just that, and will probably give excuses instead, such as "Business is bad and we can't afford it." In that case, you can revisit the issue in six months (and six months after that). Or you can negotiate and suggest that instead of receiving compensation, you skip some or all of the phone meetings and/or other duties you'd most like to eliminate.