3 Issues That Could Drive Your Writer Away

Ever had difficulty finding the right writer to work with you? Believe it or not, writing clients sometimes send mixed signals to writers, resulting in a less than ideal client relationship. Here are some issues clients can handle to improve their relationship with writers.

1. No Payment For Writing Samples

Take the question of writing sample. As a client, you want to see what a writer can do before you make a hiring decision. There’s no problem with that, on the face of it. But many writers have been affected by unscrupulous people who ask dozens of writers for samples so they end up getting the whole job for free. It’s no wonder some writers are wary, which makes potential clients wary in turn.

To avoid this unhelpful spiral, offer writers the chance to do a paid sample of work. That way they know they will get paid and you know you will get the relationship off to a good start. Alternatively, check out writers’ portfolios and speak to the people they have worked with before to get reassurance about their credentials.

2. Making Them Wait Too Long For Payment

As we’ve seen, the question of payment can be a red flag for both clients and writers. Here's another way that plays out. No client really wants to pay up front; no writer wants to wait till the end of a job for payment.

The reason? Almost every professional writer can tell you about the one that got away – the one client who got work out of them and then ended up not paying. I’ve got one of those stories myself, thanks to a formerly model client who fell down the rabbit hole after a teensy weensy drug problem and never came out again. He took $500 with him – and I never saw that money again.

That’s why many writers want a deposit before they start work as a sign of good faith. Fifty per cent is pretty standard, though some writers are happy to negotiate smaller, phased instalments to work with your budget. And if you hire a writer through a third-party site, an escrow system protects both of you.

Finally, whatever arrangement you make, paying on time is the best guarantee of a good relationship with your chosen writer. A writer will accept late payment for only so long before searching for another client who can keep their part of the agreement.

3. Poor Communication

Communication is another thorny issue in the writer-client relationship. And that's the same whether there's too much of it - or too little.

Writers get a bit antsy when they can’t get hold of the client to ask crucial questions. And when that’s followed by a request to produce everything yesterday, writers can’t help feeling that they don’t have a mutually respectful relationship (which is what most professionals want). Specifying how to communicate and when you will be reachable is your part of making sure that writers can meet your deadlines.

At the other end of the scale, nitpicking on every little detail tells writers you don’t trust them, which is another warning sign. If you have done your homework, you should have hired a writer who can do the job and tell your story, so let them do what you are paying them for, so you can do other things. Micromanaging your writers won’t help either of you, and writers will soon go elsewhere.

Avoid these three trouble spots and you’re set for a mutually beneficial relationship with your writer.

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This is an updated version of 3 Issues That May Drive Your Writer Away