“Because I could have done it myself!”

... or how sometimes the ability to say NO to clients becomes a freelancer’s greatest asset.  

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a princess locked in a tower so high, it blocked the sun in the sky. She was guarded by a bloodcurdling dragon, awaiting year on year her noble prince to come and rescue her from this tragic fate.

One day, after seasons of travel, hundreds of miles and gruesome fights behind him – the prince finally arrived. He slayed the dragon, broke into the tower and freed his beloved.

The prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after.

…. Flash-forward to 2019, the land is the UK, the princess is a graphic design experience lacking client living in the tower of never-ending demands, guarded by the dragon of technological challenge. The prince – is all of us, awaiting the alarmed call of the maiden, with our Wacoms under arm instead of shields and our pens in hand instead of swords.

We come to the rescue in a time of need and although most times we are able to achieve greatness & reach our “ever after” with a happy customer and an invoice paid on time, lamentably there are also instances when we just have to accept that this particular princess may be beyond our powers of rescue. That the client she manifests through will never be 100% satisfied or happy with our work and that we won’t get to live merrily in a castle until the end of time.

Clients come in all shapes and sizes. From all backgrounds, experiences and mind-sets imaginable. With some, we achieve success, with others – not so much…

We absolutely do need to be grateful for all the experiences we get and for all the lessons we learn. However, when a client is not only what some may consider difficult or challenging, but also rude and/or disrespectful, we must equally appreciate the fact that we actually DO get to pick whom we will and whom we will not work with.  

Time and time again, I have seen fellow artists go through, what can only be described as hell and back, for projects which bring no personal nor professional gain, in a network which doesn’t contribute to their development either. Thus, sacrificing their physical and mental well-being, their peace and their work life balance. Even though right now I am in a position of privilege where I have a full-time job I love, which supports me while working on other illustration projects part-time, I have myself in the past also accepted any creative work at any cost, regardless of the personal damage it may cause.

Learning when, where and how to draw the line has been very difficult and this is a process that is different for each profession, each client, each project and each individual’s personal circumstances. Regardless of any discomfort it may cause, feeling the need to say NO, is not an artist’s failure. It is simply a part of what sometime seems a more political process than a creative one –

I. “I can’t pay you, but will you do this for exposure - I have 5k followers on IG?”  - No

II. “You did it for free for X, can’t you throw in a freebie for me too?” – No

III. “Can’t you just make X yourself even though I have not set a brief and don’t email you back nor answer any of your questions/phone calls?” – No

IV.  “Can’t I pay you after you’ve finished the work AND done all these changes?” – No

V. “Can’t I actually not pay you for any of the changes AT ALL, even though I agreed on the pricing and revisions structure from the beginning, especially because I could have done this myself?” – NO

VI. “Can’t you continue doing changes for me without payment even though I am not even sure what changes I want?” – NO

VII. “Can you just produce X amount more of these illustrations/prints/books/etc and I’ll pay you after they’re delivered?” – NO!

VIII.  “Can you extend the invoice terms even though you’ve already done it twice, ending in  a six-month extension on a ￡150 invoice?” – NO!

IX. “Can you just continue working ONLY on this because I ask for a turn around time of yesterday - without any sleep at all, while I call you 50 times a day to see how things are moving along?” – NOOO!

X. “Can I just use some other work of yours for my own commercial ventures without any accreditation nor paying you royalties at all?” – NOOOO!

These types of questions go on and on and on… to list them all, we’d be here forever.

The one thing they all have in common is ultimately - the answer which should follow them. How it is presented, communicated and adorned is up to us, but NO, remains the only viable option if in the end of it all we wish to pursue our passions while being able to afford rent & groceries, whilst also retaining our sanity and well-being at the same time.

Basically, if after fighting beasts and trekking mountains, the prince finally reaches the tower, slays the dragon, climbs to the window and the princess still isn’t happy demanding the Moon, Sun AND Stars… In real life he’d just go down to the local pub and have a pint with his mates proclaiming: “That was a mad one!”, then they’d pat him on the shoulder and continue shouting “DEFENSE?!” while Liverpool vs. Man City plays in the background.

Equally, the best way to deal with troublesome or offensive clients is to simply disengage them and go on our merry way, searching for the next “ever after” or in the words of a wise man -

“If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.” Mo Willems, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs