All work at home freelance writers need to bid for jobs or work for an agent who does the bidding for them. Either that, or they only work part time.
Reality of a Freelance Writing Job
The reality will some day hit that your organization skills are lacking. Or, you might have just made a stupid bid. I've done that. I did it this weekend. I promised to write 1000 articles in 10 days.
Everyone in the industry knows this will happen. Most people will work around it, or put the job back up for bid. There are a few who will try to strong arm you. Just refuse to work for them. If clients have a bad attitude, then you are not going to get paid - or they will force you to edit the piece over and over.
Get Paid to Write
There are a lot of differences in the types of writing jobs. If you are being paid .01 a word, then it is taken into consideration that the piece will not be a brilliant thesis. It will be an article that is written quickly, and if you are a good writer, not edited. It will be written for search engine eyes only, and maybe the odd person.
If you get paid $10.00 for a one page article, then it will be written for human consumption, edited, and researched.
It is very important to understand this when bidding. I have seen many freelance writers bid to low on articles meant for humans, and too high for articles meant for search engines.
Bidding Mistakes on Freelance Jobs
If you do make a mistake, contact the client immediately. Tell them the problem, and offer one or two solutions. Keep it simple.
"I am five days behind because __________. Would you like me to a) do this _______ b) do this _________."
Be clear, and be conscience. However, a better way is to be clear in a bid. This is what I write, this is what I want to be paid, this is how much I can do in a day. Never just leave a bid "I can do this job for XXX" First, you probably will not get the job. Second, you are 'setting yourself up' as a victim of an unscrupulous client.
The best way to avoid problems is to address them immediately. As soon as you win a project tell the client that you want to discuss the project on MSN/Yahoo etc. Or, get a private chat room and agree to meet them at a predetermined time. Find out exactly what they want, and what type of person they are. If you feel like they are going to be difficult, you have a chance to drop the project.
Even if you are bidding in a project bidding site with a 'leave comment' section, you can do this. I always try to wait until the client leaves a comment first. If they won't, then I write something like "The demands of this job far exceeded what was listed in the bid offer. I made my bid based on the offer, and do not have the time available to handle the extra workload the client expected. I am afraid this offended the client, I am sorry.'
A comment like this does two things. It is polite and professional, attracting the attention of potential client's. It lets people know that they cannot pull one over on you, or you will pull out. And, if the client slams you when they leave a comment - their comment will look like emotional abuse.
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