One of the big challenges of working with other writers is making sure that you all have the same attitude towards deadlines. Every now and then you may have too much work and you may get help from another writer. However, you can’t guarantee that the writer will deliver on the same timescale as you would. I’ve had this happen to me a few times:
- There was the writer who pretended to be ill and stopped answering emails till I said I had reassigned the job.
- There was the writer who farmed out the job to someone else who didn’t deliver the goods and then had the nerve to warn me about copyright. (My thought, though I didn’t say it, was: ‘If you can sell that to someone else, good luck, but there’s no way I can give that to the client.’)
- More recently, I’ve been working with a writer who has a fluid approach to deadlines. The first batch was a day late, which didn’t matter because it was only for checking. The next batch of five came in on the deadline, except that it was a batch of three. The two that I should have received the next day became one, and as I type this (two days after the original deadline), I am still waiting for the final article.
The writer is new, so I am giving him some slack, but I won’t be able to do it for long. My reputation with my clients rests on being able to deliver the agreed job on the agreed date. Yes, there are times when you need to renegotiate a deadline, but I keep them to a minimum, so clients know they will get excellent work delivered on time. For me, that’s part of being a professional writer, so any writer who works with me has to work that way too.
There are ways that you can address this, such as setting a slightly earlier deadline for the work to make sure that you receive it on time, but it’s not foolproof. What are your strategies for working with other writers?
Article by Sharon Hurley Hall
Sharon Hurley Hall has been mentoring writers here at Get Paid To Write Online since 2005 to help them improve and build sustainable and successful writing careers. Check me out on sharonhh.com. Feel free to connect with me online on Google+.
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{ 14 comments }
I’m learning to strategize now as I’m following in your footsteps with subbing out some of my work. I’m still getting to know my team. I’m trying to really pad the deadlines so I have leeway as I’ve had a few lates already and one no-show with some really lame excuses. Very tricky. I’m hoping to quickly learn who I can depend on!
At the moment:
I have one team member who delivers on time with virtually error-free work but she can’t take a lot from me. Wish I could give her everything, lol.
I have one team member who delivers on time but requires lots if edits so I have to read everything over and spend lots of time editing so I’m planning to use her now for her reliability but will have to get strict about quality as I get busier.
Another writer is really good but has been delivering a little late so I am not going to be giving her much work unless I have lots of room. If she keeps being late, I’ll just have to stop using her.
And, I’ve got two new people that I’m still trying to figure out.
You are so right about the deadline being so important. Our reputations depend on it!
The padding of the deadline is essential, as I, too, have been bitten by the assumption that people will deliver on-time, error-free copy.
Unfortunately, it really takes trial and error, because you really can’t know until you know. You just have to try people out, and keep the ones that work in a way that minimizes your stress and maximizes your productivity. However, be ruthless with the ones that don’t and chop them off at the knees.
My beautiful tattooed hair stylist — who ran her own business until the co-owner drove her nuts — once told me, “Never partner up with anyone whose work ethic is weaker than yours.”
Smart woman.
In more than ten years as a freelancer, I’ve tried only a few times to work with other writers and have decided that isn’t what I want to do. I spent about twenty years as a business owner, and employees (I had nearly 20) were always my biggest headache. Now that I am a freelancer, I don’t want to deal with those kinds of problems. Of course, when you sub out to work to other writers, they are independent contractors, not employees. However, that doesn’t mean they will be reliable and produce quality work.
Great post! I’ve learned to definitely pad my outsourcing deadlines. I had a gal last fall that I split a project with. It was writing these ridiculous paragraphs, and she had 60. It was due on a Saturday and by Friday night she had sent me 10 (she had the project for two weeks already).
Needless to say, I started scrambling and pulling in as many other writers as I could find on Friday morning. When I told her that I was pulling her off of the rest of the project, she said
“But you said I had until Saturday…this is unfair!”
I couldn’t do anything but laugh at that point. Of course I should have assumed she could do 50 in less than 24 hours when it took her 2 weeks to deliver 10….
Yes. We all face deadlines. The unfortunate part is that online writers end up slacking a little more than the offline ones
Yes, I don’t have a problem with renegotiating, Laura, especially before you agree to a job. I’ve done it myself when necessary. However, if you commit to a deadline and there’s no emergency, then there’s no excuse for missing it.
Twitter: TXWriter
September 25, 2007 at 16:23
I think that once a writer commits to a deadline, they should do everything in their power to meet the deadline. If a true emergency arises (and the type of emergencies that keep you from meeting a deadline are rare), then they should notify their team leader as soon as possible. However, I do think that it is acceptable and even crucial to negotiate deadlines before committing to them. That’s one way to keep from being caught with a deadline you can’t meet.
Oh, I don’t know, Pervara. I remember plenty of goofing off in my magazine office. Most of the writers I work with are excellent writers who are reliable and professional. The ones who aren’t soon decide to go elsewhere.
I think one of the hardest lessons to learn about working with other people, Dana, whether in the writing field or any other, is that everyone is not like you. Once you can accept that, then it’s easier to find ways to work with other people’s methods in a way that doesn’t compromise your own.
I wouldn’t want to mess with you, Lisa. You’re right, sometimes you need to protect your reputation, even if it means terminating your working relationship with another writer. Luckily, I’ve not had to do that too often. The writers who work with me regularly are all at the top of their game.
Pithy, sensible advice, Glenn. Thanks for stopping by.
Lol, Courtney. I’ve had similar experiences. Sometimes you need to make a judgment call and save the job.
Although they are not employees, you are the one who’s ultimately responsible for their performance, at least as far as the client’s concerned, so I guess the lesson is to choose wisely, Lillie.