Writers, What Would You Do? Broken Appointments
May 6, 2008 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
I’m going through one of those periods that astrologers lay off to mars in retrograde… lots of smallish things going wrong, and a couple of larger ones too. I won’t go into all the details, but I’m also having trouble with a clients, and I’d like your advice.
The first is a smallish contract for a book proposal. The client wants me to create a sample chapter and the rest of the sales pitch so she can circulate it to agents and/or publishers. We get along well, have had several phone appointments and are, I think (and she’s so indicated) closing in on her really quite unique style. In the last few days, she’s broken two, maybe three telephone appointments. She’s had a good reason, for each, but… and when I suggested a particular time on Friday she asked if instead I could meet with her on Saturday.
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No, I wouldn’t. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere. For me, it’s working weekends. If you’re available 24/7 to your clients, it ends up making you look unprofessional. And it’s not your fault that the appointments fall through.
I would just tell the client that I’m not available for weekend contact and to set it up for Monday.
I agree. If you normally don’t work weekends there’s no reason to start now…especially for a smallish contract. When the big ones come in with their delightful six figure advances…that’s when you start working weekends and midnights.
I wouldn’t break my schedule for her since she can’t keep appointments. Who’s to say that she will even keep an appointment with you on Saturday? I’d tell her “Sorry but it will have to wait until Monday.”
Great client, not great money? I’d do the Saturday. Great money, not great client? I’d do the Saturday.
Otherwise, a weekday works just fine.
I’m surprised by the answers. Freelancing isn’t a 9 to 5 job. I find that many of the people I deal with are so busy during the week, the only time they can talk on the phone without interruptions is after “normal” working hours.
That doesn’t mean you have to sit home and wait for her call, but I can’t see what’s wrong with doing business on Saturday – every retail store in America does it.
Cynthia, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with working Saturday or Sunday if that’s what you choose… and it’s the choice I’m interested in. In the case I cited there was no need for a Saturday meeting to meet a deadline or anything, it was just that my client had canceled two meetings during the m-f work week and I didn’t see why I should give up my weekend because she had problems.