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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Your Schedule vs. The Client’s Schedule

April 16, 2008 by Anne Wayman  
Filed under Jobs

sundial.jpgDoes any of this sound familiar to you?

  1. You schedule phone meeting with a client that’s to last at least an hour.
  2. You make sure nothing interferes, including putting off at least one other client.
  3. The appointment is confirmed the day before.
  4. The hour arrives and there’s no phone call.
  5. 25 minutes past the start of the call, you call the client’s assistant…

Every now and again I run into a ghostwriting client who may actually be too busy to do what’s necessary to get a book written. Well, that’s not exactly what I mean. In this case I know the client wants it done… but we may be facing a place where he has to turn what would normally be his part – reading and commenting on draft chapters – over to an assistant.

Of course, the problem with this approach is that the client will want to read the book by the time the assistant and I get to the end of it, or at least will before it’s printed, and that will mean a lot of changes that could have been avoided if I could have gotten to the client during the writing.

Another solution may be for me to travel to the client (at the client’s expense of course) and get face-to-face. Sometimes, if you’re right there, a busy client will find a way to sit down with you, at least several times during a day.

There are probably other ways to work that out… ideas would be appreciated!

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

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Comments

5 Responses to “Your Schedule vs. The Client’s Schedule”
  1. Kathleen L says:

    What about setting up an IM-ing session?
    I am being interviewed, today, at a set time. I requested the IM-ing via MSN or Yahoo and it was requested I use the one that is on their system “Skype”. It was a free download that Download.com has already checked out. If I choose, I can un-install Skype after the interview.

    Additionally, I purchased a Webcam and Microphone. It cost about $30 and was easy to set up. Thus saving you and your clients time and expenses.

  2. Anne Wayman says:

    Kathleen, all those can be excellent options.

  3. Katherine says:

    Personally, I wouldn’t go out of my way. I’d tell the client that I can’t work on it unless he makes time to contact me. Otherwise, progress will be stalled. Then, I’d find new work because this project will obviously be a slow one!

  4. Kathleen L says:

    Katherine ~~ sounds like I could learn not to be at the “mercy” of the client. Hummm, now that I see it I realize I already knew that, but I need to put it into practice. Thanks for your lesson.

  5. Anne Wayman says:

    We call it practice for a reason… none of us were born knowing this stuff :)

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