One of the hardest parts about being a writer is dealing with clients who are subcontracting the work out. Why is that? Well, you not only have to worry about what your clients are going to say - although they are the ones that leave the review - you also worry about how the end client is going to take the work.
For example:
I recently had a client who hired me to do some work for him that he was hired to do for a client. Well, everything seemed to go along fine except for one thing. He never made an order. He actually got upset with me that I hadn't done the work for him. Well, I explained to him that I never got an order from him. When he realized his mistake, he apologized, made the order and then I proceeded to do the work.
I wait until practically the last minute to send in the work - edit the material carefully, rereading it, rearranging it and making sure that it's in tip-top shape. Not just for my client but his client too. My client absolutely LOVED what I wrote... Left a glowing feedback and that was that!
Fast forward to this morning - hence the reason I decided to write today - I wake up to find that he's very sorry but he'll need to cancel our new order. He hates the idea because he said he absolutely love what I wrote. The problem is with his client... she didn't! He said he believes it's more of a style issue than the actual writing. I have to agree!
She's also a journalist, and we have our own ways of doing things. My thinking is this... it's not going to matter who he hires to write for him and her... she's not going to be happy with the end result UNLESS she is the one writing it!
I've been there so I know. Sometimes the only person that can do it best is yourself!
This is the biggest issue with being a subcontractor for two clients. The person you're dealing with may be perfectly happy with your material, but the person they are dealing with may have a total different take on it.
Needless to say, I am glad the topic is off my hands BUT it does kinda suck that she didn't like it! But, again, it's all about taste. I'm just glad MY client loved it... even if she didn't!
In the end, I did my job to the best of my abilities. If she wants it a different way, she needs to do it herself because no one who is going to meet her expectations.
That's my two cents on the matter. Do you have any horror stories about being a subcontractor or something similar?
