Crestfallen

Stiadle said:

I stayed up all night meeting a clients tight deadline for several pages of copy, and when I deliver it he says it's all good and everything, but then sends me a Skype message that says my writing is awful and he can't use it. It was some perfectly good content I must say, but how much can one possibly write about Incorporation in Canada without writing some boring content?

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That sucks, and it raises several questions. Have you worked for this client before? Did you have a contract? Surely the client knew how well you wrote before hiring you?

Often in cases where there's no contract and no real relationship, like someone you found at a writing job site, they will tell you that and use the work anyway. You should get a percentage in advance to weed out those types.

How much time did they give you to write several pages of copy? Are you expected to now redo it?

ETA: Two of us posted at the same time with the same concerns--that goes to show how important those things are!

Its always tough when you get a rejection like that! Don't take it personally, its a business -- this person didn't like the product you gave them. It is very likely that another person would look at what you wrote and find that it was exactly what they needed! Take the advice of others here, and keep moving on!

callalily61 said:

Oh, crap. I'm so sorry.

Please do keep an eye on his website to see if he uses your copy without payment.

Also, there are some good boilerplate contracts on the Net. You may have to chalk this one up to experience, but at least now you won't do work without a signed contract between you and the client. In the absence of electronic sigs, I've had clients send an email agreeing to the details along with the first payment in my PayPal account.

(Sorry if that sounds like a lecture. I don't mean it to.)

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^^This^^

I'm sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, it's not that uncommon. Callalily is absolutely right here--get half up front, and have a contract (or an email with details of the job and how you're to be paid).