I recently drew a line in the sand with a potential customer. I was challenged and found, as with all such lines, one has to be prepared to either back pedal or back up your beliefs and standards.

I belong to a popular freelance job site. I have enjoyed the chance it has given me to write for and get to know clients both nationally and internationally. However, the site system is flawed, as so many are, in that it demands a high level of response from the providers, and from the clients-- not so much.

A client contacted me regarding a bid for a project. I responded within 24 hours of his original contact, as this is my business goal of replying to both clients and potential clients. I gave him additional information and requested a response back. Silence. Two days later, I sent him another e-mail thanking him for the courtesy of looking at my bid and requested that, even if he had chosen another writer, which was fine, that he simply let me know so that I might adjust my work calendar accordingly. Once again, there was no response. I waited over a holiday weekend and through most of Monday, before leaving him client negative feedback.

Within less than a day, he was sent me an e-mail-- how could I do this, he had many responses, he was away for two days. To quote comedian Jerry Seinfeld, "Yadda, yadda, yadda."

I took a deep breath and responded. I courteously reminded him that our communication had begun more than five business days ago, and that, while I can sympathize with travel arrangements, and an overflowing e-mail box, I worked under deadlines that forced me to schedule work as work-- not as a part-time writing gig. I ask him to consider how he would have responded to me if I had let five days go before responding to him and his questions.

In the end, he apologized and I wrote the site and asked them to remove the feedback and give him a second chance. In the end, I also declined to work with him and re-directed him back to choose one of many of the fine writers that had also responded to his project. I believe he got the point and will also think twice before doing something like this to another writer.

My line in the sand has become a bit harder. While I do not advocate inflexibility or never working with people who have a more casual approach, I believe it is my responsibility, if I am to continue to work at my personal best, to ask for the same from my clients. Now all my bids will carry a request that if a client contacts me, I need to hear back from them within 48 business hours regarding the status of interest or of the project.

Freelancing is a business that numerous others and I have chosen to follow, but I no longer want to feel powerless or at the mercy of a client who is non-responsive. By doing so, I perpetuate their belief that I am both disposable and not worthy of the payment I ask for from them.

I believe that as writers we must stop kvetching or simply complaining to each other about this and other similar client problems. This semi-silent acceptance has spawned and will continue to spawn writing sites that will allow the non-experienced writer to offer ridiculously low bids on jobs. It also paints a picture of a Bob Cratchit sitting huddled in a corner, freezing and accepting his meager pittance from Scrooge. It is bad marketing for all of us, experienced or those starting out, to set the bar so low for ourselves. In the final analysis, it is bad for business and even more so, just plain bad business. The first step towards treatment as a professional writer is to not only offer professional service, but request and expect it in return from one's own clients.

Therefore, in the name of self-respect, as well as on behalf of all my fellow writers struggling to earn a living, while I have hung out the "Welcome" sign for my clients, I have at the same time pulled myself up from use as their doormat. I would counsel others to do the same.

BJ Menter is the owner and operator of VERVE Writing Services that she started in 2005. She is a successfully published and is author of over 150 articles and how-to pieces. She maintains an active national and international client base, while at the same time concentrating on promotional and marketing writing. She is currently working on her third play and a book related to the health care field. She enjoys helping her fellow writers as well as her clients and may be reached at projectcoordinator@vervewritingservices.com

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