It’s not me, it’s you. It’s definitely you.

When working with a client is no longer profitable

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

I write for several platforms. It’s easy to develop pockets of writing communities with people who write for the same platform. It’s a great way to figure out the nuances and quirks of the platform, especially when it’s new. People help with headlines, best practices, and deciphering expectations.

As with any platform or contract, expectations change. As a result, a client may redirect the trajectory of their platform. Then it is up to the freelancer to either roll with the changes, renegotiate the contract, or finish the current job and move on.

There’s a new platform that many writers have flocked to because of the incentive of guaranteed payment. Of course, guaranteed monthly payment is a writer’s dream. However, to be paid well for the work is even better.

As the platform changed trajectory, people became frustrated because the contract changed, and there was no longer a guaranteed payment of x-dollars every month. If they had stuck it out instead of venting their frustrations on social media and other writing platforms, they would have seen that the changes were actually favorable. The changes kept getting better and better. I made more money and gained recognition for my work as I continued with the changes. The longer I stuck with it, the better I was to write the kind of articles readers expected from a particular platform.

Is it you?

As a reasonably new freelancer, I am appalled by some of my fellow writers’ behavior. It was like the guaranteed payment gave them a sense of entitlement. One particularly sour writer kept venting about the “golden few” who maintained. She insulted her fellow writers and the platform, and at one point, she emailed the company demanding numerous times to reinstate her contract to which they replied, “Maybe it’s time we part ways.” And yet, she continued to barrage them with emails, proclaimed several times on social media she was done with them, and yet continues to write for the platform with fingers crossed that they will “see the errors of their ways” and welcome her back with more money. It’s not going to happen. The company’s reply was a polite way of saying, “It’s not me, it’s definitely…