You said on your blog in response to another question that you’re quite happy saying “no.” That seems to be my biggest problem when it comes to turning down work. I just can’t do it! Any advice on when to say no and how to?
You know the guy at the dinner table who piles up his plate with food because he was poor as a child and didn’t have enough so now that he does, he feels he must take as much as he can because who knows when there may not be food again?
I used to be the hoarder at the freelancing table.
I suspect many of us are. We’ve struggled so hard to get to the point where editors are coming to us with assignments that to refuse them seems a bit ungrateful, doesn’t it?
But my time, like yours, is limited and I’ve usually already got loads to do including writing at least eight to ten articles each month and working on a novel and at some point, I have to say, enough, I can’t do more without dropping the ball on one project or another. I want to do the best on the things I DO take up, so I don’t want to take up so much work that I have to do a half-assed job on things. This means I have to pick and choose my projects and look, ultimately, this is a business so I have to do what’s best for me in terms of enjoyment and money.
Here are a few things that have worked for me, see which ones might also be applicable to you.
1. I don’t take on PR or corporate work. Many freelancers I know do and that’s great for them. I don’t for two reasons. One, that I completely hate PR and corporate work and can’t imagine myself doing it at all. I think I’d be absolutely terrible at it, while at the same time making myself miserable. The second, and more important, reason is that I’ve known from pretty early on that my ideal clients would be publications like Time and the New York Times and so I had to avoid all conflicts of interest now and in the future. Such publications typically have very strict policies regarding taking free press trips, for instance, ANY TIME in your career. And while you may argue one way or another about whether it’s fair or not, that’s just the way it is. I’ve never in my career accepted a press trip, a gift or free meal. I don’t participate in rallies or protests. And because I actually now work for news pubs, I think PR and corporate work, could potentially become conflict-of-interest areas. So any time I get offers for these, they’re automatically rejected.
2. I price myself out. I routinely get requests for utterly boring or mind-numbing work that I possibly wouldn’t even want to take on even if I were jobless for the month. But work is work is work. So if I’m having one of those times when I’m swamped and someone’s sent me a boring assignment, I consider what I’d like to be paid to make it worth slogging through. I give them that number and if they agree, well, then I’m typically making two or three times what I’d usually make for interesting work and I guess it’s worth it, at least financially.
3. I use the Calendar application on my Mac and usually fill in deadlines as they come. If I really would like to work with a client but simply can’t fit it into my schedule, I apologize and let them know that while I’m currently busy, I’d love to be considered for future work. It’s not a no, but I’m being honest with them by letting them know that I don’t want to submit low-quality work by taking on too much.
4. Sometimes, if the pay is great, the topic is great and I really really want to take on the assignment, I’ll say yes. Because I’m still a sucker like that.
Let me just add in the end that it’s absolutely essential that you know how much you have on your freelancing plate at a given point in time and how much room you have to take on more.
Also consider, if you do take on more, are you going to end up doing a shabby job on the things you’re already working on or driving yourself crazy with the extra workload?
I always think in terms of pros and cons. What are the pros and cons of taking on each assignment? More money, but at what cost? More work, but what in my work or personal life will I have to sacrifice for it?
Then, once you’ve done that quick calculation in your head, the answer becomes easy and there’s no guilt attached.
Say no often. I swear, it’s made my life so much simpler.