When to dump a client

I've written for a variety of magazines, newspapers, online content providers and private clients. Some clients I keep for years and years, and other clients last only a few short weeks or months before I see the handwriting on the wall. For example:

·      They lower word count, fees or frequency of orders because they don’t want to spend the money for professional work.

·      They start picking at minutiae and frequently change their minds about what they want.

·      They want to appear unhappy with the writer’s work in order to get more out of the writer whether it’s HTML programming or adding in Creative Commons art/photos or other free services.

·      They become big time sucks and emotional burdens by constantly wanting to chat about an assignment, even one that pays in pennies -- all unpaid time.

·      They act like they have purchased you for life and now have you chained in their basement to a laptop on 24/7 call.

·       They don’t expect you to have other clients—even for a $10 blog post.

When I start to see these warning signs above, I know it’s time to say my adieus. I am not angry, but I’m not going to have a dysfunctional relationship with anyone from a family member to a client. It’s got to work for both of us; we have to be on the same page (had to use that cliché).

One of the main reasons I have to let a client go is because when they act like the above bullets, they are telling me they really don’t know what they want, so they change guidelines or focus or point of view hoping the writer will, through the process of elimination, come up with what they want even though they have no idea what they want.

I love working with clients to iron out the wrinkles of a project, find the voice and content they want and locate that sweet spot where they are deliriously happy with my work. I won't  waste my time or babysit a diva-style client who’s going to pay me enough money to buy a coffee and a donut, but not much more. I refuse to roll over and take it.