However, there are instances when unforeseen events can occur, which can cause writers to get delayed in submitting their writing assignments. For freelance writers, this is the last thing that they really want to face. Missing a deadline with a client, especially a new one, could mean not getting paid for all the work that they have done, and even lose the client altogether.

Much as writers do not like to admit it, there are occasions when they would, once in a while, miss the deadline set by their client. Whether it was a bad case of writer’s block, a family emergency or an act of nature, deadlines would once in a while get missed. When this happens, the freelance writer must take it upon himself or herself to face the situation head on and fix the situation. Here are just some helpful tips on how to go about this.

Do Not Panic!

You have been slaving away all day and all night to complete a writing assignment, only to realize that you would not be able to make the deadline that has been agreed upon. The moment you realize this, the last thing that you want to do is to panic. Panicking about the deadline will do more harm than good to any situation, including completing your writing assignment. As a writer, you need to have your mind cleared out to be able to compose the assignment given to you without compromising its quality. Panicking will cause you to focus more on the problem at hand and as a result, you will be in a position to be unable to think and finish the work that needs to be completed.

Inform Your Client

Communication is crucial to any business negotiation, including freelance writing projects. The moment that you have gauged that you would not be able to complete the project by the appointed deadline, make sure that you inform your client in a polite and courteous manner as soon as possible. Provide the client with a copy of the work that you have completed so far so that your client would see that you have been working on the project and are not just merely making an excuse for not meeting the deadline that has been agreed upon. On top of that, give your client an estimated timeframe that would allow you to complete the project without compromising on its quality, and complete the assignment within the timeframe that you have given to the client.

Plan Ahead

Finally, make it a point to plan your schedule further next time. This is especially true if you are completing multiple writing assignments for different clients. Quite often than not, many freelance writers tend to simply take whatever assignments that are offered without taking into consideration the amount of time that they would need to complete just one. You are in the best position to gauge just how fast you work. Keep a realistic track on just how long can you be able to work on a particular assignment. After all, it is still better to get a few assignments that you can be sure to meet the deadline than to take a lot and miss one or even all of the deadlines altogether.

]]> http://www.freelancer-online.com/writing/what-to-do-when-you-miss-a-deadline/feed/ 0 http://www.freelancer-online.com/writing/freelance-writer-can-make-4800-a-month/ http://www.freelancer-online.com/writing/freelance-writer-can-make-4800-a-month/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:27:05 +0000 admin http://www.freelancer-online.com/?p=232 Some people, who are not familiar with the writing business believe freelance writer are poor fellows. I write this post to straighten out, that it is not true.

Many freelance writer I know are making far more money than people are making in their 9-5 jobs.

Here’s a little calculation:

It’s easy to write 3 quality articles each 1000 words per day. For this calculation, the rate I’ll take is $0,03/word.

Here we go… 3 * 1000 = 3000

3000 * $0,03 = $30

$30 * 30 days = $900 a month

In some countries is $900 a month more than enough.

Let’s do the calculation again, but this time with a rate of $0,04/word and 4 articles per day.

4 * 1000 = 4000

4000 * $0,04 = $160

$160 * 30 days = $4800

Now someone shall tell me a freelance writer doesn’t make money!

Honestly, someone who starts his writing career will not make this kind of money. It comes with the time. Creating connections with good paying clients. Increasing rate as a result of increasing quality.

A good place to find writing work is textbroker.com and the DP forums.

This article might be interesting for you guys when coming back from the holiday:

Coming Back From The Holidays: Hot To Get Back To Work

Enjoy reading it!

One of the reasons for GAF’s popularity is because of their ability to guarantee secure payment transactions. They protect both the employer and the employee. This way no one pays for work that he doesn’t receive and no one works without pay either. If you are new to Get a Freelancer’s payment system, it can be a little confusing, however after spending some time looking at all your payment options, you will see that their innovative payment methods are a good way to transfer payments over the internet.

When you first set up your Get a Freelance account, either as a freelance or an employer, you automatically create a GAF bank account for yourself. This account is linked to your profile and your password, but not to any external banking system. You begin to place bids on GAF and eventually one of your bids is accepted. When this happens you will find your GAF account goes into the negative. Because there are no membership fees at Get a Freelancer when you join it, the site makes their money by taking a commission from you for every job you get. However, if you upgrade your account to ‘Gold Status’, you have to pay $20 monthly. Therefore, if you bid of $90 is accepted for a project, GAF will take a commission of $9, or ten percent. Keeping a negative balance on your GAF account is fine; once you complete the project money will be sent to your GAF account.

You and your employer need to work out a payment system. Many employers will pay on a weekly basis. Others pay upon completion or the completion of increments. You are able to look at feedback from other employees to see how well they rate your potential employer. Because of this self-policing system the people who use GAF are generally honest. However, if you are working on a large project or working with a person with whom you have no prior relationship, you might want to ask them to use GAF’s Milestone payment system. With a Milestone payment, the employer puts money into a milestone account. This money can be viewed by the employer, employee, and GAF support staff. When the project is completed the money is easily transferred to the employee’s account. However, if there is a dispute about the work, the money will be held in Milestone form until the GAF team settles the issue.

Whether or not you choose to use Milestone payments, when you have completed your project and submitted it to your employer, he or she will transfer money into your GAF account. At that time you will also receive an email that announces the transfer of money. The balance of your account will be the payment minus the initial GAF commission. For instance, a $90 bid on a project takes out a $9 commission, leaving you with a GAF bank balance of $81. This money will stay securely in your GAF account as long as you want it to. You can use this money to pay further commission fees or to pay others who are doing work contracted out by you.

When you are ready to withdraw money from GAF, there are many different options from which to choose. You may want to sign up for a GAF debit card, sponsored by Master Card, which lets you spend from your GAF account like a checking account. You can also choose to directly transfer money to your bank account, however that requires that you input your bank account and routing number into the GAF system. While Get a Freelancer is safe and secure, many people feel uncomfortable sharing their bank account information online. That is why GAF also offers transfers to PayPal and Moneybookers accounts, two ways for people to use their money online or transfer it to their bank accounts.

Get a Freelancer is set up in the most user friendly manner possible. From bidding to withdrawals, GAF payments are quick and easy.

Click on the banner in the header graphic or follow this link to visit GAF Get A Freelancer

1. Know how the market works: The first and most important thing is to know how to get clients and how to keep them. Market your service properly and you will soon see success. Freelancer who forget this step, often give up quickly.

2. Let the client pay your rate: Many freelancer take on very low paying jobs. Your should avoid this. Look out for clients that pay a decent rate, and not for those, that seek cheap freelancer. It spoils the market und you wont be able to make a living.

3.Don’t take on too many clients: Don’t take on more work than you can handle. You will miss your deadlines and burn out. But also, your should have more than a single income source.

4. Deadlines: Don’t ever miss your deadlines! As a professional in your field, you should deliver your work on time. Clients don’t like to wait for their work. Besides, they have deadlines too.

6. Clients: There are bad clients and good clients. The bad one is a price haggler, or the communication is bad, which makes working sometimes very diffucult. The good client provides exact details of the job and pays a fair price. So, you better find the good kind of client.

7. Other people’s opinion: Being self-employed is relative new to the today’s society. People may don’t understand why someone would quit his 9-5 job and work full time as a freelance. Don’t listen to them and do your job!

One of the best ways to run a good business as well as keep the clients which you currently have is to build a strong relationship with your clients. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and this is true for those who have a business relationship. The clients want to feel as if they matter to the business owner as they are part of the reason why the business is still in existence. There are a few ways for business owners to build a strong relationship with their customers as doing so will not only maintain their client base but possibly expand it as well through recommendations.

Know Your Clients by Name

One of the best ways for business owners to build a strong relationship with their clients is to know them by name and address them as such whenever they contact them. A business owner who knows their client by name will make the customer feel appreciated and give them their due recognition. This will show the client that they matter to the owner and are good customers overall. It is also a good idea for the employees of the business to familiarize themselves with the clients and acknowledge them by name as well since employees are an extension of the business owner and the business itself.

Make Conversation with Your Clients

Although it is important to discuss business matters at length with your clients it is also a wise idea to make small talk with them as well. Doing so will show them that you are interested in them as individuals and not just view them as income. Just be sure to keep the small talk light and not be too intrusive with your questions or conversations.

Offer Incentives to Your Regular Customers

Another way to build a strong relationship with your customers is to offer free incentives from time to time. For example, if you run a restaurant try to offer your regular clients a free dessert or beverage once in a while. Doing so will show them that you acknowledge their constant patronage and appreciate them choosing your establishment over others. Offering incentives can be as small or as great as you would like them to be. However, it is a good idea to not offer these incentives too often as the customers may come to expect them after a while. Just do so on an occasional basis.

Always Offer Top Notch Service

No matter how nice of a business owner you are or how many incentives you offer your clients, if you fail to offer top-notch services it can be the downfall to your business relationship. Therefore, another way to build a strong relationship is to ensure that the business offerings are always first rate.

Inquire About Customer Comments

Lastly, you should inquire with your customers from time to time with regard to how your business is doing overall. Ask your clients if there is anything you should consider changing to make your business more favorable to their needs. This is another way to really build a good relationship with your clients and keep them coming back for more time and time again.

Join us free on www.lancerscafe.com as a service buyer or sevice provider and start penetrating the Middle East Market

Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com

I am looking for interviews from freelancers as well. Again, just drop me a mail and also mention in the mail why i should interview you.
To see how a interview could look like, click here

Looking to hear from you guys soon!

This proverb cannot be more relevant in the present days where competition is cut throat and everybody is striving to be ahead of each other. If you want to succeed in life on both professional and personal fronts, you will have to be sure of what you need to do, be focused and lay out your goals, long term plans and short term plans. You should be aware of your competitor’s moves and strategies and be proactive enough to respond to them successfully. Being reactive to sudden changes is not enough. Opportunity has a very small window and if you do not act quickly, you will not only lose it but you may also never get a second chance.

For instance, let us take our professional life. Have not been there instances where a good role that has a considerable raise in salary and rank has been passed on to our peer instead of us? While the boss can be prejudiced and judgmental, to some extent, it is our fault too. Perhaps, the peer who was chosen to fill the role had already pre-empted the vacancy and started preparing for it. Perhaps he or she had dropped several hints to the boss and also pitched in his or her suitability for the role. After all, the early bird gets the worm!

There have also been several cases where people have taken a small idea and transformed it into something brilliant. Typical of these innovations is the company 3M which has capitalized onto several marvelous ideas and earned profits by branding it. Here also 3M was an early bird that thought ahead of its competitors and thus reaped results. Brands like Hotmail have also been “early birds” in their industries. Hotmail pre-empted the need for communication and used the Internet technology to its advantage. Today, email is a thriving cash cow.

The significance of this proverb is not limited to professional life. A lot of times when we think about our past, there are some situations where we think, “if only I had…” – these are typical instances where we have not been the early birds. Remember when you always wanted to go out with a particular boy or girl for the prom and somebody else came in asked him or her before you did – all because you took your own sweet time to muster your guts and overcome your shyness. Surely your father would have then said, “Son, the early bird gets the worm”.

In the freelance business it is not different. Only the best one gets the client (well sometimes it is also the cheapest one, but in this case the client is either not experienced and will get low quality work, or is looking for quantity instead of quality).

How about you? Any PR changes in your sites?

The present logo has been on the site for over 4 years:

It seems gaf got tired of the old logo and therefore announced the competition. This is the official site about the competition: http://contest.getafreelancer.com/

I bet nobody had designed a logo for 15,000$ before. Well, now you got the chance, so grab it;)