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What to Do When You Miss a Deadline
Von admin | 7.Januar 2010
Freelance writing has now become one of the most popular ways for people to earn money over the Internet. With the effects of the financial crisis still being felt by most people around the world, more and more people have been turning to the Internet to find opportunities for them to make some much needed additional income. For many, it has now become a lucrative career which provides them some freedom that being employed in the corporate world cannot provide. There is no need to clock in at a particular time and clock out at another time to be paid. Freelance writers can work at their own pace right in the comfort of their own home. The important thing, after all, is to make sure that the deadlines for the writing assignments given are met.
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.
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