DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m a 26-year-old freelance writer who’s been struggling to find a steady stream of clients and projects. A few months ago, a friend generously offered to refer me to someone in his network, but they have started making demands for quick turnarounds and extra revisions beyond what was initially agreed upon. They often communicate the edit requests through my friend, so I feel unable to say no. He is a good friend, but he tends to be on the stricter side when it concerns work. I want to maintain a professional relationship as I appreciate the referral, but I need to manage my workload effectively. How can I address this client’s extra demands without jeopardizing my chance for more clients from my friend? -- Freelance Client
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DEAR FREELANCE CLIENT: This is tricky. Since you were without steady work for some time, you may want to stick with the struggle and stretch yourself a bit longer to establish deeper ties with your friend’s community of clients. You may become the go-to writer because you are willing to turn around extra edits when others might balk. Yes, it may be challenging to manage, but I think it could be worth it to build the reputation of being the person who gets the job done no matter what.
You can also speak to your friend after your reputation of being excellent is solidified and ask him to help you establish some boundaries around workflow. Point out that you are delivering work in an effective manner, and in order to continue optimally, you need to manage expectations.