Communication Issues with virtual collaboration | Freelance Business Chat | Writing Forum

That's what many clients expect. They're hiring you because you're a professional in a specialty area who can do something they can't do, don't want to do, or don't have time to do. You need to be able to work in a way where you can "just handle it" most of the time.

And frankly, some clients just suck at communicating their needs. That's why the initial interviews / questions are so important. Get as much information as possible out of them up front, and it can save a lot of headaches later.

You're not crazy to be frustrated. It sounds like this is one of those cases where the client wasn't clear enough early on. And changing what they want after the fact is never okay (and should always incur additional fees). That's scope creep.

As for making decisions on your own though, that's a part of being an independent professional. It's a part of our jobs, plain and simple. Sometimes clients will like those decisions. Sometimes they won't. You can minimize endless edit requests by putting a limit on them up front. For example, I only allow 2 edits within my advertised rates. They can't keep nitpicking after that. They can't pull in 5 other people to give feedback and separate edit requests. And if they do want more (which I don't have to provide), they're charged quite a bit for it because I charge my normal copyediting rates (which is basically a 50% increase over their original planned budget). If you don't have a clear policy like that yet, this sounds like a great time to start.

Jenn

They receive one completed document from me, regardless of length. They can ask for a round of changes if they have a problem with the material I send. I make those changes. Then they get to make suggestions / requests one more time on the new version they receive. And again I make the edits. (In most cases there either aren't any edit requests or they're fairly minor). After that point, they don't get to request more changes unless they're willing to pay an extra editing fee.

If they want "edits" that are actually a change in scope over the original project, they usually get billed for an entirely new project (or billed for separate edits depending on how big the changes are). You're only required to give what they asked for. If they change their mind about what they want after the initial work is completely, they have to pay for that as the separate project it really is.