I have no idea how you manage to always get inside my head, but (and I swear on this) every time I come to your blog…somehow it seems that you address whatever problem has been festering in my mind before it even reaches the surface. Weird shit dude. Seriously.

Anyways, I do have a question for you about deadlines. Hard deadlines, soft deadlines – I completely see how you manage the two and i love what you have to say. But my question is less about self motivation than it is about the rewards.

Now, i’m not going to go on about some egotistical rant here. I know that my reward should come from within and my sense of accomplishment is internal-only. I’m not looking for a childish pat on the back from my company.

But…

What if your employers don’t take THEIR OWN deadlines seriously??

Let me explain:

I get a call from one of the owners from a company I’ve been freelancing for over the past year and a half. He’s got a butt-load of sales letters he needs, and he needs them fast. I tell him i’ll do what I can to get it done.

Long story short, I bang out roughly 18 pages of SOLID-ass copy…sharp hook…great angle, the nines. (I did the bullets previously, as this was a year-long volume collection bundle package yada yada product, and I wrote promos for each monthly edition prior). Total length of the letter turned out to be 37 pages and NONE of it (that I wrote myself) was trash.

35 hours in 3 days – and a beat to shit immune system leading to a nasty little flu-bug for the week after. Details aside.

Sacrifices man, I’m used to em.

Deadline? I’m told a day, then told to extend it 2 days later due to a delay in another project they’re working on to be launched at the same time. Kept up-to-the-minute with the bossman every step of the way, and finally give him a REAL badass sales letter that i’m proud of.

His reply? “Thanks. We’ll be reviewing this next month.”

….

Seriously?

Ok, so after a pseudo-hard deadline is shoved down my throat…i crank my engine full throttle to make it happen (sacrificing my own goddamn health in the process)…

…and for what? To find out that my hard work would sit dormant for a month before anyone got around to peaking at it.

(And its not like they’re paying me much either. I should be charging 3 times as much for what I pump out for these guys)

(Ok I lied. I guess I did rant a bit. But at least I made you chuckle, if not a sly smirk or two.)

So here’s the question I pose:

If your employer does not take their own deadline seriously (or your work for that matter) how can you (or SHOULD you) take their deadline seriously yourself?

Money is money. I take pride in my work and especially getting it done on time. But a “oh hey, thanks. Let me store your blood, sweat and tears poured out to meet an unrealistic deadline that serves no purpose” as they toss my shit on the back burner just doesn’t cut it with me.

Catch 22! I make their deadline, i feel used. I miss it, i feel like I failed myself.

(FYI: This is the company that got me into this gig so I’m far less likely to just cut the chord and walk.)

I’d love your advice on this, if you wouldn’t mind. Especially since you know these dudes and have counseled them before (not to mention, they WORSHIP your copy…which is what brought me to you in the first place).

Thanks man,

Adam

John Carlton replies:

Two comments, Adam.

1. Get over it. Get paid, do your job to the best of your ability, and walk on. (Unless you have a stake in the outcome, like a percentage deal on results. Then, hire my pal Guido to go threaten ‘em.)

2. This is Rule Number One of freelancing: All clients suck. Learn to deal with them, on your terms… and learn the subtle (and not so subtle) ways you can control them.

Remember — you gotta be The Adult In The Room

Possible help: I’m about to re-release the long-unavailable Freelance Course again. Next week, maybe. In that manual, you will learn stuff it took me 20 years to master about positioning yourself with clients. When you do it right, the situation you speak of never chaffs your ass…

John

If I’m late, I’m either dead or in the slammer.

Now that I’m a crewmember (copywriter) and not da boss, life is different. (Interactive production is a joke…I’ve seen websites done–I can’t even say produced–many times…I suppose there’s no end to the budget.)

These days I go for the 100% payment up front, choose clients wisely.

When I was 25 years old a production guy taught me this (and I believe the best teachings are in a sentence) “Never give the money back.”

Thanks for the breakdown tips…useful.

THANK YOU for this! As a SEO consultant, and more recently, copywriter, I can’t tell you how much these past couple posts have meant to me. Both for the time management (deadline) initiatives, as well as having the balls to step up when your client doesn’t deliver.

Kind of reminds me of one of the stories in your Kick Ass Secrets (read it last week) about the guy who tried to be cute and screw you on the up-front payment, and how you sent him his check back and told him not to contact you again.

Not sure if you’ve read Frank’s little book that he shipped with Mass Control Monthly, but he also spoke of the “sushi nazi” out there, and how the guy ran a tight ship and if you stepped out of line, you were banned.

Anyway, Frank reasoned that it was because the guy didn’t take crap that he was able to concentrate all of his efforts on what he did (or for us, “things that make the money”), and take his skills to another level.

Thanks for putting it in context.

Chris

P.S. In your post, you mentioned checking out the Simple Writing System. Isn’t that closed?