How we can work together
How work sessions take place
All of the writing work I do is carried out online. I do not meet clients in my home, in their home, or in public places (this website’s FAQ section contains an explanation as to why not).
There are two ways that a client can engage me for work, which are described below. My rate is the same for both of them.
Two types of work sessions:
Pre-booked appointment
In this scenario, I contact a client at the start of our appointment using the email address that they provided, and we video conference online using Google Meet or Skype while I simultaneously work on their document in Googledocs. I give the client access to the Googledoc so that the client can see the document being created and can create it along with me if they want to. Googledocs allows the client and I to make comments and suggestions to each other efficiently to develop and improve the document.
Our video conference lasts as long as the length of the pre-paid appointment. Appointments end promptly. Clients are able to book subsequent appointments if they need my services for longer. Whether or not a subsequent appointment can take place immediately or not depends on my availability, as dictated by my online booking schedule.
Also, please be aware that after an appointment ends, I don’t spend further time reading Skype messages that were sent to me. Emailing me is how to send me a message that I will be sure to read.
Retainer fee
If I already have established a working relationship with a client through a pre-booked appointment, and I already have all of their instructions and all (or almost all) of the necessary facts that I will need to complete their piece of writing, then I might extend to the client the option of giving me a retainer fee for a set amount of time (usually a number of hours) to work on the project alone, without the client being present online with me as I work. The retainer fee would be paid up front, and any leftover time at the point of completion would be immediately refunded to the client. I suggest that a client in this scenario pay a retainer fee for more hours than we anticipate the project will require, so that I will definitely be able to complete the work, as opposed to running out of time when it is nearing completion.
After I have fulfilled the amount of time covered by the retainer fee, a client can make a subsequent appointment with me if they have any alterations they would like to see in the document, and I am happy for us to do this fine-tuning together to make the document exactly what the client envisioned.
A note about prepayment
The reason that each 15-minute unit of time is prepaid is because the client and I never meet in person, and I need to be prudent and eliminate the possibility of a client disappearing into cyberspace without paying for my services as soon as those services are complete. Even if I do know the name and address of a client, I also can’t put myself in a position where I have to chase payment from them later; I simply can’t expend time and energy on that, and my policy of prepayment eliminates the possibility that I will need to.
Furthermore, pre-payment greatly reduces no-shows. The client is very likely to show up for their appointment if they have already paid for it. No-shows or last-minute cancellations don’t allow me to use the allotted time in a profitable way.
A note about proofreading and polishing
Proofreading and polishing are important. This step can mean the difference between a good document and an excellent document. I will do as much proofreading and polishing as the client is willing to pay for and it is my recommendation that a client budget for me to do this step. That being said, if the client wants to do this step of the writing process himself/herself, then that is fine with me.
A note about saving the document we create
Once I have delivered service during a session, it is the client’s responsibility to save the document. I make no guarantee to retain the file so that I can make it available to the client if they contact me later on (sometimes much later on) to ask if I still have the document because their copy was deleted or misplaced. I highly suggest a client make a backup file of their document.