Bowing Out of a Project

I’ve had to back out of projects when I’ve been ill, but usually the editor has graciously permitted me to complete the articles without deadline. I also backed out last week when an interviewee balked. I simply forwarded the email to the editor and asked what she would want me to do. She sent me a different assignment instead. Having a great relationship with the editor makes it possible.

I’ve bowed out before but that’s not my preference. My first instinct is to say to the client “this project is taking me longer than I thought, and I don’t think I’ll make the deadline” and they’re usually understanding. I can think of only a few occasions where I bowed out due to a personality clash. But in those cases, I got work through a team and the team leader just gave the job to someone else. When it rests on me, I do what I can to finish it, even if I need to outsource.

I’ve bowed out of a couple projects before. They became much more time consuming than the clients originally let on, and they weren’t willing to up the pay in accordance with this, so I had to politely decline.

I miss out on opportunities sometimes because I am so afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my committments. I try to plan, plan, plan to ensure that I will have time for everything, but sometimes life gets in the way. My family comes first, so if I have to back out of something to allow me to take care of them, I will.

I know exactly what you mean Anne, and as much as I wanted to pull out, I didn’t. Why? Commitment. I made a commitment to this jerk and I was hell bent on keeping it…no matter what! The one red flag that should have stopped me from the start, but didn’t, was the cheap pay for an article that any sane writer would have turned down! Would you believe $20 for 30 articles, 750 words each, that had to be rewritten in 2 days! if that wasn’t bad enough, he starts putting all this extra work on me and could not for the life of himself understand why I was not happy about it.

Never again!

It happens ever so frequently to every one of us! The reasons you listed for backing out of a project are experiences I’ve had too. Some writers (or people who like to think they are) take on projects just so that they can fill up another page on their resume. I’ve known clients who stole ideas to save pennies too. There are black and white sheep on both sides of the fence.
The best part is- there’s more to come so don’t be surprised by anything…
Cheers.

I just hired a writer to work on a project with me and she bowed out without warning. I would strongly suggest that if you miscalculated the time, just take your lumps and finish the project. She was professional about it but now I’m stuck and angry. Folks, if you don’t budget enough time THAT’S YOUR FAULT NOT THE CLIENT’S FAULT. Either you didn’t understand the assignment or you didn’t put the boundaries around what the client asked for. If so then it is YOUR JOB to professionally finish the project. I would NEVER bow out of any job. Maybe never take work from the client again, but leaving a job midstream, unless it is for some dire emergency, is in my opinion as a 20 year freelance veteran UNPROFESSIONAL.

I’m with you Jeanne! I have had freelance and consulting jobs that I certainly did regret taking – once work was already underway. Currently, I have a “Black Hole” project; weeks in with no tangible progress… I guess it is simply part of being a freelancer – I expect this will happen, but, have planned in advance to honor my contracts unless circumstances so severe made completion near impossible.
You’re right – it’s not my client’s fault I made a mistake.
That’s what creates an expert though – making every possible mistake in your discipline and learning from them…

I’ve definitely had jobs I’ve regretted taking, but I got through them! The only time I’ve ever had to bow out and refund someone was because of a bad situation with a seperate client that was eating my time and my sanity. I certainly felt terrible about it and would never, ever do it again.

As I’ve grown as a writer, I’ve started giving longer lead times. I think a lot of people think that they have to have two day or seven day turn around times in order to be competitive. But if you’re scrambling to meet those deadlines and end up missing them, you’re not doing a whole lot for your professional career.

I am new to writing of this type , but have just started taking on some small projects thanks to the wonderful advice from this site!

However, a couple of times I had to leave a project in the first week or two after committing to it ( I had not been paid or anything ).

Why? I noticed that the project continued to grow much larger than the initial description. I became frustrated as my hourly rate was rapidly sliding down to Burger King fry cook level. And I told the gentleman that I needed EXACTLY what I was expected to do in writing. Does anyone think I did the right ( or wrong ) thing by this reply?

Hmm, I see many people from the writers side of the fence saying “it got too big, I had to back out”, but then I see someone from the clients side of the fence saying “too bad, you have to take your lumps.” I’m not sure I agree with that if “taking your lumps” means that you have to spend all your working hours on a project that the pay doesn’t match, and suddenly your “lumps” is that you can’t pay your bills.

Perhaps this is a good argument for charging hourly?

Tim- I think that in the beginning I did go on with some of these jbs and took the resulting “lumps” in order to establish expertise and a client list…but far be it from me to tell you “NO, you should have finished!” because, well, I don’t pay your mortgage or feed your children, so it’s not my call if you made the “right” decision.

I do know that that whole process in the beginning teaches writer to be very very careful of what projects they take on and the $$$ they charge.

Tim, perhaps you should consider hourly charges.