Why I Will Never Share Edit Histories In Writing Gigs

You do not have to justify your process to anyone.

I had a client once who was a bit of a cheapskate. She paid on time, which was a plus, but she almost always tried to talk down my rate — often when a project was about to be invoiced.

Then one day, she sent me this text:

“I was looking at the editing history in the Google Docs you shared and see that the last three assignments only took you a few hours to complete. I don’t think the rate you’re charging me is fair for the amount of work your [sic] doing. Please call me so we can discuss a discount.”

I did not respond immediately. I couldn’t. That message was just too much to handle at the moment with the heat I was suddenly feeling.

An hour or so later, I wrote back (as opposed to calling — I wanted an e-mail log of the conversation) and informed her that I don’t charge by time but by project or word count. The Google Doc reflected only a part of the work I’d done on the assignment.

I mentioned that what I bring to the table is experience and ability developed over the years. I politely declined to discuss discounts.

The pushback

Many freelancers will recognize some of the ways the client reacted. She appealed to a sense of friendship (we’ve never discussed anything that wasn’t work-related). She mentioned she could outsource her work for a fraction of the price (she was welcome to, but she’d probably be disappointed). She claimed other freelance writers used time trackers and charged by the minute (not in my experience).

I reminded my client that what she didn’t see in the Google edit history was the time spent researching the topic I was assigned, nor the time hunting down quality sources, nor the time scheduling and conducting two short phone interviews.

The main thrust was that the edit history in Google Docs by itself did not represent the job as a whole.

More than just the assignment

Clients often forget that freelancers have expenses. We just aren’t out there armed with a single laptop and taking advantage of them.

We have taxes, insurance, and other payments to cover. We have to pay for Internet connections, business-level cloud storage (I also do a lot of work in graphics, so this is particularly important for me), and upkeep. Some of us pay for accounting services.

We aren’t just taking their money and jetting off for Bermuda.

Lesson learned

I no longer reveal my process to clients. There’s nothing wrong with my process. We all differ a bit. Yours very likely does. But as freelance writers, we know how much work we put into a piece. We understand that our work is not something easily described in terms of time, but in process.

Therefore, clients now get their first proof pasted into a new Google document without editing histories. All they see is the end-result content, not how I got there.

In fairness, most clients don’t look at the edit history or display the lack of class to repeatedly attempt to weasel down a rate. This particular client was earlier in my career before I felt I was in a position to fire clients. We eventually parted ways, but the lesson she taught me has remained.

The relationship between freelancers and clients should not be adversarial. At the same time, as a freelancer, you are well within your rights to be in control of your process.

That includes creation, editing, and billing.

If a client has a problem, there will be other clients. Better clients.

You will profit more in all areas of life.

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.