Article
October 22, 2024
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by Stephen

When Potential Clients Ghost Me

Fall has definitely arrived here in Edmonton. Leaves are turning a beautiful golden yellow and the temperature at night is starting to dip below freezing. This year this also seems to be the season for an uptick in queries to index academic books, most of them ready for indexing in December. I’m not sure why this is the case. I find queries can ebb and flow throughout the year, though I don’t think publishing seasons are as important for academic publishing as it is for trade. In any case, I’ve been responding to a lot of emails.

I’ve also noticed a number of authors who seem to be ghosting me. I respond to their queries, sent them an estimate, and never hear from them again.

This is actually good, from my perspective. It means I don’t have to say no and that time slot is kept open for someone who does want to work with me. I am receiving more offers than I can accept, so while I do appreciate a response to inform me that the author is choosing to work with someone else, I don’t mind when potential clients filter themselves out.

I assume some authors simply forget to respond because they are busy. I’ve certainly done that. But why are potential clients choosing not to hire me? Am I doing something wrong in how I present myself, or am I actually doing something right? While I don’t know for sure, I have a few guesses based on the interactions I do have. I think there are two main reasons why I get ghosted, plus four additional reasons why I may not get the job. 

  • I’m too expensive. Especially for authors paying out of pocket. I am sympathetic to authors on a budget. I know that indexing can be expensive and that I am not the cheapest indexer around. I also don’t want to be the cheapest. I believe that the quality of my work and my years of experience is worth something. I am also mindful that I am freelancing in order to earn a sustainable income. So yes, I suspect that I am too expensive for some authors, and I’m okay with that. I see my pricing as a filter, because I know while some potential clients will find my quotes too high, others will find my quotes acceptable.
  • The client doesn’t value or understand what indexing entails. This is also related to price, though not because the client is unable to pay. I sometimes get the sense, from what the potential client writes in their query or the questions they ask, that they see indexing as data entry. They don’t consider all of the analysis, skill, and time that goes into interpreting the text, selecting terms, and structuring the index and arrays. So my quote seems outrageously high for what, to them, seems like a simple and menial task. It is frustrating when potential clients don’t value or understand what it is I do, but I also don’t want to waste my time writing a terrible index to make a low price worthwhile. If the client and I can’t agree on the value of the index, then we are better off going our separate ways.

Those are the two main reasons why I think I get ghosted. But projects can also fall through for other ordinary and legitimate reasons. Here are four common ones I see.

  • Another indexer responds first. Some authors contact multiple indexers and seem to choose the first indexer who replies. While this is incentive to reply quickly, I also find email incredibly distracting, so I’m okay losing out on the occasional project if it means I can carve out uninterrupted time to work.
  • Going with a firmer yes. Some authors don’t have firm dates yet for the index when they contact me. This makes it difficult for me to give a firm yes, especially if my schedule is filling up and I’m concerned about overbooking. Whereas another indexer may have a freer schedule or more flexibility. Which I understand and no hard feelings from me. 
  • An embedded index is needed. I don’t write embedded indexes, so once I realize what they need (which the author doesn’t always realize themselves), I need to reply and decline.
  • My schedule is full. Sometimes I simply don’t have room and I need to say no. 

It still stings when I get rejected or ghosted by a potential client. There is a hit of validation when schedules align and the client decides to accept my quote. But I also recognize that I am in a privileged position. As someone running a one-person business, there is a limit to how many indexes I can write per month. The question becomes: how can I filter the offers and queries to find the best clients and projects to work with?

Part of the answer is pricing, as I already discussed. I am looking for clients with larger budgets.  Marketing—the information I put out about myself—is also important. Can I find projects and clients which align with my own interests? Cultivating long-term relationships with certain publishers and editors is also important to me, as I enjoy their books and they have provided a lot of work over the years.

If you are an experienced indexer and feel like you are drowning in work and queries, then maybe it is time to raise your prices. Some clients may leave, and that’s okay because you can’t serve everyone. Saying no to a potential client, or having a potential client say no to you, can sometimes be the best outcome because it leaves room for a better client and project to come along. Who do you most want to work with? Focus on attracting and serving those clients. 

If you are a newer indexer, what I am writing today may seem irrelevant. I remember being a new indexer with an empty schedule waiting for anyone to get in touch with any project. But as your experience and reputation grows, your schedule should begin filling up too and you will hopefully reach the point where you will need to turn down work. It helps to be prepared for that day, even if you just make a note at the back of your mind that that day is coming. Again, who do you want to work with? How can you adjust your pricing? A no to one project means a yes to something else. 

Article
April 2, 2024
2 comments
by Stephen

Setting Freelance Rates, Best Book for

A few months ago I wrote about financial practices for freelancers that I find helpful in my own business. I’ve been wanting to write about money again, specifically about setting rates. Rates are a constant and ongoing issue, of how to set rates, and when to raise rates, and whether or not rates are appropriate. But the truth is, I don’t think I have any good advice. I do set prices for my indexing work and I have raised rates, but it so often feels like trial and error that I don’t know what I could say that would be practical and useful.

What I do know is that I don’t like thinking about rates as primarily an exchange of time for money. While figuring out an hourly rate is an easy and effective way to calculate prices and to gauge whether you are earning enough to pay the bills, there is a hard limit on how many hours I can work. I learned this the hard way during the first COVID lockdown. Bored, I accepted too many projects and quickly found myself indexing every single day for two months to keep up with all of the deadlines. Did I earn a lot of money? Yes. Was I burned out by the time I finally felt like I could allow myself a day off? Yes. Simply working harder is not a sustainable growth strategy.

An alternative is to lean into value-based pricing. While still having a minimum income target to keep finances in the black, value-based pricing is much more dynamic. Value-based pricing considers, what is the value of my expertise and experience? What is the value from the client’s perspective? How can I use pricing to position myself for the clients I want to attract?

That said, while I like the concept of value-based pricing, it is still difficult to know how to put it into action. It also raises a host of emotions. Is my work actually good enough to charge X? If I charge more, will I offend or scare away my clients? Am I a bad person for wanting to earn more?

I’ve been wanting to raise rates again this year, but also facing the questions of by how much and on what basis should I determine the increase. Thankfully, I discovered a new book that teaches just that.

If you also struggle with setting rates, I highly recommend Free Money: Nine Counterintuitive Moves for Life-Changing Freelance Income, by Austin L. Church. I’ve bought a copy and have found it extremely practical and insightful. 

In the first part of the book, Austin walks you through a series of exercises to help you determine how much you need to charge in order to not just earn the bare minimum to pay the bills, but to also generate sustainable financial margin. In the second part of the book, Austin explores the wider context of pricing and why it is we earn money, including beliefs and mindset about money, navigating common scenarios, and advice for how to raise prices with clients. 

I wish I read this book when I first began freelancing. I wish I read this book again when my business started to take off. This feels like the type of book that grows with you, as your business matures and changes, and as your financial needs grow and change. Even if you are an experienced freelancer, Free Money provides a lot to consider. I found the exercises well-worth completing, and I now have a much clearer sense for what my new rates should be. More importantly, I understand why, and I have a better sense of my pricing strategy going forward.

If you are interested, Free Money is available either through Austin’s website or through Amazon. And, to be clear, this is not an affiliate link. I am not earning anything by recommending this book. I am just that impressed and think that every freelancer should read it.

While on the subject of finance books, I also highly recommend Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, by Mike Michalowicz (which I see that Austin also recommends). I discovered Profit First three or four years ago. Its value, for me, was learning how to properly manage cash flow so that I consistently have enough on hand for taxes, expenses, and to pay myself a regular salary. Following the Profit First system has made my monthly cash flow much more predictable and stress-free.

So there you have it. If you are struggling with your finances as a freelancer, or feeling guilty about wanting to charge more, read Free Money, by Austin L. Church, and Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz. Your bank account and nerves will thank you. 

Article
October 11, 2023
0 comment
by Stephen

Money Advice to Make Freelancing Easier

In my last post, I wrote about my two golden rules for marketing and building a client base. Today, I want to write about money.

If you are a freelancer, or are thinking of becoming a freelancer, I assume at least part of your motivation is to earn an income. Even if an income is not your primary goal, money is still likely to be involved, unless you plan to work pro bono. Some basic financial planning and understanding is crucial, though don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert.

As a disclaimer, I am not a financial expert either, so by all means please do your own research or consult actual experts.

These are a few things which I have found helpful in my own business, and which I wish I understood better when I first started. I hope this helps set you on the right path too.

Outsource Tasks, Not Responsibility

You don’t need to handle all of your bookkeeping and taxes by yourself. If you are not comfortable doing so, lack the time, or know that a professional can do it faster than you can, then you can certainly hire a bookkeeper, accountant, or other assistant to help you with your finances. You don’t need to do this alone.

What you can’t outsource, however, is responsibility for your finances. This is your business and you need to understand what is happening. Schedule a regular time, maybe once or twice a month, to review your finances. Even if you are not doing the work yourself to create invoices, record payments, or record expenses, understand how the process works. You don’t want to be in the red because a client failed to pay and you never noticed. 

Plan Ahead

For me, a key part of managing my finances is being organized and planning ahead – which can be hard. How I manage my finances continues to evolve as my needs change and I learn better methods to be organized. For you, try to set up a good system from the start, while also know that it is possible to change as you go along. 

Here are a few tips for planning ahead and organizing your finances that I’ve found useful.

  • Plan for an unpredictable cash flow. One of the downsides of freelancing is that no one is paying you a regular salary. How frequently you issue invoices will vary. The amounts on each invoice will be different. Clients may also pay early or late. This can sometimes lead to a cash flow crunch when you need money to pay your bills and payments have not yet arrived – which is why it is important to keep a reserve fund. Set money aside from each payment so that you can still pay yourself and meet your financial obligations when payments are late and cash is short. There are different ways to do this. I’ve found the Profit First system, by Mike Michalowicz, to be helpful (I recommend his book by the same name). Or can you find or develop a different system.
  • Set financial goals. It can be easy to drift along in your business without some kind of goal. Without a target income, you may even earn less than you need to to stay afloat. So set some goals for yourself. If you are just starting out, maybe aim to increase next year’s income by ten or fifteen thousand dollars. If you’ve reached a comfortable yearly income or have all of the work that you want, I recommend still setting a minimum income that you want to reach. I find it helpful for gauging my progress throughout the year and for ensuring that I have enough money coming in for my budgeted expenses and savings. Once I reach my goal, I can either continue to earn extra or I can give myself permission to take time off. 
  • Decide how to track the numbers. Will you use bookkeeping software? There are several options. Or track expenses and income in Excel? It doesn’t really matter so long as it is accurate and works for you. When I first started, I bought a program to handle invoices and I kept track of everything else in spreadsheets. Now that I have a somewhat larger business, with more invoices, expenses, and also now royalties from my book, I find it more convenient to use an all-in-one bookkeeping program.
  • Use templates for invoices. If you plan to be in business for a while, then you are going to be sending out a lot of invoices. Save yourself some time and use a template. This could be using a template within your bookkeeping program or it could be a template that you create in Word or Excel. 
  • Track expenses. Have someplace where you record expenses immediately, and have a place where you keep receipts. For physical receipts, consider also taking a photograph of the receipt and keeping that photograph in a dedicated folder on your computer. You can claim business expenses on your taxes, but only if the expense is documented.
  • Add bookkeeping to your schedule. When it comes to creating and sending invoices, recording payments and expenses, and reviewing my finances, I find it much easier to remember and to do when it is a regular part of my schedule. So, I do my bookkeeping twice a month. Find a time that works for you.

Taxes

As with planning ahead for an unpredictable cash flow, plan ahead to pay taxes. Set money aside from each payment in a separate account so that you aren’t caught short at tax time. Depending on your jurisdiction and income, you may also need to pay quarterly installments.

It can be difficult to know how much to save. I suggest plugging some estimated figures into a tax program or tax calculator, taking into account any tax credits or deductions you anticipate claiming. The goal is to save a ballpark figure so that you at least have most of the money set aside.

Depending on where you live and how much you earn, you may also be responsible for collecting sales tax, as well as complying with other business regulations. This may also depend on the type of business you have (for example, a sole proprietorship versus incorporation). As a one-person business, requirements shouldn’t be too complicated, but still do your research for the jurisdiction you live within and proactively abide by the rules. 

To sum up: have a plan, as I have repeated throughout this post. If you understand what is happening financially with your business, if you have a place for recording and tracking all of the numbers, and if you have a schedule for keeping all of that information updated, then I find it is fairly easy to keep the whole system moving along and to remain financially healthy. It doesn’t need to be a lot of work, so long as it is done regularly.