Saying good bye on friendly terms

When you are doing freelance writing as a career, you will no doubt (well hopefully that is!) come to a point when it is time to say good bye to some clients and move on to greener pastures, or freelance writing jobs! Whether it be that you have simply tired of the writing work or project, or that you have been able to find better paying freelance writing jobs and can then focus your times on them, saying good bye can be a few things. It can mean that you are getting better at your freelance writing job, which is awesome, and you are able to get better gigs and higher paying clients, that you are shifting gears or topics and you would rather focus your energies elsewhere, or it can simply be that you for whatever reason you just don't want to work with a certain client anymore.

Whatever the reason for leaving a freelance writing job, it is worth noting that unless there are extenuating circumstances it should be done in a way so as no one is left hurt, upset, or angry. In the freelance writing business it's always best to avoid burning bridges whenever we can because you never know when you may want to work with a certain client again or you may need them for a reference. So as tempting as it may be to give them the email equivalent of flipping the bird and shouting, "Sianara, Sucker!" it's usually best not to. And anyways, let's be grown ups about this...hehe.

Personally, I've been thinking about this because one of my clients is just not fitting into what I want out of my freelance writing career. The work is not only usually writing on topics that are so obscure that I don't think that the amount of research time to the payout is worth it, but they are nit picky and often demand lengthy rewrites. And then when they get them they still reject them, and I'm left with an article about toilet seats that I spent time on and end up without getting paid! I'm thankful in that I have been getting more clients that DO pay better for freelance writing jobs and that are more pleasurable to write. Yet I don't want to completely blow off the former freelance writing work as I may never know when I may want to approach them in the future. (Freelance writing as a career can be fickle, and if jobs are slow, we need some way to pay the bills!) While this business has been a headache, I need to avoid telling them where they can shove it, and be a professional myself.

In saying good bye as a freelance writer, we should strive to be cordial and at least civil. Down the road our paths may cross and if you are in need of someone to 'scratch your back', if you were rude to them in the past you can't probably count on trying to itch yourself! Even when I lose out on a prospective freelance writing job I try to reply with a thank you and to keep me in mind email, because in this business contacts mean a lot and you want to have a good reputation if you can! So in closing, I would recommend parting ways on as best of terms as possible; even though I'd rather run a tirade! :)