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Does any of this sound familiar to you?
- You schedule phone meeting with a client that’s to last at least an hour.
- You make sure nothing interferes, including putting off at least one other client.
- The appointment is confirmed the day before.
- The hour arrives and there’s no phone call.
- 25 minutes past the start of the call, you call the client’s assistant…
Every now and again I run into a ghostwriting client who may actually be too busy to do what’s necessary to get a book written. Well, that’s not exactly what I mean. In this case I know the client wants it done… but we may be facing a place where he has to turn what would normally be his part – reading and commenting on draft chapters – over to an assistant.
Of course, the problem with this approach is that the client will want to read the book by the time the assistant and I get to the end of it, or at least will before it’s printed, and that will mean a lot of changes that could have been avoided if I could have gotten to the client during the writing.
Another solution may be for me to travel to the client (at the client’s expense of course) and get face-to-face. Sometimes, if you’re right there, a busy client will find a way to sit down with you, at least several times during a day.
There are probably other ways to work that out… ideas would be appreciated!
Write well and often,
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We call it practice for a reason… none of us were born knowing this stuff :)
Katherine ~~ sounds like I could learn not to be at the “mercy” of the client. Hummm, now that I see it I realize I already knew that, but I need to put it into practice. Thanks for your lesson.
Personally, I wouldn’t go out of my way. I’d tell the client that I can’t work on it unless he makes time to contact me. Otherwise, progress will be stalled. Then, I’d find new work because this project will obviously be a slow one!
Kathleen, all those can be excellent options.
What about setting up an IM-ing session?
I am being interviewed, today, at a set time. I requested the IM-ing via MSN or Yahoo and it was requested I use the one that is on their system “Skype”. It was a free download that Download.com has already checked out. If I choose, I can un-install Skype after the interview.
Additionally, I purchased a Webcam and Microphone. It cost about $30 and was easy to set up. Thus saving you and your clients time and expenses.