Re: I hope I did it right

["John Locke" <mail -at- freelock -dot- com>]

Bonnie Granat said:
>
> What do you think?
>
> THE BID
> I recently was asked to bid on the job of a final copy edit of a
> 300-page book written by a "resume expert." She is self-publishing the
> book. I looked at one chapter online and prepared my quote, and I told
> the author that the quote was based on the premise that all the other
> chapters of the book would be comparable in condition to the one I saw.
> We agreed on a price and I began the job. Our verbal-only agreement
> included that if I saw that things would be substantially different than
> anticipated, I would let her know.
>
<snip>

I have to ask: why was your agreement "verbal-only?" You're opening
yourself up for all kinds of problems, of the he-said/she-said variety.
Our memories are fallable--that's why people write down agreements.

As I see it, that's your biggest mistake.

You've made a good written explanation of why you couldn't fulfill your
end of the agreement--the pre-requisites you say you made clear in your
"verbal-only" agreement were not met. You have every right to point that
out, and modify your agreement accordingly--but without a written
agreement to point to, you're on shaky ground.

You shouldn't have "feelings of regret"--but you should learn your lesson
and insist on a written agreement, signed by both of you, before you begin
any work. It doesn't have to be much--my latest letter of agreement was a
two pager describing what they would provide me, what I would deliver, who
owned the rights, how I would be paid, how either of us could terminate
the business arrangement, who was liable for what, and how to handle
extensions. That's about it.

Make it professional, friendly, to the point, and insist on it. Then, when
you find yourself in situations like you're in now, you can point to
exactly the paragraph where you described what they would provide to you,
and say that this didn't meet the agreement, so we need to negotiate new
terms.

Regarding whether your edits are valid, remember that you're the expert.
If they don't trust your judgement, then why are they hiring you? Do your
best to be fair, professional, and consistent, and you'll have no trouble
with people responding to you with respect, and listening to your
comments.

Hope that helps,


-- 
John Locke
Owner, Freelock, LLC
http://www.freelock.com



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