Avoiding Freelance Writing Deadline Disasters

Freelance writers are no strangers to deadlines. The average client needs their content in one week, three days, or 24 hours. Consistently meeting deadlines is one way to secure repeat clients-- and missing deadlines is one way to lose clients for good. Anticipating scheduling conflicts and personal emergencies is not always possible, but there are a few ways to avoid major freelance writing deadline disasters.

Get Organized

The majority of scheduling conflicts and missed deadlines I read about involve a lack of organization. Frenzied freelancers plain old forget projects when scrambling to complete large orders while taking car of families. Old fashioned agendas and dry erase boards can help bring order to chaos. Writing down assignment details and due dates in a place you check every day will drastically reduce the number of deadlines missed due to common forgetfulness.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

Deadline disasters are not always caused by writer error. Frantic clients cause their share of problems. A client who does not know the status of their project may make unreasonable demands out of ignorance. Keeping a client in the dark creates a recipe for disaster. Communicate with your client to avoid last-minute deadline change requests.

Outsource When Possible

Clients do not always allow outsourcing, but when they do take advantage of it. Outsourcing content to other writers is one way to avoid missing deadlines. Contract trusted freelancers to help with large projects and tight deadlines.