Protecting Your Boundaries with Clients

Along with teaching at Club Ed, I freelance as an editor for publishing companies. And this time of year always comes with a crunch of deadlines as companies try to wrap up projects before the end of the year. And it reminds me of the perennial problem of keeping boundaries as a freelancer. I wanted to share the importance of holding firm as you negotiate the end of the year.

A few years ago, I was asked to do a developmental edit on a manuscript that was due from the author in mid-November.

I told the acquisitions editor that I was taking time off from mid-December onward (I’ve done this for many years) and I asked if the project could be completed in January. The AE said she was hoping to have it to the copy editor by the end of the year and could I possibly make that work.

Be Flexible When You Can

I could. I like to be flexible when I can, so I came up with a schedule that would put a bit of pressure on me to get the edit finished quickly, but which would give the author enough time to turn around their revision. I’d have a few days to double-check the revision before sending it to the CE and taking my time off.

But the author didn’t make their mid-November submission deadline. They asked for a one-week extension.

This meant I couldn’t do the edit and get the revision back to the author before I took time off.

In years past, I’ve wrecked multiple holidays by not holding firm to boundaries. In years past, I’ve gone ahead and given up my own plans to solve a problem someone else made.

And it has been worth it exactly zero times.

But Don’t Sacrifice Yourself

So I told the AE that while I understood the author’s need to move the deadline, unfortunately, under the circumstances I wouldn’t be able to get the ms to the copy editor before I took my time off.

And guess what?

The AE was fine with that. I came up with a new schedule that included a January “to CE” date and we all went on with our lives. The project was completed successfully and I doubt if anyone involved even remembers the little snag over due dates. (Well, except for me, of course.)

As a freelancer, no one’s going to enforce your boundaries but you.