There’s a reason I stopped ghostwriting books. Well, there are several reasons – clients wanting to pay in royalties (if at all); expecting me to also publicize, market, and sell the book; wanting endless revisions even with a contract that stated otherwise; and the posse coming in to trash all the work the client and I had done to that point, casting aspersions on my abilities.
The biggest was the last one. I cannot convince people, no matter how much they’re paying me, that the advice of friends, colleagues, relatives, and non-writing sorts should be avoided. I will never understand why they hire writers and editors and then follow the advice of someone who has no experience with book writing or editing. Hence, I don’t take on private, book-length ghostwriting projects any longer.
However, avoiding ghostwriting does not eliminate the posse effect. Even a simple editing job or a writing job can cast doubt on you, the writer. It takes just one friend or colleague to say, “This is all wrong” to ruin a perfectly good relationship with your client. I know. It’s happened to me more than once.
In the past I would worry, fret, apologize, and kill myself to please the third party. Now, I say goodbye. If there is no clause in the contract allowing for third-party review of the project, there is no way I’m answering to another person at the tail end of a project.
But what if the client suddenly sees something he doesn’t like? All you can do is understand from the outset that every sentence you type or edit will be under scrutiny. Every one. Be prepared with justifications for your choices. Because style manuals vary greatly, because clients want what shouldn’t be, because editors have varied approaches, and because sometimes things do get missed, there will most likely be the need for some explanation. Sad, but true. In a current project, my husband and I were discussing the meaning of “biweekly” (and the hyphenation some use). He said every other week. I said every week. Merriam Webster online said both. Uh, okay… Just cite your source. In fact, do what I do – choose a style guide at the beginning and stick to it like glue. It’s much easier to justify your choices if they’re consistent.
And sometimes style is tossed out the window by the client, only to come back to bite you once a posse gets involved. In one editing job I’d taken on, I followed to the letter the client’s wishes while voicing my concerns that the sentence structure he’d insisted on wasn’t proper. And naturally, three days before I was to be paid, he kicked up dust about those very sentences because some “editor” on his side thought I was a hack. I simply forwarded my emails stating those concerns and added that I would think the same thing of my work had I not been following my client’s express instructions.
Also, there may be a third party involved that you don’t know about. If the concerns are coming out of the blue, answer the concerns with a question – what prompted the concern? Was there something in particular your client saw that didn’t appeal? Would your client like to discuss the concerns in detail over the phone?
How far will you go in defense of your work? How soon do you push the panic button? What’s your strategy for halting any doubts before they get implanted? How often have you had to defend your work?
The worst is when whomever the client is sleeping with gets involved.
I have a clause in the contract that says I deal with the client and with the client only. I explain to the client which style I use, and how it differs from other house styles. I also warn the client that sometimes, no matter what we do, the editor who's paying him will have the final say and may make additional changes.
Isn't the biweekly thing weird? How can a word have two completely opposite meanings? It's like saying that yesterday also can mean tomorrow… But we're not going to tell you when each meaning is appropriate.
I've never had to deal with it so far, but I'll have the same "goodbye" policy as you if I ever have a client bring in a third party's opinion. Screw that. I work for myself so that I can avoid the B.S.!
Devon, I often use modifications or combinations of styles depending on what the client wants (one is concerned about printing costs, so space is an issue, etc.). And where there's no clear indication of what the style is in the client's mind, I decide it. It's too cumbersome going back and forth trying to decide if they want "web site" capped, one word, not capped, two words… and even the style books don't agree on that one.
Katharine, that's exactly it. Avoiding the b.s. is the only way we keep our sanity!