Freelancing: Up- and Down-sides

I've been freelancing, basically, doing different things, since about 2008. It does have its up sides, clearly, or I wouldn't be doing it. So I want to just go over a few things before I get to my main bellyache today. Bear with me.

So on the up side, I can:

--Make my own schedule (for the most part, but varies by client)

--Work from home

--Work in my pajamas

--Few to no phone calls (I hate talking on the phone. Hate.)

--No wasted time or expenses driving to work (or on wardrobe, either.)

--The only person I answer to is the client (and my conscience)


But the downsides? I didn't think getting screwed by a "friend" was one of them. But first, let me list the down sides:

--Work from home on your own schedule. If you're not self-motivating, this won't work for you. It took me about a year to really get it down, and that involved making lists and using Outlook calender for reminders.

--Solitude--no interaction with others. Even a loner like me still likes to hang out once in a while with others.

--No steady paycheck or benefits like paid holidays or health insurance

--You're "always" at work if you're reachable by phone, email, or text. I've answered client questions while sitting in the doctor's office.

So those are the big ones. So I've bellyached on here before about not getting paid promptly by one of my clients. I'm not going to revisit that subject again.

But today I was gobsmacked by the reaction of a friend who I did some work for recently. I've worked on projects for her before, but this was the first one that was of this size. I made things easy for her. I said she could make payments, and I would charge her a flat fee no matter how long it took me to edit her manuscript, printed out on paper and marked up with pencil--her choice.

She said she would mail it to me at the beginning of November, then the end of November, and then well, she wasn't sure. I had lots of time in November and December, notsomuch in January when she decided to send it to me.

About ten days after I'd received it--and when I was slammed with work--she wanted to know if she could have it by the weekend because she wanted to submit it to a publisher and they had a deadline. I told her there was no way I could get it done by then--reminding her that I had time in Nov and Dec, but that January was exceptionally busy and that we'd talked about that--so I also told her if she needed it back that quickly, I would go ahead and refund her deposit ($100-), and mail back the ms. She demurred and I got the manuscript to her by the following weekend.

So I said as long as she paid me something every month, we were good. Well, yesterday I was sitting here, and I realized it had been a while since she'd sent a payment. So I checked my PayPal account, and I was right; it was over a month. So I sent her a friendly e-mail, how's it going, how is the book going? When will you publish? Yada yada, and oh yeah, by the way, do you think you could let me know when I might expect the next payment?

Holy cow! Fireworks and brimstone!! She chewed my butt, but good! "...I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm having trouble making my bils...property taxes are coming due...tax refund....blahdy blah."

Wow. I did not expect that. But here's what she doesn't get: If she couldn't afford me, she shouldn't have hired me. Also, if her boss told her, "well, Jane (not her name), the balloon payment on the building you work in is due this month, so we'll need to delay payroll until after we do our taxes...." How well do you think she might have been understanding or forgiving? None, right? Well, this is my job. This is what I do. And when my clients can't pay me? I can't pay my bills either. *fume*

I wrote her back and told her, but in much nicer and more courteous terms, "Yeah, I get it," basically, because I do, but that is not the point. Because she's my friend, she thinks she can push me to the end of the line, that I matter less than her other bills. And yes, I understand that when you're trying to pay a $1000 bill budget with only $800 in the bank, sometimes some juggling and creative financing has to take place. Hell, if we didn't have a nice landlady, we'd be living in our car, seriously. She's working with us on catching up on back rent. Thank Gawd!

But seriously I expect this kind of behavior from corporations or other non-human entities--it's not personal, it's business--but from my friend? I admit to being surprised. But here's the deal, now: I won't work on another project for her. Period. Done. I will never have time or be available for her, so she'll have to go somewhere else and pay retail. And all because she couldn't play nice. That's too bad. Perhaps if she'd been a little more proactive, or apologetic, or friendlier, something, I wouldn't be having this bitch session. KnowhatImsayin'?