Developing Your Bread-and-Butter Clients

Panelists: Tracy Wilson, Brie Gyncild, and Carrie Wicks
Facilitator: Betty Shapiro

Day of Meeting: March 10, 2014

Announcements:
• This is our first meeting that is live-streaming and will be archived and available on the Guild’s YouTube channel. (https://www.youtube.com/user/edsguild) [The following notes are not a transcript of the event.]
• Alan Rinzler will be giving a workshop on April 12 (9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Hugo House) on the topic of “Author and Editor: How to Navigate the Difference Between Being a Therapist for Your Client and Being an Editor,” all about establishing boundaries. Details will follow.

Meeting Topic: “Developing Your Bread-and-Butter Clients” with panelists Tracy Wilson, Brie Gyncild and Carrie Wicks, facilitated by Betty Shapiro.

Panelist Bios

Tracy Wilson has more than a decade of hands-on editing experience with Fortune 500 companies. She wielded her red pen on the employee communications teams at Starbucks and Capital One, and in 2011 she launched her freelance editing business. She specializes in corporate communications and her current clients include Nordstrom, Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin-Robbins, REI, Old Navy and Symetra Financial.

Brie Gyncild makes technical information accessible to those who need it, whether they're IT professionals, graphic geeks, or novice users who just need to get something done. As the sole proprietor of WayWord Writing & Editing, she's written about a wide range of computer software and processes for fifteen years, though recently she's mostly focused on Adobe software. She has written political columns in a local community newspaper, writes a personal blog about grief and writes and edits extensively for local community organizations as a volunteer.

Carrie Wicks graduated from the University of Vermont with an English degree, then acquired her first job as a third-shift proofreader in St. Paul. For nearly eight years she worked on art books as the in-house proofreader and editorial assistant at Marquand Books in Seattle. Since 2008 she's been a full-time freelancer, proofreading/copyediting for graphic design firms, agencies and publishers, as well as for independent authors of both fiction and nonfiction. She has assisted in the editorial production of various literary magazines along her cross-country travels, and dabbles at the junction of poetry and songwriting.

Facilitator Bio

Betty Shapiro is a board member who joined the guild 16 years ago when it was just getting started. Betty started her freelance editing business about 20 years ago, providing editing and desktop publishing for book publishers and non-profit, civic and business organizations. In 2001, she left freelancing to spend the next 13 years working for companies such as AOL, Microsoft and Starbucks as a technical writer/editor and later as an instructional designer and corporate trainer. She has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Washington Editing Certificate program. Last year, Betty returned to freelance work providing writing, editing, teaching and consulting services.

Meeting Notes

Betty: A bread-and-butter client is defined as the source of where you get most of your work. This work may not be so much fun or even interesting, but the strategy behind finding such a client is to develop a source of income that can support your sideline of interests. To do so, it’s helpful to look at areas outside of  what you’ve considered in the past. [About 60 percent present tonight indicate that they have experience with a bread-and-butter client. The panelists are invited to introduce themselves.]

Tracy: I’ve been freelancing for about three years. My career path started out in the financial industry where I was an analyst.  Leaders would bringing me PowerPoints, etc. to edit on the side, which I loved. My manager eventually noticed and channeled me toward a communications team. During my 10 years in corporate communications (primarily internal comm) at Capital One and Starbucks, I discovered that it was all about becoming a generalist. I set up blogs, wrote, managed projects, planned events, did a ton of stuff that I was good at but didn’t really enjoy. But then I realized I just wanted to edit. I was a specialist trapped in a generalist’s world. So I launched my freelance editing career, specializing in corporate communications.

Brie: I did lots of different kinds of work when younger. I recently discovered my first publishing credits through a Google search. It’s a book that I edited a chapter of when I was a secretary at Fred Hutch. I eventually was hired at Aldus in tech support. Over time, I became what was known as a TWE (Technical Writer and Editor). When Adobe bought Aldus and restructured, I left. It was during the tech bubble and I got a lot of work from the overflows. I went to Guild meetings and tried to get out of tech. But I’m basically lazy, so why fight it? I like to say yes to phone calls.

Carrie: After studying English at the University of Vermont, I worked as a proofreader in Minneapolis/St. Paul, as well as co-edited two feminist literary journals. I did old-school proofing on the graveyard shift for one and a half years before moving to Bainbridge Island. I got a job at a large graphic design firm where a mentor and I tried to convince designers of the benefits of editing. I worked for eight years as a proofreader/editorial assistant at Marquand Books (art books) where I created their first-ever in-house proofreading position. I then did contract stints at Methodologie and then Cranium during their last six months of business. Since 2008, I’ve been building my freelance business. I encourage members to become involved as a volunteer in the Guild as a means to find bread-and-butter clients. That’s how I’ve developed one of my bread-and-butter client relationships—proofreading for Girl Friday Productions.

Betty: Share with us your basic experience with bread and butter clients.

Tracy: My clients are primarily Fortune 500 corporations.  I had an extensive network after 15 years in corporate America, so I felt prepared for finding clients as a freelancer. I intentionally did a few things from the beginning to build my business with a new client:

1. How do I make myself totally indispensable? How do I become the freelancer they call?
   a. Realize that these people need someone to rely on, to push the project to the end and deliver.
   b. Do things on time, offer to take things off someone’s plate, become the person they go to for everything.

2. Meet deadlines and BEAT DEADLINES. For example, if a client gave their freelancers a seven day turn around, I’d do it in three days.

It’s also important to be clear and deliberate about what you do or don’t do. Educate clients about differences between editing and writing, copyediting and proofreading. “Here is specifically how I can help you.” Make their product perfect in partnership with them. This establishes credibility. Tell people you enjoyed their work. Let them know that you are interested and available. Frustratingly simple: I can just ask for the work.

Brie: The pay in tech is a little higher than it is for some other forms of editing and writing and so this allows me to pay my bills and focus the remainder of my time on matters that are important to me. My initial thought about the bread-and-butter client was about recurring projects. But there are two ways to have a bread-and-butter project: There’s the recurring project and then there is the repeat client. The recurring projects are what have let me sleep at night.

In each case, for me, I already had a good reputation with the client. I had already earned their respect and trust with deadlines and by being honest. Sometimes I’d talk a client out of hiring me because I thought they’d be better served by taking a different approach.

The thing with a recurring project team, is once you are on the team, you are going to get the first call. Getting on the team is the challenge. The key is to already have a relationship with the  person who is going to have a need when there is an opening on a team. Whatever you do to have people to keep you in mind—cards, LinkedIn—keep your name in front of people in a way that is genuine for you is helpful. The first time you are on a team, you are auditioning. People want somebody who is fun to work with. You want to do good work on time and be a critical thinker, but also be somebody you’d want to work with.

A pitfall I ran into: all of my recurring gigs were based on Adobe products even though I had multiple publishing clients. When Adobe shifted to cloud subscriptions, all my recurring gigs were based on a paradigm that had shifted and those projects went away. I discovered there wasn’t quite the diverse client base there that I had thought. (Fortunately, these projects have morphed and I still have the same clients.)

It’s important to recognize  if there is an underlying dependency or part of the business with your bread-and-butter clients that may shift. Finding your niche is useful but if it depends on something that is going to change, you need to be aware.

Carrie: Three important things I want to mention:

1. Have a niche, an area of specialization. Know what you can or cannot do well. I learned that my niche is a blend of proofreading and copyediting with expertise with the Chicago Manual of Style. I have a deep knowledge base from my in-house proofreading experience that a lot of freelance people don’t have nowadays. When dealing with self-publishing clients—which is a whole different thing from editing for an agency like Girl Friday—it’s important to educate the client. I recommend sending a contract. The Freelancers Union has a web page for creating specialized contracts.

2. Build trust with good communication. Be prompt and professional. Focus on networking and referring people to the Guild. I have a lot of gratitude for the Guild and the referrals I’ve received from members. LinkedIn has been another source for new clients getting in touch with my work.

3. Time and organization: Deliver early. Sometimes I drive the job back down to Marquand Books in person and check in. Get together for wine or clothing swaps. You want to get together with the managing editors, especially if they’re new. “Managing time becomes an art. It is our most important gift and our only true possession.” This quote is from Sara Edwards, who hiked the Appalachian Trail.

Brie: I’d like to add—building on Carrie’s comment about referrals—that once you are on a team with a recurring project, when there is an opening on the team, you can slide someone in that you would like to be working with. So keep your networks active with graphic designers, copyeditors, writers, etc. for these opportunities. The project manager will be really grateful when you recommend somebody who is really good and you get to work with that person.

Betty: I am hearing a theme about more than just providing a service, about being a consultant. Each of you, what percentage of your work would you say is bread-and-butter clients?

Brie: Ninety-five to 99 percent.

Tracy: Currently, I’d say 95 plus. When I first started out, it was a different mix because I was constantly taking on new projects and clients.

Carrie: Around 90 percent. It’s good to ponder the diversity thing.

Betty: What pitfalls are there to avoid about saying “yes,” for example,  about colliding deadlines with different clients? How do you say no to a bread-and-butter client and not lose them because of a scheduling difficulty?

Tracy: I foresaw the problem of saying yes to all my projects. I wanted more life balance as a freelancer.  What happens in corporate communications is that deadlines always move, scope always creeps and then everything happens at once. I thought I would have to turn down projects because I was very cognizant of this. But then I realized that because everything shifts, there is a zero percent chance all the projects are going to land in the same time block. So I work around the impulse to say no.

Brie: Most projects last between two to four months and everything shifts. The team schedules around you if you are a critical part of the team. A publisher changes a deadline because they really love that team. I always say yes to recurring gigs because I don’t want to lose my slot.

Carrie: I say yes to projects because of the sliding schedule phenomenon. I tried to pull out of one big book project but changed my mind. I just keep reading faster! I’m working weekends but am trying not to.

Betty: There’s a difference about being an outside vendor—clients can’t pressure you to the same extent as an employee and may be more accommodating. You are the bread-and-butter editor, so it goes both ways.

Q & A:

Q: I’d like ideas on how to cultivate more of a relationship with a client, how to create circumstances to do that. Is it crossing a line, say for example, to take a client for coffee or give a gift? I am talking primarily about cultivating relationships with clients who are in a field of science or corporate culture that I am unfamiliar with.

Brie: I wouldn’t give gifts but it’s never a bad idea to take someone for coffee. I don’t see anything wrong with cultivating personal relationships, moving into “real territory.” Good teams are about people who care about each other’s lives.

[Audience member: Go find people where they are. Get to know a company, go to their trade shows and conferences.]

Q: A client tells you that you are going to have to block three weeks off your calendar for a project. Have you ever considered a retainer or a clause indicating that 10 percent of the project is due if the project doesn’t show up?

Tracy: In my business, every client and recurring project has a written and signed contract or estimate defining scope, timelines, roles and responsibilities. Any change requires a new contract. If the contract is written so that invoices drop at Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the project, and then the project stalls, I’ll  group invoices together to avoid long lapses between payments. I also have a rush rate for clients for 150 percent more if I have to juggle things to adjust for an overnight expectation where there was originally a set schedule. Clients always pay the rush rate.

Q: This panel exudes confidence. Was there a turning point in your careers where you decided to present yourself with more confidence?

Brie: I gained confidence through experience and I quickly learned to assert my authority. I learned that layout team’s perception was different from mine. The turning point came when I owned that I was the person who knew what worked. I have to learn that over again any time I am in a new position. I now know what not to leave to others for completion. What comes easily to me does not come easily to others. This has been a revelation. I also have the freedom to ask questions without feeling like I’ll look stupid.

Tracy: I developed a thick skin; I wasn’t born confident. I got laid off twice and was re-orged 15 times in six years, so I learned how to adapt. When I realized that I was a specialist trapped in a generalist world, that discovery was also empowering. A level of confidence came from that. I am willing to make mistakes and learn from experiences.

Carrie: I used to put lots of question marks at the end of proof marks until a managing editor asked me not to. It takes many years of looking things up to gain confidence in CMS. Keep at it!

Betty: Confidence is a key ingredient to being successful. My aha moment happened when I realized that whenever I wasn’t being confident, this put a burden on my client. People assume you are a professional; it’s up to you to destroy that. Fake it. Take the burden off clients.

Q: What are some of the types of bread-and-butter clients that you have?

Carrie: I have recurring work from graphic design firms, ad agencies and book publishing clients—Girl Friday and Marquand Books. I also have some self-publishing side dishes.

Brie: Adobe Creative Suite books, such as Photoshop, After Effects. Marketing stuff for Adobe’s core messaging.

Tracy: All corporate business. I don’t target small businesses as much anymore because that involved too much writing and they sometimes didn’t pay on time, whereas big corporations pay Net 30. My clients include Nordstrom, Old Navy, REI, Dunkin’ Donuts.

Q: Can you provide examples of ways you’ve leveraged the Guild or been connected to people at the Guild to work towards building bread-and-butter clientele? Anything we can act on when we go home tonight?

Tracy: The opportunity to come and be around people who do what I do—in the corporate world—is a rare and glorious thing. Knowing that there is a community of colleagues is a valuable piece of knowledge.

Brie: I believe that the in-person relationships are very important. I am so excited about how the Guild coffee hours have taken off. Any time we want to refer somebody, we want to feel really confident in them and what they are capable of. Anything that helps build those interpersonal relationships is where we can help each other the most.

Carrie: For me it’s making those personal contacts. Volunteering was helpful. Working on the Editors Guild conferences and serving on the board have extended contacts with significant referrals for some of my bread-and-butter clients. I am very grateful for the Guild and the wonderful contacts I have made therein.

Betty: It’s great to have colleagues. I’ve found it very helpful to have people from the guild to refer work to that I didn’t want to do. I could say, “I know someone who could” and check with a guild member before going ahead with the referral.

Notetaker: Kathleen Walker
Location: Richard Hugo House, Seattle