Revisions are horrible. They are painful adjustments to your text which either point out that your original masterpiece was flawed in some way or they are egregious changes wrought to your document by unthinking business types who can’t write a grocery list without making a grammatical error. That’s how most writers think about revisions, and that’s how I used to think about them when I worked as a staff writer. As a freelance writer, you can make revisions part of your business plan. That’s because there is something fundamental in human nature that causes us to want to make changes in somebody else’s writing. You can translate this human flaw into a way to make some money. When a writing assignment is initiated with a business client, decide upfront how to handle revisions. Don’t just leave them as an unpleasant afterthought. Chances are your client underestimates his own meddling nature and will think, “Revisions? What revisions? I won’t change a thing unless it’s seriously wrong.” You can simply state that you will deliver a draft manuscript and charge your usual hourly rate for revisions. On many projects, I make significantly more in the revision cycle than for delivering the document–and writing the original is more difficult work. This is not a way to exploit your client, rather, it’s a way for you to be fairly compensated for your time. Revisions eat up a lot of time! The well-known writer Bob Bly once wrote in one of his many books that he offers clients free, unlimited revisions as part of his writing package (he charges flat rates). However, he puts some very important restrictions on “free revisions.” First, he will not allow the client to change the scope of the project. (Don’t think this doesn’t happen–it does! You are not obliged to rewrite a document for free just because your client now wants to do it as a white paper instead of a brochure.) Second, he sets a 30-day time limit on revisions. After 30 days, he’ll still make changes, but it’s a new project. The time clock is a stroke of brilliance. Many business clients will extend the revision process to unbelievable lengths (even if the project is a “rush” when you get it). I have had projects in the review process for over one year, but that’s when I was a staff writer at a big corporation. Staff people can afford such excesses, but freelancers have to protect their time.

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