It's Andy Fish!

Another edition of ASK THE ANSWER MAN! This one from a young freelancer who I can certainly relate to.

Q- Dear Answer Man; I keep getting work I don’t want. I’m a graphic designer, I’d like to work for some big clients like you have but I keep getting things like Family Pet Portraits, Baby and Children Illustrations, etc. Once I was really tied down with one of these types of things and a gig came along I really wanted so I took it and totally screwed it up, rushing the work and missing the deadline because I took on too much. Worse I realized I under quoted the dream gig by a lot and they admitted to me my price was too good to be true, so rather than appreciate that I gave them such a good price I came across like a stupid.

Help!

A- It’s true- freelance is a juggle especially when you’re starting out and you have gigs coming in that are plentiful but small. It takes a lot of $100 illustrations to pay the monthly bills (and the original post isn’t missing a word– being “like a stupid” is an expression I heard a lot from folks in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

First, stop taking the gigs you don’t want. It’s OKAY to say no, which I realize is easy to say when I’m booked into 2029 with work, but trust me focus on the work you want, give it a week or 10 days to see if you can crack one of the big companies you’re mentioning, if nothing comes of it, spend the next 20 days back in the slush pile of work to pay the bills and then next month repeat the 10 days of solid attempts to break down walls. It will eventually work.

One of the things people don’t get for freelance illustrators is that we can’t just “Knock out a drawing”– I’ve had friends ask me to draw things for a kid’s science project– and I’ve explained that the work I do pays the bills and I wish I had time to draw for fun but I don’t. Most people are cool, if they aren’t, well, that’s one more Birthday card I won’t be getting this year.

I recently had a request to do a very small project with some very detailed aspects to it— we didn’t even get to the price point because I knew right away I didn’t want this gig. When I turned it down the person was stuttering “but we didn’t even discuss a price yet!”.

This isn’t Midas ™ and you didn’t just come in to have your tires rotated. I don’t have to accept a job if I don’t feel the fit is right. Is it personal? It could be– depends a lot on the way the request comes in, depends a lot on what its for and it depends a lot on how busy I am.

The Truth is I would love to draw things for my friends anytime they want something– and for the most part if its a reasonable request I’ll happily do it– but more than something simple? No I’m afraid not.

So the morale of today’s Answer Man is don’t be afraid to say no, and focus on the work you want.