Is there honor among freelancers? Of course, there is! We have an unprinted Bible filled with unspoken commandments to help us co-exist without scratching each others' eyes out.
And now... for the first time in Raketista history, I'm writing them down! Brace thyselves...
Have some dignity, man! When self-selling, use your own portfolio. If you don't have one, build one. Reel-stealing, no matter how tempting, is just so uncool.
Ever heard of originality? It's what gets you business. If you have a knack for rehashing, copy/pasting, or re-editing a colleague's idea, you're an embarrassment to the underground industry.
The big NO-NO! When a co-freelancer introduces you to her client, that isn't an invitation to be a snake in the grass. If you want a slice of the pie, ask your friend to recommend you. Simple.
Do not kick someone down to get ahead. That's just rude. When you badmouth a co-freelancer, that only tells the client that you're not a good person to partner with. Touche!
When you are recommended by a co-freelancer to a client, please... do a good job. Spazzing in the middle of a project is disrespectful. It's not just your name on the line, you know.
In a freelance collab, never openly blame a partner for a f*ck up. If you're the lead in this set-up, command responsibility. Fixing a problem than flogging a person earns more brownie points.
Unless you have an awesome talent for learning new things at neck-breaking speed, never promise a co-freelancer that you can take on something you know nothing about. Why not? Hmm...
If you can't share business, say so. If a collab project gets shelved, say so. Be straight. Making a freelancer wait for nothing is mean and cold-hearted. We all have bills to pay.
Aww... you feel bad because your freelance art director decided to board another colleague's TV script? Honey, it's freelancing. You don't own anyone. Get over it.
In another collab scenario you lead, never overpad a co-freelancer's fee to get a hefty commission, nor use your co-freelancer's creative payment for quick shopping. Remember karmaaaa...
Whew! That was tiring. No wonder this list was never written!
I'm sure I missed more but let's put those off for another post. In the meantime, let these serve as mere guidelines. After all, even without a list of rules, common decency is still among us Raketistas, yes?
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