A day and age in which technology is king and companies can get in contact with writers all over the country begs the question: why bother with difficult writers? While difficult writers are not the norm for most companies that need freelance writers, there are times when writers can be downright impossible to work with. However, there are methods of dealing with this type of writer that can help make work go a bit smoother.
Define the Difficulty
The first step is to define just what it is about the writer that makes them hard to work with. This is the fastest and easiest way to deal with issues and choose the approach you need to get the problem fixed. There are any number of issues that writers may have that make them hard to work with. Punctuality, inability to follow direction, difficulty with content, lack of research, or even attitude in general are all possible faults that can make a writer hard to work with. Identifying the problem is the best way to tackle the issue.
Choose Your Strategy
For those writers that are difficult simply because of technical issues like grammar, punctuality, and other issues, the fix is a bit easier. In most cases, writers can be guided in the right direction with some simple motivation. If an assignment is needed before a certain deadline and your writer is a bit late with assignments, make sure their clock runs out well before you need the piece. For those writers that have a hard time getting the content just right, it may be necessary to make them jump through some hoops before an assignment is approved. For writers that have a hard time following directions, decide if the problem is based on a fixable misunderstanding or something deeper. Try reaching out to these writers to see what they think before a strategy for improvement is chosen. Lastly, for writers that have a bad attitude, it may be necessary to send them through classes or seminars that help them improve their overall demeanor and the way that they interact with clients and supervisors.
Evaluate Skill
The last step before any drastic measure is taken to deal with a difficult writer is to evaluate the skill of the writer. For those companies that work with content marketing and need freelance writers, it may be difficult to let even one writer go. That being said, one way to determine if it’s time to sever all ties is to evaluate the work of the writer. If they meet all of your criteria but have a hard time getting assignments in on time, it may be possible to talk to them about punctuality or offer incentives for getting work done on time. For a writer that meets very few requirements and still causes trouble, it may be time to let them go. In most cases, there are explanations for the bad behavior of freelance writers; they do not set out to be nasty or uncooperative and, with some understanding, and a bit of time, most writers can be up to par with most writing companies.
