Read below or listen to the 2 minute audio version at https://youtu.be/JoGwPEqhahg
In most regular (W-2) jobs, we have a supervisor who can make the final calls. When we freelance on the other hand, we are contracted as experts. Making decisions for our clients, or at the very least, narrowing down the choices, is part of the job. New freelancers sometimes have a hard time transitioning into being a decision maker, and make the mistake of relying on the client for answers out of fear of stepping on their toes. However, the last thing a client wants to hear when they hire an expert is “I wasn’t sure about this one so I thought I’d ask you.” That’s like saying, I know you are paying me to use my expertise, but I’m not going to do it, and you are going to pay me anyway!
Of course, there are some instances where you don’t have all the information as a freelancer, so you will need to ask for clarification, or narrow decisions down to a few options rather than just one. If you’re a graphic designer, part of your process might involve creating a few mockups in the first round in order to get a sense of what the client is after. But if you are hired to edit a book, for instance, and you leave a list of things that you aren’t sure about, you aren’t doing your job. If you are an audiobook narrator and there are words in the book you’ve never heard spoken out loud, look them up in an online dictionary or on Youglish. If the words happen to be names of characters or places that the author made up, record an option or two and ask the author or producer for approval. In many cases, authors write books, especially Sci-fi and Fantasy novels, without considering how the names will sound when spoken.
If you don’t know the answer, your job is to find out the answer. If your job is to make decisions about the best artistic choices, unless told otherwise, make decisions. Someone decided it was worth their money to outsource the decision making and artistry for a reason, so give them the confidence that you know what you are doing and be worth their investment.
Visit my website at becksvoice.com!
Follow me on social media!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-h-lee-audiobook-narrator
https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaHLee
https://www.instagram.com/beckcentric
https://www.facebook.com/beckcentric
https://www.tiktok.com/@beckcentric
