Ghost Stories: The Freelance Edition

5 minute read

I would like to tell you a story about being ghosted. It wasn’t a date or anything romantic, it was work. Earlier this year I was approached about a project. They thought I was the right fit and asked me to do a pitch, I was delighted to, it sounded exciting, and I was ready for the next big thing to get my teeth into. They loved the pitch and asked for more. Remember, they approached me. I did some more prep work, had some more meetings, did a bit more work and then… nothing. Absolutely nothing. Gone. Ghosted.

I thought about sending another mail, one of those “just checking in ones”, but in the end I didn’t because this wasn’t the first time it had happened to me and in the words of my parents in 1995, I wasn’t angry, just disappointed. And more than a bit resigned. It was actually the second time it had happened to me in a number of months.

Being freelance is like that. Putting work into pitches, giving up time for meetings only to have nothing come of it all. You get used to leads disappearing and your time being wasted. Even when you do get the work, part of the job is the inevitable chasing of invoices that follows your submission.

It’s the same for journalists, graphic designers, photographers, make-up artists, illustrators and PR people amongst many others.

It can disproportionately affect women too because freelancing is a way of working that is flexible when you’re trying to keep a family show on the road – or you know, double jobbing.

But women entering the freelance market should be aware that they are facing an even bigger gender pay gap than their employed sisters. There is very little pay transparency in the gig economy and in instances where you are asked to quote for work women often undervalue themselves.

There are movements in some industries to share rate information and payment processes (including the often controversial late fee system) but that puts the onus back on women. Yet again.

I spoke to a number of women who work freelance for this piece who had a lot to say but because Ireland is so small, were unwilling to go on the record because they don’t want to be seen as difficult or ungrateful. That’s another problem with working for yourself in Ireland, jobs often come via word of mouth and the last thing you want to do is burn bridges – even when all you want to do is reach for the petrol.

In Ireland, women working freelance often face the impossible situation of being asked to do more for less. It might be hosting an event, sitting on a judging panel or speaking about a piece they’ve written on the radio. It all benefits the person that they are working with but when it’s unpaid they are literally losing money on the hours they spend on those tasks. It can be hard to say no when it’s clear that you may not get another commission if you’re not flexible.

The most difficult part of freelancing is the financial ghosting that so many of us will be familiar with. Rosemary Mac Cabe has been a freelance writer for more than a decade and still spends hours of every week chasing invoices that are invariably late.

“As a freelancer it's actually very rare that I do a job and get paid for it on time without following up on the invoice at least once. I think people will be surprised that there are a lot of established brands and well-known publications that simply, in my experience, never pay on time.

“I think there are definitely jobs that I've done or pieces that I've written where I've honestly spent more time invoicing and following up those invoices than I have actually writing the piece or creating the content. It's just incredibly frustrating. I think it's one of the things that isn't really factored into the life of a freelancer or of a content creator. I think a lot of the time people think that freelancing or creating content is a very easy and straightforward kind of living. But as someone who's been both freelance on worked in-house and as a staffer, I often think that people underestimate the sheer joy and freedom and relaxation that comes with earning a wage that is paid to you at regular intervals without you having to contact HR. Imagine anyone working a nine to five job having to get in touch with HR every single month to say, hey, that money didn't come into my account. I swear to God every to do list that I write, and I usually update my to do list once a week, has at least two notes to follow up with people for payment.

A make-up artist that I spoke has had messages read but ignored when she brings up payment, jobs left unconfirmed and been undercut by other MUAs who work in make-up as a side hustle, a practice that often leaves professional artists being told that their fees are unreasonable.

She is understandably angry but also afraid to speak out publicly for fear that she will be left with a difficult reputation and potentially lose out on work. It seems that for freelancers, reputation, even in the face of horrific employers, is everything.

Rosemary wonders if male freelancers have the same fear.

“I’d be very interested to hear from male freelancers or even to read their follow-up emails. I used to do that thing that women often do in emails, but I’ve stopped now. When I used to get in touch asking about late payments, I would be overly nice. ‘Would you mind checking on this payment? Hi, just wanted to check in and see blah, blah, blah’. Whereas now I've started being much more blunt and saying hi, this payment is now two weeks overdue. Please let me know when I can expect payment at your earliest convenience. I try to be very formal about it when I used to be kind of apologetic. I’m so sorry for taking up your time checking on the money, I realise it’s, you know, really inconvenient for you. I know. Like actually it's fucking inconvenient for me.”

Happily, my regular clients are wonderful, pay promptly and are great to work with, but it’s taken me time to get here. A long time. And as you can see from my ghost stories earlier in the year, it still sometimes goes wrong. But I set my hours, I do work I love, I share contacts, rates, and jobs I can’t do with freelance friends, and I wouldn’t have it any other way for now.

Jennifer Stevens, November 2021