Lesson 3; Lying to Clients

Lying to clients is a necessary evil in freelancing, whether it’s “I enjoy working with you” or “This is my resume.” And lying is not only for writers (e.g. James Frey and that Indian chick from Harvard) but for illustrators as well. More often than not you are working with editors rather than only art directors (who have a better understanding of the art process). In book publishing, the power has shifted to the agent, who now does much of the editing because editors now have added responsibilities. But no matter who you're answering to, you must keep your composure.


This brings us to anger management. A doctor friend has helped me “deal” with my “issues” by thinking out-of-the-box. This doctor actually wrote the book Out of the Box and is the leading authority on thinking out of the box. I consider it the Freelancer’s Bible.

Book update: My editor and I are totally on the same page now. For the first time the status of the book is stable. She asked to speak to me tomorrow about something important. I suspect she will be telling me the publisher wants to invest more money into marketing and producing the book. I am one lucky person.