realities of freelancing
one thing i'm (re)discovering about freelancing--as a writer or artist--is that there's no such thing as a finished 'first draft' or 'initial layout'. no matter how well-thought of your concepts are or how spiffy a job comes out the first time around, there will always be that one not-so-perfect element the client will want changed or revised. it's really mostly a matter of taste; it's that grey area that people could argue on for hours and still not arrive at a resolution, simply because each one prefers to have it done his own way.
in the end, the client is master. and one can only reluctantly oblige or face career suicide. of course, one can create for his own sake, thinking that others are not good enough to enjoy his work. but then, really, wouldn't that be a little too narcissistic?
posted by kiko @ 7:16 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
in the end, the client is master. and one can only reluctantly oblige or face career suicide. of course, one can create for his own sake, thinking that others are not good enough to enjoy his work. but then, really, wouldn't that be a little too narcissistic?
it is and i know i can be :p
it was always a battle between my vanity and my client's so, for fear of turning bitter, i let it go.
A hard but necessary lesson. Still, take a lesson from Michelangelo and the Pope Julius who bullied him into doing the Sistine chapel. Michaelangelo thought it was a "hopeless task" and that painting was not his metier. Not to mention that old Julius was a vain, difficult, vile-tempered, changeable, demanding tyrant who drove the narcissitic Michelangelo to distraction. Not all the best creation is done within the safety of our comfort zones. Sometimes the willfullness of those we work for pushes us to greater heights of invention and creativity--even if only to spite them.
To do what is dull, routine and unpleasant too requires a training of the spirit--an ascetic discipline that actually hones your command of crft in the long run. If we let ourselves be completely ruled by the fickle daimon of inspiration, we will find ourselves unable to do good work when we want to.
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