Update

Applied for a gig. Gave one of the posts on this blog as a reference. If you're the guy who I applied to, please give me a shot. If you're not the aforementioned, please ignore me.

But just the act of firing up the ol blog gives me a sense of responsibility to make a substantial post. So....

I've been struggling with my responsibilities towards a client, my conscience and the balance in my paypal. This guy seems to have a lot of dollar bills stuffed into his freezer, or his bank account. He likes the kind of research I do and over the last few months, we've reached a comfort zone where nothing much needs to be said. Upto this point, things are peachy.

Here's the problem - The reason he's asking me to do the research is because he's on a highly quixotic quest. Even leaving aside the larger picture, the focus of his every request is bound to be a major flop. And yet he keeps going. Sometime back, I tried to get him to take a more realistic approach, but I might as well have been talking to a brick wall. So I shelved the subject. But everytime he sends me a paypal, there's a small rabbit bouncing around in the back of mind, saying that you're giving him what he wants, but are you sure what he wants is what he needs?

So, after this wierd bit of navel-gazing, let's get to the meat of this post - You're a freelancer. You work hard and deliver results, to the best of your ability and as per your client's specs. But do you step back from the keyboard, and think about the success the client is going to have when he uses your material? Do you give suggestions to your client to modify his requirements, in order to give him a better chance? That, I think, would probably be the difference between a good freelancer and a professional freelancer. Of course, it could also end up with you being thrown out on your butt and the contract cancelled. All part of the game....