client problem--need advice

["Rebecca Sederberg" <rebecca_sederberg -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

I'm a beginning TW/editor, and would appreciate some advice. Is there a way 
I can (tactfully) extricate myself from a work project and collect the money 
the client owes me? (He still owes me for about 40 hours of work.) Also, 
what could I have done to keep this situation from escalating?

Six months ago, my boss assigned me a Total Quality Management (TQM) book to 
edit. When I delivered my "final" edit to the client, he handed me a revised 
copy of the book featuring new chapters and a general overhaul. A few days 
later he gave me a *new* new version, which used only a small portion of my 
earlier edit. We offered to introduce him to a more useful, standardized 
author/editor work system, but he begged off, saying that he'd already been 
working on this project for five years and this was the only way he could 
forsee finishing it.
Meetings with this client went as follows: He'd raise an issue. I'd offer a 
recommendation. He'd ask my boss the SAME QUESTION. My boss would either 
say, "Ask her; I don't know much about that," or else repeat exactly what I 
had just said. If my boss wasn't present, the client would disregard any of 
my comments save praise, and mostly wanted to talk about the powerful impact 
his book would have.
At the initial assignment I had given him my home phone so he could reach 
me, as he is not Internet-saavy and I am only infrequently near a phone 
during the workday. One morning my husband and I were woken by him calling 
to share his philosophy of trust, which he said he had just come up with. He 
cornered me at work and wouldn't leave for *three hours* then called me at 
home again that night to give me an overview on how his marketing plan was 
coming. I've begun letting the machine take all my calls.
To date I've done seven "final" edits and two redesigns of his book. He has 
plans for creating a novel incorporating the TQM principles, and also wants 
me to help him create a musical, a screenplay, etc. I lack the time, 
ability, interest, and patience.
Whenever I try to resign from the project he talks at me until I back down, 
keeps calling me and cornering me, or adds more detail to my present 
assignment. This might be harrassment, but there's not much I can do; my 
boss and everyone else I work with are intimidated by him. By now I just 
want out. Fortunately, my husband is relocating to a different state for an 
internship, so I'll be leaving this area in a few weeks.
But I would like to get this resolved before I go.
He would like me to continue to work for him. I don't care for the 
long-distance gig, and he won't take no for an answer. Should I just mail 
him his manuscript and the other TQM material he's given me and take off?
Would it be best to just forget about the check he owes me and chalk this 
one up to a learning experience?
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems 
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 Conference East, 
June 4-6, Baltimore, MD. Now covering Acrobat 5. Early registration deadline 
April 27. http://www.pdfconference.com. 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.