You wouldn't ask your auto mechanic to replace a few hoses for free before he does a tune up.
Alright, so I think we've learned analogies aren't my strong suit, but here's what I'm getting at.
Why do agencies like to send freelancers the creative brief, along with all the Powerpoint presentations, research, first drafts, graphic treatments and assorted other information - some useful, most not - a day or two before the job starts and ask you to review it all before you come in?
I'll tell you why. Because it doesn't cost them anything.
I'll tell you something else. I never do it.
The fact is I'm not on the clock until I am. Don't get me wrong - I don't just do this for the money. I do it for the love. Of the money (okay, who didn't see that coming). So the night before I start a new gig, when I'm with my family, watching Breaking Bad for the fifth time, walking Max - the world's greatest dog, or whatever I'm doing, it's on my time.
You know what I'm not doing on my time? Working for free.
It's not like there's any fear of coming in unprepared or uninformed. If you've ever set foot in an agency, you know meetings are the currency and lifeblood. Everything they sent you will be reviewed, reworked, rehashed and rethought a thousand times before you put pen to paper (old school expression).
And of course, by the time you start, approximately seventeen rounds of meetings later, the assignment will look nothing like what they sent you to read in the first place.
I think my high school girlfriend put it best when she said, "I'm not just giving it away."
And while I didn't appreciate the sentiment then, I certainly do now.
