Why Reliability Beats Brilliance in Freelancing

[bonk]

Many freelancers believe the key to landing more work is sounding smarter, pitching bolder ideas, or producing the most impressive copy possible. While strong work matters, editors are rarely looking for perfection under pressure. What they value most is knowing that an assignment will run smoothly from start to finish.

Being dependable, communicative, and open to edits makes you a low-risk choice—and low-risk freelancers get assigned again and again. A great idea might sell once, but a freelancer who delivers calmly and predictably becomes someone editors actively want to work with long-term.

[madmax]

this explains why my most “boring” gigs turned into repeat work and my flashiest ones didnt