freelance: enthusiastic new client

JM, the potential client I mentioned in a recent post, was delighted with the sample edit and eager to hire me. He said pleasant things about the quality of my work, and sent me the next chapter within a few hours. He has now PayPal'd me the 50% deposit so I could start work without waiting for his institution's accounts payable department to get me a check. They sent me a form to sign so they could pay me, which the client assumed was routine. I read it and told him that there were two unacceptable clauses--freelance editors get used to explaining that no, we don't have or need business liability insurance--so I crossed s couple of things out, wrote in half a sentence, and sent it back. Now someone at USC has to read and OK the slightly revised contract and process the payment, and the client wanted me to start right away. (I was grumbling to cattitude about that contract before I spoke to JM, specifically that if they had a standard contract, they should have sent it to me the form before JM and I agreed on a rate, he sent me the work, and I did it and sent it back; I was a little worried I might have to push for payment for the work already done.)

After we sorted out the basics of payment, we had a cheerful conversation about scheduling and deadlines, which included me assuring the client that I didn't think the office manager's email about payment and contracts was rude, just direct--"It's OK, I'm from New York" and he said oh, right, his father's side of the family was from Queens. So we have a schedule of when I'll be getting more chapters of the manuscript (3 and 4 probably by Monday) and when he'll have the book back (by July 5). Near the end of the conversation he asked if I edit articles as well as books. I said yes, and it sounds like he'll be sending me more work after this book.

This client prefers telephone to email, but hasn't been using up a lot of my time with the calls, so that's okay, just unusual. I have freelance clients, including the person who referred me to him, who I have literally never spoken to; it's all been by email.