Delegating and subcontracting the work

Delegation buys in help with personal tasks, business administration or client work. Subcontracting client work adds responsibilities for choosing writers, managing quality, paying them and agreeing with clients who will do the work.

Cover for illness and emergencies

Delegating can be difficult for a freelance who is the face of the business and does everything in it. ¹ An accident that left a freelance in hospital just before New Year deadlines illustrates why backup arrangements should precede the emergency. ^{1, 2} Reciprocal cover with a trusted freelance whose work is liked may provide help during illness or another unexpected interruption, and subcontracting can also bring work back in return. ^{3, 4, 5}

Tasks worth buying in

Cleaning, gardening and online shopping can free time for the business, family or rest. ^{2, 4, 6} A cleaner, gardener, accountant or bookkeeper can save hours and reduce stress without the responsibilities of employing and managing staff. ⁷ Comparing the cost of help with the income from the medical-writing time it frees indicates whether delegation is probably financially worthwhile. ^{6, 4} Buying help also invests in other people's skills and businesses and can release time for higher-value work. ^{4, 7, 8}

Business tasks that can be outsourced include accounting, website design and updates, branding and administration, including invoicing through a remote assistant. ^{6, 8, 9} An accountant is advised as essential for a UK limited company. ⁶ Outsourcing unfamiliar business tasks can put the practice on a more stable footing. ⁹ A writer unable to perform quality control alone needs a system for maintaining quality, through subcontracting or a contract clause addressing how it will be handled. ^{10, 11}

Capacity and business model

Subcontracting can absorb a temporary increase in work or enable a large project without a long-term business relationship; it can also be a routine business model. ¹² In AMWA's 2019 Medical Communication Compensation Survey, about four in ten full-time freelances used subcontractors regularly or occasionally; the share was 47% among those with more than ten years' experience and 31% among those with five years or less. ^{13, 12}

A team can supply expertise or capacity the principal lacks and allow the practice to accept more client work without overstretching its owner. ^{14, 8, 15, 5} One approach is to assess personal fit and availability first, then consider a team member with the necessary background, experience and time. ¹⁵ Clients may treat a trusted practice as a one-stop shop and offer work in unfamiliar therapeutic areas rather than approach an unknown writer claiming that expertise. ¹⁶ Subcontracting can cover overflow, with one writer doing daily project work while the principal manages it. ^{17, 18, 19} Receiving subcontracted portions of regulatory work can also let a medical communications writer try that field. ¹⁹ Dividing work among trusted writers can lighten a workload in which exhaustion and missed details threaten quality. ²⁰

Passing current work to a subcontractor to free time for a new client depends on the current client's agreement and on reliable people actually being available; the principal must also allow time to oversee the work alongside both workloads. ²¹ Referral to a colleague or requesting a deadline extension is an alternative used by a freelance who finds that clients generally dislike subcontracting. ²² A core group can make multiple projects less stressful, but subcontracting can also mean working harder for less money, with camaraderie and professional exchange alongside the difficulties. ²³

Income and margins

Income can continue while subcontractors work and the principal is away, and a team across time zones can extend the working day. ^{24, 25, 26, 27} In one case, the team delivered and accepted projects throughout the owner's three-week holiday without email, calls or a computer; UK and California subcontractors also extended coverage around the eastern US working day. ^{25, 26}

A value-focused subcontracting business can aim to help clients build their businesses and save money through quality, timely, on-target and on-budget work; maintain supportive relationships and well-paid work for writers; and provide its owner with income from personal and subcontracted writing, work continuing during absence and a business asset. ²⁴

A margin-based model requires client fees to exceed subcontractor costs, with the attainable difference limited by what clients will pay and by the fees good writers command. ^{26, 28} Project pricing can charge for delivered value, while the finite amount clients will pay per hour constrains an hourly model. ^{26, 23} At a 30% margin, billing $333,334 leaves about $100,000 after subcontractor costs; at a 10% margin, $1 million must be billed to leave that amount. ²⁸ Such volumes require strong selling, and lower margins increase that demand. ²⁸ Another model usually charges no markup and relies instead on accepting more work, satisfying clients and gaining repeat business, with trusted subcontractors or thorough review protecting the principal's reputation. ²⁹

Reported markups in 2023 ranged from 20% to 50–75% or more at agencies, but the wrong subcontractor could require a complete rewrite at the principal's expense. ³⁰ Samples and claimed experience do not guarantee speed, reliability or the required skill; poor choices can turn the expected markup into a loss. ^{30, 31, 32} Some experienced contractors consequently subcontract rarely, use only known and trusted people or refer the client to contract directly with another freelance. ^{30, 31}

Estimates need to cover project management and review as well as infrastructure, unbillable work and unexpected problems, with profit assessed across the whole project. ³⁰ Scope creep creates a growing financial obligation to another writer as well as consuming the principal's time, making accurate estimating and close cash-flow monitoring necessary. ²⁸ In one case, a principal accepted four projects, subcontracted two under a personal rule of a $5,000 minimum project and retaining at least 35%, and then lost the two projects reserved for personal writing; the advice was not to reclaim the subcontracted work after engaging those writers in good faith. ³³

Six subcontractors each handling two assignments create twelve opportunities, estimates, negotiations and sets of paperwork, as well as calls, draft reviews, client support, invoices and payments alongside the principal's own writing. ³⁴ Hiring a project manager adds cost without directly generating income, and some decisions still belong to the owner. ³⁵ Subcontracting demands marketing, financial and management skills and resilience, and can shift time from writing to managing people who write. ³⁶ Staff bring payroll taxes, benefits, vacation pay and wages during quiet periods, with a risk of fitting projects to existing staff rather than selecting the best person for each job; subcontractors bring more estimating, negotiation, calls, email and bookkeeping. ³⁰

Choosing subcontractors

The principal remains responsible for quality control, client communication, editing and revisions, so known, dependable writers are preferable to an untested handoff. ^{5, 33, 37, 8} Every deliverable should be reviewed and, where necessary, revised before it reaches the client. ^{32, 23} Subcontracted services can extend beyond writing to editing, word processing, data checking, graphic design and layout, accounting and medical, legal or regulatory consultation. ³² A science degree or previous involvement with papers does not necessarily demonstrate the writing skills a subcontract requires. ³²

Interviewing for practical knowledge, learning to hear what answers imply and checking references can help assess unfamiliar writers. ^{37, 30, 31} A stranger should not first be tried on a rush project; paying privately for a trial using all or part of a completed project is one alternative. ³⁷ Writing tests for experienced professionals can be insulting, irrelevant to the actual work and vulnerable to cheating, whereas interviews can examine hands-on knowledge. ³⁷ Editing, word processing, formatting and graphic design may be less problematic to subcontract than writing, though they can still go wrong. ³⁷ In one small medical-writing and translation company, native-English-speaking medical students produced good work but lost interest after graduation, while continuing recruitment and testing found both people who left after one or two demanding assignments and people who stayed and helped. ³⁸

One business model hires experienced, successful, self-motivated writers who can make decisions and reliably deliver on time, on target and on budget; project pricing and business judgement are additional selection criteria. ^{23, 39, 40, 30} This can leave the principal managing the process and client, personal writing and new work, rather than closely managing the writers. ²³ Another model trains newer writers in the practice's way of working, accepting that management and training time reduce profit; either can work if clients know the arrangement and it works for both parties. ^{39, 30}

Newer writers need simpler projects, more generous timelines, clear instructions, deadlines and expected hours, and time for review and correction. ²³ Lower trainee fees can provide leverage, but repeated rewriting, including correcting tables when data have been misunderstood, can consume the margin because the client cannot be charged for that remedial work. ⁴¹ The need for rewriting can fall as trainees improve, and working together can be energising, while experienced writers charge more and leave less profit. ⁴¹ Turning a mentee into a subcontractor should follow a confidentiality agreement and written expectations and timing; risks include slow learning, unexpectedly extensive training or corrections, and successful trainees becoming competitors. ⁴²

Agreements, supervision and payment

Subcontract service agreements can draw on client agreements and should preferably receive legal review, with processes and documents ready before work needs to be assigned. ^{5, 43} Proposals can state that subcontractors may assist and are bound by the same confidentiality and delivery conditions as the principal. ²³

Practical considerations for running subcontracts include:

• Formal contracts specifying independent contractor status, responsibility for personal taxes and reciprocal indemnification.
• Agreement on hourly or project fees and any markup amount or percentage.
• Training and checkpoints, particularly early review for less experienced writers.
• Invoicing and payment, including paying subcontractors even if the client does not pay.
• Post-project evaluations and follow-up.

²³

A client can obtain several writers and simultaneous projects through one supplier, agreement and invoice stream, while the subcontractors have their relationship with the principal rather than the client. ³⁵ Slow or missing client payments do not remove the principal's obligation to pay subcontractors on time, so receivables need attention to avoid cash-flow strain. ^{35, 23}

When working with a friend, problems should be addressed quickly and honestly by explaining what is wrong and why and asking for help before the problem grows. ⁴⁴ The reporting relationship should be clear: differing opinions can influence a decision, but the hirer has the final say. ⁴⁵ A genuinely close friendship may require compromise, and irreconcilable friction can force a choice between the friendship and the project or client. ⁴⁵

Coordinating subcontractors

Four practical tips for coordinating other writers are:

1. Hire experts: lower fees for inexperienced writers can be offset by the principal's time on revisions and problems.
2. Trust writers to handle their content expertise while the principal guides, supports and troubleshoots project logistics.
3. Maintain control of the client relationship and reputation, share credit when work succeeds and take responsibility when it fails.
4. Track writers' suitability and availability, current and pending projects, and everyone's vacation and travel schedules.

⁴⁶

Further advice for starting and running a subcontracting practice is:

1. Be successful first; a practice that is not thriving should not start giving its work away.
2. Be transparent about who works on projects, since some clients do not want subcontractors and others may eventually request them by name.
3. Allow direct subcontractor–client communication while staying involved and adding support.
4. Stay on top of fast-moving projects.
5. Estimate carefully so that there is money for both principal and subcontractor.
6. Maintain the principal's visibility, since the company, clients and reputation remain theirs.
7. Recognise limits and remain willing to decline work.
8. Act as a business: clients expect a practice using subcontractors to function as a company.
9. Remain responsive through thoughtful emails and calls, particularly as workload grows.
10. Own mistakes and learn from them quickly.
11. Credit the team for good ideas and good work.

^{47, 48, 49, 50, 51}

Client consent, confidentiality and liability

Client knowledge and consent should precede engaging other writers, and subcontracting should be raised when the project is first discussed. ^{27, 47, 52} Some clients welcome teams that deliver large projects on time; others want only the original writer, even if the work takes longer. ⁵² Contractual prohibitions should be respected, or written permission obtained where the agreement permits that route. ^{53, 23, 52} Questions about subcontract billing should be answered honestly; in one model all subcontractor hours are included in the principal's invoice. ⁵²

A company using a network of colleagues should explain the arrangement at the start of the relationship or when delegation begins, with signed confidentiality agreements that can be based on the client's terms. ⁵⁴ A less formal approach to an individual quality check allows it without a separate notification where the agreement does not forbid it, the practice is presented as a company and the client is already known to accept that subcontracting; delegating a whole document or a large part calls for an upfront explanation of assignments and the principal's oversight. ^{53, 55, 56}

In a conference case reported in 2012, a reliable writer delivered a good promotional slide deck but inadvertently revealed undisclosed subcontracting in an email trail: 72% of the audience would discuss it with the writer, 24% would add the subcontractor to their list, 3% would ignore it and none would remove the original writer. ^{57, 58, 59} A client panellist considered undisclosed outsourcing unprofessional because he wanted to vet writers himself. ⁵⁹

Signing a client contract for a team means accepting responsibility for subcontractors and increases the company's potential liability. ⁴⁰ One practice supported its confidence in the team's professionalism with a simple nondisclosure agreement signed by each subcontractor and general liability and professional liability insurance; its nondisclosure agreement did not restrict trade or include an indemnification clause. ^{40, 60}

More writers, clients and products increase the potential for conflicts of interest across a team. ⁶¹ Difficult cases include separate subcontractors working simultaneously on competing products, or one preparing branded promotion and another continuing medical education for the same product. ⁶¹ Avoiding even the appearance of a potential conflict is a cautious approach that can build client trust and bring later opportunities after an assignment is declined. ⁶¹