Warren Seen

After my “Freelancer’s Manifesto“, I noticed a couple of comments on reddit, suggesting that I came off as arrogant. I can assure you, that I certainly wasn’t trying to come off that way, but I make no apologies for what I said. Text is an imperfect medium, and tone is not always conveyed as it was intended when written.

As I said in the footnote, I’m quite forthright with my opinions, which is something clients in the past have told me they appreciate. I’m just a no-BS, call-it-how-I-see-it kind of person.

I think part of the reason the manifesto sounds arrogant to some is the fact that I am both opinionated and assertive with my clients from the get-go. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing mind you… you don’t have to be an arsehole about it, you can do it in a professional, friendly way, which I try to do.
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Update: If you think I’m being arrogant, I assure you, I’m just trying to be assertive

(For the background that inspired this post, see here, here and here.)

Why are you reading this post? Perhaps you’re thinking of becoming one of my clients. Perhaps you’re a freelancer yourself, or thinking of becoming one. Perhaps you feel that I’m just an insufferably opinionated t**t with whom you disagree and are keen to let me have it in the comments (Feel free by the way, provided you have a reasonable argument, and aren’t just going to call me an insufferably opinionated t**t).

Why a manifesto? I know, I know, it’s an overused term, but I wanted to describe something of my approach to freelance software development, one which has been successful for me so far. I’m not deliberately setting out to be controversial, but no doubt I will be, and as long as it starts reasonable debate, that’s a good thing.

So without further ado…
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