It’s always best to avoid missed deadlines. Your clients might love your writing, but some of them are on tight deadlines themselves and need punctual, reliable writers!
As much as possible, it’s good to work on jobs shortly after claiming them rather than waiting until later. Everybody can understand that things come up, though.
Request an extension: on the work screen, next to the deadline there is a button that says “Request More Time.” Use this to send the client a note and request an extension. When you do, the job will be put on hold so the deadline clock pauses. The job will not get canceled for missing the deadline if the deadline clock is paused.
When the client responds, you get an email notification and the deadline clock starts ticking again. Note: the client might agree to an extension for more or less time than you requested, so check the email and the remaining time in Zerys to make sure!
Need info from the client? If you are unable to proceed with writing because you have a question for the client, ask them for help on the document message board. Check the box that says “This is a question...” and the job will be put on hold.
When the client responds, however much time was remaining on the clock will go back into effect.
Note — if there was little remaining time when you asked your question, you should also request an extension. This helps make sure you have enough time to see the client’s response and proceed with writing, especially if the client is in a different time zone and responds when you aren’t near your computer.
