I knew it would happen eventually. It was just a matter of time before my public presence on social media would push me over the line from happy grant writer and evaluation consultant working in the solitude of her office to victim of a stalker client.

It happened quietly one day last week. I was busy writing a report and I took a break for a few minutes.  During that break, I updated my Facebook status, checked Twitter, and responded to a comment on my blog. Then I heard the little twinkle sound my computer makes when I get a comment to a Facebook status update.  When I’m working, I usually ignore them until later, but since I wasn’t engaged back into my report writing task yet, I took a look.

It was my client.  She wanted to know why I wasn’t working on her report. That’s when I knew my life had changed.

Part of the skill of a good consultant is helping every client believe s/he is your favorite and most important client (in this case, my stalker actually is one of my very favorites). They want to believe (and, truthfully, you want them to believe) that you have nothing else to do other than their work, and you certainly don’t have anything more important to do than their project.  I’ve had a client text me after midnight on a Saturday night asking when he’d see a draft that was promised for Monday. Of course, I sent a return text with a polite response that indicated there was no higher priority in my life than his project.

There’s no escaping it.  The very tools that have allowed me to communicate better with my clients and get the word out about my services also make it easier for my clients to express their needs, desires, satisfaction, and (gasp!) dissatisfaction.

And it makes it easier for them to stalk me from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Now that I know I’m being stalked, I have to be more careful about my social media and other online habits. It’s not enough to get the work done, but now I also have to avoid the online appearance that I’m not working.

To my stalker (and you know who you are and I’m sure you’re reading this) – I wrote this after hours late at night and electronically scheduled it to be released this morning.  As you read this, rest assured that I am busy working on your project, and only your project, the most important project I have on my desk.

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Read A Writer’s Journey.

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