I was reading a writer’s forum the other day, and came across a post by someone who had been receiving files in .docx format and wasn’t quite sure how to handle them.  At it’s a helpful forum, various other people chimed in and explained that it was the new format for Microsoft Word that was introduced with Office 2007 and provided ways the person could read the files without necessarily having to upgrade to the latest version of office.

Once the basics of .docx had been explained they moved on to talking about which formats they used to communicate with clients.  For those who’re interested, the most common were .doc and .pdf.

It was all solid advice, and well-meant, but as I read it, there was one question that kept coming to my mind.

Why not ask your client what they prefer?

When I set up a project with someone, one of my standard questions it to ask what file format they want me to send the deliverables in.   It’s just part of my normal routine.

Every client has different needs and not all use the same software packages.  As a freelancer it’s my job to do the job I was hired for, and part of that job is handing in the finished product in whatever file format they ask for.  If someone uses Open Office they would probably prefer to get their final product in its native format rather than either .rtf or the ubiquitous .doc.

It doesn’t really take all that much to ask someone what format they prefer.

The question isn’t whether they can read what you send them, because most people can at least read .doc files given the number of word processors that support it.  The question is how much do you know about the project you’re working on?

If you haven’t talked to your client about what format they want to receive their final drafts in, you might want to try to ask yourself what else haven’t you asked them?   The key to success in this business has always been giving the client what they want, and you can’t do that if you don’t know what they want.

I am not saying you need to spend all your time every day communicating with your clients:  Neither of you would ever get any work done that way and it would not bode well for your future career.

However, I am saying that you should keep them sufficiently informed that you and they both know what’s going on.

People prefer to work with someone they can communicate with.   Be that person.

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