I know I haven't updated much like I said I would, but that may be changing. It's the darnedest thing, really... As part of an online personal growth class, I resolved to do some writing each afternoon, from about 5-6, to get myself into the habit. I recently joined Helium and I've written two articles for them so far, plus I'm working on a "bible" regarding my magnum opus novel/series (followers of my sister may have heard it in passing).

It's only been about four days and I think it's working, slowly. Right now I'm way tired, partly from the heat, and partly from disentangling spaghetti code in a vain attempt to squish bugs my main client keeps running into. And yet I seem to WANT to write. I should cultivate this slowly and carefully, since my passions tend to behave like bottle rockets.

Of course, one of the reasons I want to write is 'cause I kinda need some advice, though I have no idea if enough people follow me to be worth it, but here goes. I've probably mentioned in past journals that I used to do work as a Web Designer/Programmer, and that in the last year I've come to the conclusion that I hate it. Even so, I have one client left over from my previous life for whom I still do maintenance and debugging as a freelancer. The pay is pretty good, twenty bucks an hour, but the workload is sporadic; she can go for months without needing help and then suddenly need six things at once, usually when I knee-deep in other things. She knows I'm a student and is usually patient, but I keep getting a vibe of urgency, real or imagined. What's worse is that the things she wants to add get more complicated, and since I'm not interested in the field anymore, my skills are rustier than an old wheelbarrow.

Bottom line is, even though it's a sporadic source of money, I don't want to work on the site anymore, especially since I've found new areas to focus my attentions on. I've hinted in the past that she may be better off finding another freelancer, but she says she prefers working with me, and though I've been teaching her how to do some of the maintenance herself, I seem to be the only one she knows who knows how the majority of it works. I know there are people better suited to the job, people with sharper skills who ENJOY it fare more than I do, but I can't figure out how to broach the subject tactfully. I even know of a possible place to find willing replacements, but as I have next to no experience dealing with people (and I hate risking confrontations), I have no clue how to proceed.

My question is basically this. How do I tell my client that she'd be better off finding someone with better skills and focus without sounding like I'm abandoning her, angry at her, or just shirking off? Any seasoned freelancers out there? Ever had this kind of problem? I'm open to suggestions, because it's really beginning to feel like this is holding me back from progressing.