I've been a contractor for 14 years now and have faced little of what you describe, but I've also attempted to insulate myself from it as much as possible. You learn pretty quickly which clients not to take, and haggling over rate is the first red flag. My rate is my rate, it's not negotiable.
Other red flags are "we have a project starting in a week" type offers. Mom & Pop's are right out as they are the worst companies to deal with. Startups tend to be great since they have tons of money to throw around and don't care how it's spent as long as work gets done. And if it's not at least couple months worth of work it's not worth my time.
Once you have a network many of these issues go away. If someone is coming to you because they know you or you know someone on the team, they are much less likely to dick you around. It's also easier if you promote yourself as a consultant as much as a contractor because then all the "planning" hours are part of your offering (and I never use the term "freelancer" cuz I don't work for free).
The most powerful thing you can tell a client is "no". There will always be other clients, there's no reason to sell yourself short.
Other red flags are "we have a project starting in a week" type offers. Mom & Pop's are right out as they are the worst companies to deal with. Startups tend to be great since they have tons of money to throw around and don't care how it's spent as long as work gets done. And if it's not at least couple months worth of work it's not worth my time.
Once you have a network many of these issues go away. If someone is coming to you because they know you or you know someone on the team, they are much less likely to dick you around. It's also easier if you promote yourself as a consultant as much as a contractor because then all the "planning" hours are part of your offering (and I never use the term "freelancer" cuz I don't work for free).
The most powerful thing you can tell a client is "no". There will always be other clients, there's no reason to sell yourself short.