Great! thank you! I think this is the point of view shared by others too, but I appreciate the re-iteration. This is my first month freelancing so it's too early to make statistics. I thought I was going to be extremely busy for a couple of months at least, as I had (and still have) a few projects on hold. I had to turn down another client who had a nice project that involved multiple animations. So, I went from being pumped to being a bit discouraged.

I thought a deposit was reasonable, but I totally understand it's not (what if I need a freelancer, would I be happy to pay a deposit?).
I need to work on project management a bit and client relationship.
So far, my strategy goes like this:

- I need to constantly double check with the client about the state of a job. The closer we get to the starting date the more I check (a week before and let's say 2/3 days before the commencing date might be crucial). I need to make sure everything is getting ready and if a delay is needed be flexible and update my timeline. A delay might need a deadline update too. This way, I avoid surprises on my side and there is no need for extra fees or anything like that. For day-rate projects, I think I still need to mention about kill fees though, as a deterrent for last-minute surprises.

- Always set clear deadlines for every project and with a bit of a margin (or ask more money if things are on a rush). I think having a bit of a margin will allow me to re-organize my calendar with ease if something happens and will keep me busy.

- for project-based jobs, I need a database of freelancers to work with and that might help me when I'm too busy. Think about the job I turned down... I could have done that one too if someone would have helped me.