Once upon a time, I did some freelance work for a local company. They were a big name in the sector, and I'd wanted to work with them for a long time. I never met the person who commissioned the work, but he seemed happy enough with what I'd done to keep on giving me regular commissions.
He eventually left, and his successor stopped offering me regular work. I kept pitching for it, but polite refusals. Eventually, after some months of persistence, he did commission something from me but he wasn't happy with the result. I re-worked it at no extra charge until he was satisfied, but I got the impression he was only barely satisfied with my effort.
We then had a couple of idiotic misunderstandings via Twitter. On the first instance I used it to ask him if he could reply to my latest pitch. He took offence at being asked that in public, and unfollowed me. On the second occasion I asked a question about his professional opinion on something which I did in the spirit of learning, and he took it as my challenging his point of view.
I have carried on pitching regularly, but not getting any work. He does continue to reply, however, so I presume he can't have been that offended.
We've never met in person, but it seems likely that we're simply two different types of people who are going to struggle to communicate well together.
A full-time position has just arisen at his company, and I would very much like to apply for it. However, as things stand I presume I'm just wasting my time.
Is there anything I can do to try and repair this relationship? Or ought I just to let this opportunity pass me by?