All posts by Joe Wallace

advice, editorial, freelance jobs

Sometimes You Have To Tell The Client NO

Joe-Wallace-Vinyl-Collector-and-authorby Joe Wallace

I love my clients. I have just the right amount of them, the projects are diverse and interesting, and I have good rapport with them. Over the long haul, there have been suggested changes, tweaks, alterations to the work flow, content, the usual course corrections that come with any long-term relationship.

And like any long term relationship, there are suggested directions that turn out to be bad ideas, and some that are just plain untenable from the start.

In my early days as a freelancer, I used “the customer is always right” motto until it became apparent to me that, even as a writer (as opposed to a writer/editor/sound designer/social media promoter, blah blah) the clients often turn to me as a subject matter expert and informal advisor–even when they don’t realize they’re doing so. That’s about the time I started saying no to ideas that don’t work, are too ambitious, or just plain bad.

In a sushi bar in downtown Chicago this week, I overheard two lawyers talking shop. Some of the best-ever advice for freelancers came from my shameless “accidental” overhearing of the following paraphrased statement.

“I tell them two things: I say, ‘this is my role and in my professional capacity I will tell you A, B and C about what you’re asking. Now I’m going to step outside my role as your professional and I’m going to tell you what I personally think about this scenario based on my prior experience with it. I do this to let you know that in my professional capacity with you, I’ll give you the advice you need–but I’ll also tell you off the record whether it’s practical in the real world.’ ”

I’ve done quite a bit of that myself, albeit in less direct ways–but I’m starting to think I should take my cues from a lawyer in a sushi bar and start couching it in those terms.

–Joe Wallace

advice, editorial

Today’s Writing Tip: American versus Canadian and British Spelling

sig2010Most people who grow up in the US and use American English are not prone to misspelling a word by using the Canadian variant; however, Canadian and British folks often use their own language consistently in a document and then suddenly spell one or two words the American way. How can they avoid doing that? Here are the basic things to look for that differentiate American spelling from British or Canadian.

One. Words like honor, favor, and color all require a “u” in the British or Canadian versions. For example, honour, favour, and colour.

Two. Words that end in “er” such as center, fiber, or somber are spelled with an “re” in British and Canadian English. For example, centre, fibre, or sombre.

Three. Participles that end in “ling” often necessitate an additional “l.” Think of dialing, traveling, and reveling (dialling, travelling, and revelling).

Four. British English spells words like memorized, baptized, or recognized with an “s” – memorised, baptised, or recognised. Collins Gage Canadian Dictionary advises Canadians not to do this but many Canadians who submit manuscripts to me throw in that “s.”

Are these all the differences between the three languages? Not by a long shot but these are some of the big ones and if you can master them, you are well on your way to ensuring that your blog, article, essay or novel is consistent in terms of spelling.

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor http://tinyurl.com/7wnk5se and two erotic short stories, which she wrote under the pen name Tiffanie Good. Silver Publishing just released “The Pink Triangle,” a tale of friendship, lust, and betrayal. You can view her story here: http://tinyurl.com/6v65rgr

advice, editorial

Ask A CPA

Joe-Wallace-Vinyl-Collector-and-authorby Joe Wallace

I filed a tax extension in April to give myself more time to ignore properly deal with my taxes. When I finally filed, I quizzed my CPA on several things including the concept of branching out and including more freelance audio work and film making in my repertoire.

My concern was that these other activities might be classified only as “hobby income” by the IRS, thereby nullifying any deductions I might be entitled to take otherwise. My CPA advised me that several things I was already doing in my freelance writing and editing work would apply for this new possible source of freelance income.

What follows SHOULD NOT be considered any form of advice from me to you, it’s just me musing out loud about what I’ve been told.

For example, I am told that “hiring” someone to work for me on a freelance basis as needed and issuing a 1099 for them is a signal to the IRS that you’re doing much more than just hobby work. This establishes a paper trail that hobbyists would not bother with. Joining a professional association for the type of work represented by my new income streams–live sound, field recording, film making, editing audio/video–would also go toward convincing the IRS that it’s a serious concern.

That move I’ve already made–I’m a member of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers and Performers) and a member of the Audio Engineering Society. I actually belong to more recording associations than writing-related ones!

My CPA told me the standard practice of keeping a separate credit/debit card for your business and maintaining a separate personal account is crucial, as is keeping careful track of your business spending versus personal spending. It’s one thing to take a “draw” on your business account, it’s another to buy groceries with your “corporate card”. These practices only make sense to me, and they are the kinds of details that do get more complicated as you get more successful…but the rewards are well worth it.

Keeping the IRS happy is one of my priorities–it’s a standard part of doing business AS a business. Keeping it all above board, moving in the right direction and maintaining your records is just as important as finding new clients and keeping ’em.

advice

Today’s Writing Tip: Using Commas with the Word “But”

sig2010When should you use a comma with the word “but”? You can use commas whenever they don’t break up the sentence and interfere with the meaning.

Here’s an example: “Everybody but Jason stopped eating.” It wouldn’t make sense to put a comma after the word everybody because then you have a sentence fragment that isn’t telling us anything. And it would disrupt the meaning of the sentence.

But in the sentence, “I like ice cream, but not banana flavored,” the comma is well-placed. That’s because you have a whole clause that is not broken and it contains a pronoun, a verb, and the direct object.

What about “He chose not one but two tuxedos”? You tell me.

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor http://tinyurl.com/7wnk5se and two erotic short stories, which she wrote under the pen name Tiffanie Good. Silver Publishing has released “The Pink Triangle,” a tale of friendship, lust, and betrayal. You can view her story here: http://tinyurl.com/6v65rgr

advice, blogging

Freelance Writing About Music

DJ PAISLEY BABYLON gig at Transistor Chicagoby Joe Wallace

I’ve written more music-related material than I can count–from LP and show reviews to critical drubbing and snark about lousy album covers, even some how-to recording advice, I’ve written myself around the block when it comes sound.

My music writing work is based on personal experience as a performer and recording artist, but also as a rabid collector of many genres including dub, electronica, new wave, post-punk, early experimental and industrial recordings, and a genre of LPs I can only describe as “WTF??”

A lot of people want to know how to break into music writing, and honestly, there are a couple of basic things you should do to help yourself–but they are for NO PAY. It’s just the nature of the beast in music writing circles. Get used to it. But it’s best to write for free…for yourself.

I should also caution aspiring music journos that there is NOT a lot of money in obvious places when it comes to writing about music when you DO get paid. A lot of the music business people I know or know of who have made it onto the printed page for a fee are either capitalizing on their earlier success as performers (built in fan base), writing from their direct experience writing, recording and performing, OR they have written about areas on the fringes of music but still connected.

One of my instructors in the Recording Arts program at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Academy has written two books–not strictly about music, but about Tiki culture in America and related topics. His music experiences did help him write these books–apparently whenever he was on tour with the bands he worked with, he made side journeys to find local tiki bars…research for the book he didn’t know he was writing just then.

Back to freelance music journalism.

The best advice I can give to anyone who really, really REALLY wants to write about music for a living is to start now by ramping up a music blog and pouring the reviews on quite liberally. No, you aren’t getting paid, but you WILL be developing your music chops and building an audience–two really important skills to hone as a music journalist.

To make such a blog successful, you should pay a lot of attention to your local and regional music scene. Soon you’ll be getting guest listed on local shows, receiving review copies and downloads and entrenching yourself into the local music scene. There are many other bits of advice I’ve scraped up along the way, but those are two of the best career kickstarter type things you can do in the earliest days.

Networking in your own back yard is so very, very important. But social media and making contacts with other music writers, editors, and PR folks is just as important. View your music writing career like a very long ladder and you get an idea of what to expect in all these areas. One foot goes above the other…one rung at a time.

Joe Wallace is a multi-media professional. He writes, shoots, edits, does sound design and a whole lot more. He is currently too busy to breathe, balancing a full-time freelance writing career with his full-time studies at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Academy in the Recording Arts for Film program there. Wallace accepts new writing work on a very limited basis, but is happy to consider film, broadcast, and online media projects. Contact him: jwallace@joe-wallace.com

editorial

Pardon Our Dust…

pardon our dustWe are in the process of upgrading our servers here at Freelance-Zone.com, and as a result you may notice a bit of downtime here and there, blog posts may be slow to update etc. Interruptions will likely be minimal, but if you notice anything major, it’s us tweaking and improving.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime, readers and contributors! We will be back to 100% as soon as possible. You know the drill!