Tag Archives: freelance jobs

advice

What Color is Your Parachute?

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freelance-writing-advice

Many won’t remember, but the headline for this post was the title of a very popular career book. The title implies you should be planning ahead before a career change is thrust upon you. I can’t think of any better advice in today’s screwball economy.

There are plenty of freelance writing advice books out there advising you not to put all your freelance eggs in one basket; this advice was never more relevant than it is now. How many income sources do you have as a fulltime freelancer? How many of them do you expect to have in six months? Are some of them looking a bit shaky lately? If so, it’s time to start branching out–find some new potential clients or sources for work BEFORE you get the bad news and you’ll be able to transition from a sinking ship to something with a bit more stability.

There are a couple of ways to do this–one of the best is to send out letters of introduction to potential clients and let them know you’re available for work. Even if you have a full plate at the moment, you make yourself known–and chances are there might be a small delay between the time a future client actually gets back to you anyway. If a current lucrative gig suddenly goes south, you can always send a follow-up letter to let them know you have open availability.

Catherine has written elsewhere about letters of introduction, but one thing you should know–the earlier you start, the shorter your lag time could be from the day you find out a source of income has gone away and you pick up a new one.

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Find a Freelance Job

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Are you trying to find freelance jobs? Don’t you love the marketing hype you read at the freelance job sites? This is one of my current favorites:

“Now it’s easy to market your freelance services and find all the business you need to succeed.”

That’s pretty funny. If any of you disagree, I urge you to drop the rest of us a comment and let us know WHY it’s so easy for you, cuz the rest of us would really like to learn your secret.

Here’s one of MY secrets–I like to market myself locally without giving out a bunch of PR-style hype. What could be better than getting to know a group of people socially, learning about who they are and what they do and waiting for an opportunity to offer your services when the opportunity clearly presents itself?

For more experienced freelancers, this is a “no duh” situation. Here’s the part that’s not so obvious.

You can really set yourself up in the networking department by bringing people together who aren’t connected, but really should be. My major problem with a lot of self-promotion/marketing strategies is that they require you to interact socially with people, but always with that ulterior motive of scoring work off them later.

What feels much better for me than just waiting for the right moment to offer freelance services (which I do when it feels appropriate, which isn’t all that often), I like to connect people who need each other. Tom the banker needs a night watchman? I just happen to know a college guy who needs some extra cash. The gallery owner needs some extra artists for an upcoming show? Here’s the number of that painter I met last week.

All I do in these situations is set people up, knowing that eventually what goes around comes around. I don’t really have to consciously work at doing this, it always feels natural and right when it happens. But I’ve noticed that when you bring people together who need each other, they tend to believe they’d like to repay the favor someday.

So while you’re out there filling in all those blank fields in the freelance job bank forms, marveling at how easy it is these days to market yourself online, try a little game–watch your results with your in-person “PR” and your online freelance job hunt and make note of which one benefits you first and for how long. I won’t say the online stuff will always let you down–far from it–but your most lasting results just might come from people who have to look you in the eye when they’re dealing with you.

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Understanding Your Editor

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freelance-writing-advice-3I have written elsewhere that I have very little use for About.com. In my snottier moments, I paraphrase William S. Burroughs; I find the advice on About.com to be roughly on the “Confucius say” level.

Today, however, I am pleased to report that I am eating the tiniest helping of crow, as I’ve found a quite redeeming article on About.com, and located in the Freelance category to boot!

Allena Tapia’s article, “Tips For Dealing With Your Editor” may seem like a list of revenge ideas if you go by the headline alone, but speaking as an editor myself, Tapia hits the nail squarely on the head with this short, readable list of things that can make your life as a writer and mine as an editor much easier indeed.

Her most valuable bit of wisdom? Here’s a quote. “Despite the editor’s role in your writing, the writing is still your job. Turn in the most flawless work you can.”

I cheered when I read that and I can tell you–again, from the editor’s perspective–it doesn’t happen nearly as much as we’d like. Sure, dear reader, I know YOU turn in flawless copy…but that ONE guy who turns in dorked up material on a regular basis puts the whole operation back for as long as it takes to chase him down and get him to fix what should have been right the first time.

Read this quick, informative article and you won’t regret it. The only advice missing from this piece is not to take it personally if the editor doesn’t get back to you in a timely manner once the article is put to bed for that issue–we’re usually putting out other fires in the meantime.

A good editor will eventually drop you a line, but sometimes there are other little crises to deal with between approving your submission and going to print or live on the web.

That minor nitpick aside, this article is spot-on, and I wish there were MORE of them. Recommended reading.

advice, editorial

Anatomy of a “Don’t Reply” Craigslist Ad

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There are plenty of gigs on Craigslist and other job boards; plenty of them aren’t worth your time. What makes a Craigslist job ad look more like indentured servitude and less like a good use of your time? It’s a combination of low pay mentioned up front along with some unmentioned details that are sure to turn into a drain your time, resources and sanity.

Let’s try to decode one recent CL ad I discovered recently and see why I’d advise you to run away screaming from the job.

First, the ad itself:

Freelance Newspaper Reporters. Reply to: ThisJobBlows@don’treplytome.com

Date: 6/6/06

Local Community weekly newspaper seeks freelance writers. Cover story assignments and public meetings. Writers present community news story ideas and editor to assign stories as well. Newspaper reporting experience preferred. Reporters to provide fast, accurate and compelling copy.

* Compensation: $25 per story, extra $10 for photos
* Telecommuting is ok.


First–there’s the type of publication this ad represents. A community paper is already on thin ice as it is in an age where print publications are threatened by the bad economy and competition from the Internet. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that this particular paper is doing well financially; even so, the phrase “Local community weekly” implies a tight budget and low pay.

Then there’s that line “Cover story assignments and public meetings.” Public meetings can last for HOURS. And that’s just to gather the source material–never mind how long it’s going to take to write the bloody thing.

And then there’s the strong possibility that you aren’t going to be reimbursed for gas or parking when you attend these meetings…add to these things the $25 per article payment and what you have is a seriously losing proposition. But it’s one some people won’t realize is actually a financial drain rather than a benefit until they’ve already paid for the gas, parking and a cup of coffee to keep them from dozing off during those horrendously dull meetings.

It’s not that this publication is running a scam or actively trying to rip you off…but there is only so far you can go by paying a writer a lousy $25 per article…and unless you’re getting some additional compensation for mileage, time spent not dozing off, and cobbling the whole thing together, this type of job ad is one I’d avoid like the plague.

advice, lifestyle

Negotiating Freelance Work: Five Things to Try

Ever try to negotiate rates, output and fees with a client only to discover that all the things they seemed to want in the initial meeting have changed overnight?

What’s a poor freelancer to do? Every situation is different, but here’s what I find myself doing time and again when faced with a situation where plenty of ideas are thrown around and “Come and join us” invitations or “Let’s work together” offers are given, then suddenly turned into a set of vague demands or a hesitancy to commit to specifics.

5. Repeat the obvious for clarity’s sake. “OK, so you want X, Y, and Z delivered by X date, correct? And you want me to write 700 words for each one with a payment rate per project of ABC. Right? Don’t commit to a project if they can’t quantify numbers. Get everyone on the same page for output, deadlines and pay.

4. If they can’t commit to the specifics, spell out what you’re willing to do. “I’m capable of writing X amount of pieces per day/week/month at a rate of ABC. I can give you topics on ABC and D. How does that sound?

3. Always explain your position fully. One client wanted me to start working on a project the week of Christmas. I said, “Why don’t we make it the following week, since I’m already committed to travel on those dates.” If the client wants something that’s too much work for not enough pay, find a tactful way to explain that you need more money for that work–something along the lines of “Well, for the (lower) pay you’re offering, I could do XYZ and not ABC because that would involve extra hours and other labor. However, for X amount of dollars, I could definitely do both XZY plus ABC no problem.”

2. If you are taken by surprise by any part of the negotiations, don’t answer right away. Say you’d like a bit of time to study the proposal a bit more so you can make a good offer on the deal.

1. If you’re forced to say no, be tactful, be diplomatic but above all, be honest–or at least appear to be honest. If you really DON’T want the gig, turn it down by saying you’ve gotten another project at a rate you simply can’t turn down, but you’d be happy to revisit the deal at a later date. (If you are indeed happy to do so). Or you can simply come right out and hit them with the truth if the money they want to pay is too low or the work they want for a decent sum is too much. You can say no without burning your bridges, simply by explaining that you’ve got other commitments which demand more of your time than you previously expected and you don’t want to give a new project the short shrift…

resources

Need a Gig? Try Krop

I just stumbled across this job site for creatives while reading through a great list of freelance resources at FreelanceSwitch. Krop.com offers a variety of gigs for creatives, and while the opportunities listed at Krop for writers are fewer than a graphic designers, you can still find some new media jobs where the boss is hungry for writing skills. In our new (dead) economy, chances are everyone you know is looking around to see where they might be able to hook up on the rebound when that main gig or gravy-train freelance work dries up.

Of course, none of the freelancers I know are hurting at present, but you never know when you might need to take a few extra jobs to replace a skittish publisher for a little while.  If your current markets are getting tougher to sell, have a look at Krop and see what you can find…