Freelancing With the Apple iPad

Transparency: Nobody at Freelance-Zone.com has gotten a hands-on with the new Apple iPad. The information we’re presenting here is based on other people’s hands-on experiences with the 10-inch tablet, not our own. But even secondhand information is most helpful in deciding whether to become an early adopter or to wait for the inevitable price cut and major upgrade of the next version.

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad on Wednesday, showing off its web browsing, e-book and gaming potential. Rather than do a complete rehash of what’s already available at Wired.com, we’ll cut right to the chase and discuss the iPad’s impact on the freelance community.

… Continue Reading

The Tablet Wars Begin

Wired reports an interesting development for the Amazon Kindle. Amazon has opened Kindle to third-party software developers to allow them to create apps for Kindle the way people create apps for the iPhone.

Did you know there’s a Kindle app for the iPhone? Wired speculates that Apple and Amazon are simpatico on this, giving one another a mutual benefit in the name of making sales. In Apple’s case, a Kindle app encourages more sales for the iPhone, in Amazon’s case it’s to sell more Kindle publications.

All this could mean very interesting things for the right freelancers. When Kindle apps that deliver web content start surfacing, does that web content come with a fee? Is the dawn of widespread fee-based content delivery via mobile the wave of the future for freelancing? Let’s put on our prognosticator’s hats for a moment and speculate: … Continue Reading

iPhone Apps For Writers

by Catherine L. Tully

By now most FZ readers know I am a rabid fan of the iPhone and all its wonders. Today I’d like to share some appps that are especially great for writers. Here goes…take your pick:

+ CNET did a piece on apps for writers which gives five good ones to try, including the SAT vocabulary builder and “name shake,” which can generate some names when needed.

+ The Pen and Muse also has some good suggestions. Here you’ll find apps such as BlogPress, which allows you to blog on the go.

+ Also, don’t miss this great post from the Writer’s Technology Companion on apps. (And by the way, visit this site often–it has consistantly great information for writers and other freelancers.)

Freelancer Freebie For iPhone Users: Track Your Snacks

by Catherine L. Tully

Do you find yourself snacking too much throughout the day? Many freelance writers find that it can be hard to stay active when they log so much time on the computer. Eating extra calories is something to try and shy away from, but it can be hard to keep track of how many you are taking in… … Continue Reading

iPhone Screenshots

I fully realize that for some iPhone users, this is a “no duh” moment, but as I’ve just discovered this (being the slow deep features discoverer that I am) I thought I would pass it along.

How many times have you been surfing a freelance writing resource on the go, a cool logo you want to emulate, or perhaps looking at a writing job on Craigslist and wished you could just get a screen shot for later review?

iPhone screenshots are easy–just click the Home button (the round one below the screen, feh) and the Sleep button (at the top of the iPhone on the right) and you’ve just done a screen capture. The image is stored in the Photo section along with all the others. Voila!

Mac Hack for iPhone Loving Travel Writers

Here’s a secret you should know about the iPhone 3G. If you are a travel writer with some international travel coming up, you can spare yourself some nasty surprises on your next AT&T bill by turning off your roaming and deactivating Fetch New Data. That’s the “no duh” part of the advice. What might come as a surprise to some iPhone 3G users (mostly the new ones) is that you can turn your iPhone into the equivalent of an iPod Touch by using Airplane Mode (where no signals are received or sent) AND turning on Wi-Fi.

Step One: Turn on Airplane Mode to render your iPhone incapable of transmission or reception.

Step Two: Once Airplane Mode is on, go into the menu and turn ON Wi-Fi mode. Now you can get signals via wi-fi hotspots AND block incoming calls. It’s not just handy for preventing you from accidentally roaming on the cellular network, it’s also great when you just want to hop on and check your e-mail and do a bit of surfing without being hassled every ten minutes by a ringing phone.

When you’re done with Wi-Fi mode, you can turn it off manually, but deselecting Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi automatically when using with this “hack”.

Brilliant, eh?

Incase Power Slider for iPhone 3G

by Joe Wallace

We haven’t test-driven the Incase Power Slider yet, but the potential for this third-party phone case/battery pack is just what the doctor ordered for iPhone addicts at Freelance-Zone.  The Incase Power Slider is two things in one–a protective case for the iPhone 3G, plus a battery pack which the marketing hype claims will “more than double” the life of your iPhone battery.

I won’t go so far as to say that all good freelancers should be using the iPhone, since there are Sprint products which rival the iPhone 3G’s ability to stay connected, respond to editors, and keep you in the game no matter where you go. But some of us are Mac addicts, plain and simple. The Incase Power Slider does add a bit of bulk to the phone (based on customer reviews I’ve been poring over) but no more than you might expect from any other third-party addon for the iPhone. One customer review warns of increased heat from the unit when charging, so it seems best to babysit the Incase for the first couple of charges until you know what to expect.

The idea that I can get double the amount of surf and talk time out of my iPhone 3g is pretty tempting. The Incase Power Slider sells for about $80, a worthy investment if the reviews are to be believed. I’m getting one…look for a review in this space soon.

Previously Featured On Oprah: Grammar Girl

I can’t say enough about Grammar Girl. I stumbled across her podcast when I first got my iPhone and really enjoyed it. Every single writer out there can always use a little help when it comes to grammar, and this resource provides quick, easy bites of it that are not only useful, but clever. She has been featured on Oprah, in the New York Times and other major publications. Check out her site and brush up on your grammar–and while you are there, sign up for her “tip of the day”.

Introducing The iPhone 3GS

Those Freelance-Zone readers who have been around for a while already know that I am a big iPhone lover. I use this tool for many different things, and it has saved me in many work-related situations. I use the calendar, I love the e-mail on the go function and I can’t get enough of the “apps”.

This is all news of course because yesterday Apple announced the iPhone 3GS. This is the latest version of the phone and some of the new features include:

• Voice control
• Video recording
• 16 or 32 GB of storage
• Choice of black or white color
• 3 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Photo and video geotagging

See all the details here. New updates released with this version of the phone include a cut and paste feature, landscape keyboard and a “remote wipe” capacity that allows you to remove all your personal data if you lose your phone. (Getting it back on is as simple as synching the phone to your computer.) The best news for writers may well be the fact that the iPhone 3G price now drops to $99. If you want an iPhone…it just may be the perfect time to get one!

iPhone Update

I’ve had my iPhone for a while now and thought I’d ring in on how it is working for me thus far in the freelance writing arena. Here’s a list of the good and the bad:

The Good:

• The calendar is included for no charge and I keep all my appointments on it. Great for staying organized.
• The calculator comes with as well–great for figuring rates on the go.
• The weather feature comes in very handy if you travel. You can program other cities to keep an eye on the weather there before you go. A great help when packing.
• Google Earth is terrific for finding appointments quickly and easily.
• The alarm is great–I no longer use an alarm clock.
• All the “apps” give you plenty to choose from to customize your phone. There many that are free. I downloaded a mileage program to help me keep track of business miles for the car–terrific!
• E-mail on the go. This is the best thing in the world for any writer.

The Bad:

• My main disappointment with the iPhone is the call quality. Sometimes I’ll be in the middle of an interview and start to lose the person for no partiuclar reason. This is not a good thing. From what I understand, many people don’t care for AT & T’s coverage. I have to concur. I’ve had better.

I’ll post again on this after a while to update you on any cool features you might want to know about. In the meantime–if you have a phone that works great for you–feel free to clue us in!

Phone Interviews: A Few Tips To Get Started

Everyone knows by now that I am a huge iPhone fan, but this post actually isn’t directly about that particular phone. It’s a post about interviewing by phone. I thought I’d share a tip or two about this, since I had to learn on the fly. I paid my dues heavily when I first started out in this biz. Now, you can benefit from my mistakes! In that spirit, I’d like to share a few things with you here:

1. If you are going to interview by phone–prepare. Take at least 15 minutes before you call (or get the call) to go over what you know about the person and their related business or company. Pull up their webpage on your computer if you can. Jot down a few notes. It makes a huge difference if you are ready to go.
2. Jot down a few questions in case it’s hard to get things started. You don’t have to use them, but it can help if you get stuck.
3. Have them tell you a little about themselves to get things warmed up. Let them ramble a bit and then take notes on anything you’d like to come back to later.
4. If you get someone who rambles too much, don’t be afraid to re-direct the conversation. Be gentle, but firm.
5. At the end of the interview, check your facts. Go over statistics and figures to make sure you have them right. Ask them to spell their name and title. This is extremely important.

Just a few thoughts to get you going. Joe and I will be touching on this subject more as the New Year progresses, so stay tuned for more interview tips!

Snap Tell

Hello iPhone users……a quick “App” suggestion for writers out there…..snaptell can be found in the App Store and is a neat thing to have handy–plus, it’s free. Writers are generally readers, and this application works with books, DVDs and CDs as well. Simply snap a picture of the cover and you will instantly get back comprehensive information such as reviews and more on the item. Regular cell phone users can use it too. Simply take a photo of the cover and send to fun@snaptell.com.

Testing the iPhone Wordpress App

I downloaded the Wordpress app for the iPhone today and thought I’d try writing a post from the phone.

It is a bit of a pain the arse to use-I’d never want you to an article from the iPhone, but for quickie posts like this it can be quite handy.

Soon I will try posting via this app from the train and see how it goes. If you want to try the app yourself, just search in the iPhone App Store using “wordpress ” as your keyword. It’s the one simply called “Wordpress”.

Strategic Tax Write-Offs

First things first: this is NOT tax advice. I am simply telling you what I do to protect myself. Use this info at your own risk and don’t say I didn’t warn you to get the advice of a tax expert before committing to a financial strategy like this. I take no responsibility for…anything every anwhere. Nyah nyah.

Onward.

One of the best things in the world any freelancer can do for themselves is to–this Monday–gather up all the year’s receipts and tally them up. Compare your deductions to how much you think you’re going to owe on your 2008 tax form.  If you don’t know how to do that, consider how much money you made this year, calculate approximately 22% to 28% of that sum as your taxable income. If you made 30K this year, chances are you’ll be closer to 22%. If you made more than 50K chances are you’re edging closer to 28%. (These are guesstimate figures, folks. Do your homework.)

Once you have a number, take a good look at your office equipment, your desk, your phone, and anything else that might need to be repaired, replaced, upgraded or purchased as a legitimate enhancement to your business. Do you have a resume website? Are you conducting business on your home phone instead of a dedicated line? Does your computer have a date stamped on it older than 2005?

If you are in dire need of some additional deductions, consider making some FY2008 last-minute purchases that legitimately apply to your freelancing business. You have two choices–you can pay the money you’d spend (and legally deduct) to the government, or you can take any deduction you’re entitled to by law and improve the state of your freelancing business in preparation for 2009. … Continue Reading

Five New Year’s Resolutions

Sure, it’s a few weeks early to be obsessing over New Year’s resolutions, but here are my current five favorites for 2009:

5. Pay attention to my back.  2008 has been full of bad ergonomics, couch-slouching with the laptop and overall crappy posture. If I want to be writing comfortably at my desk for any length of time, I’m going to have to pay more attention to good ergonomics. Otherwise, I’ll wind up looking with a nickname like “Jerry the Pretzel Boy”.

4. Stop working around the clock. Another bad habit I fell into late this year. Writers go freelance presumably so they can have a life. Where’s mine? Oh, there it is, buried under those deadlines over there. Smell the roses, you.

3. Exercise more. This one ties directly into #5. The mind-body connection cannot be ignored when it comes to cranking out good, dependable material…unless you are Hunter S. Thompson…and he’s dead now. So what’s MY excuse?

2. Buy a damn filing cabinet. All of 2008’s receipts are currently overflowing out of TWO boxes, and it’s a shameful state of affairs. Organization is the key to good record keeping.

1. Buy an iPhone. Yes, I plan on becoming ONE of THEM. Tully beat me to it on this one, usually I’m more geeked out than that. This year they caught me napping.

I currently plan on keeping ALL these resolutions…but especially #1. If I do nothing else next year, the iPhone is on the list. THEN I’ll climb Kilamanjaro, cure an infectious disease and spread world peace.