Ever wonder why you did it? Or want to do it fulltime? There are plenty of reasons people cite, including the desire to have more control over life in general or the need to start a new career and a new life.
But the freelance lifestyle has its own set of pitfalls that most writing sites don’t mention. Are you ready for these?
–Your boss will still be a jerk. Except now, the boss is YOU.
–You’ll work more hours for yourself than you did for the old boss.
–The money will come in late. A LOT.
–You can make horrid, costly mistakes that will force you to pay the IRS more than you did in your old career. Continue reading Why Go Freelance?→
I fired my tax preparer today. He doesn’t know he’s been fired yet. He’ll probably never know unless he looks in his database someday and realizes that I didn’t come back at tax time in 2010.
Why did I fire my tax guy? I discovered he filed my 2008 taxes using an old address even after I specifically said at the start of our 2008 tax prep conversation that I’d moved. Simple mistake, anyone could make it. Is that reason enough to give him the axe? No, not really.
But when I called his office to straighten things out, not only did I not get a call back the same day, I didn’t get a call back PERIOD. And taxes are far too important to doink around with. If the professional you’ve hired to do the job can’t get a simple detail right or at least get in touch to reassure you he’s working it, it’s time to move on and find someone who will instill the trust you expect. Continue reading Sometimes You Don’t Know You’re Fired→
Freelancers and those who employ them often run into situations where judgement calls need to be made. Are you a freelance writer dealing with a difficult situation with an editor? Are you an editor trying to sort out issues with your freelancers? Here’s a handy do-and-don’t list to help you regardless of which side of the desk you find yourself;
10. Re-evaluate your relationship with any publication that makes excuses for not paying you. Editors, do the same for any freelancer who makes frequent excuses for not delivering the goods as per your arrangement. You don’t have to terminate the relationship right away, but letting the other party know the issue is on your radar is a good thing in any case.
9. Don’t backdoor your writer or editor. If there is a situation that needs to be discussed, TALK about it. Don’t let your writer or editor know after the fact that there was something that needed urgent attention. This can include everything from telling your writer you found major errors in fact in a pending article to letting your editor know that your interviewee was hostile and might be a source of trouble in the future.
8. Freelance writers should know the terms of their relationship with the editor in full including payment dates and conditions, fact checking needs, the urgency of deadlines and what happens if either party needs more time to deliver according to the terms of their arrangement. Sometimes companies get in financial trouble and have to delay payment by a few days or weeks. Sometimes freelancers get bogged down and can’t deliver the articles strictly on deadline. Each side should understand how to proceed when these issues occur. Continue reading Working With Freelancers: A Handy Do-and-Don’t List→
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Ever wonder why you did it? Or want to do it fulltime? There are plenty of reasons people cite, including the desire to have more control over life in general or the need to start a new career and a new life.
