Tag Archives: freelancing

advice

Freelance Tax Hell? Take Some Sage Advice

It’s not tax hell time…YET. But do you know what your tax issues or problems might be when filing for 2008? Do you know what’s good and what’s bad when it comes to deductions? Are you scared of the big, bad tax man? Here is a list of random links I found while doing research into freelance tax issues.

resources

International Freelancing

Sure, it was published in 2005, but I found this great article on international freelancing to be quite interesting indeed. Most fascinating was the idea of offering an employer a competitive edge by being able to submit work during “our” normal working hours that would arrive overseas in the middle of the night, waiting for the editor first thing in the morning.

Sure, not all freelance gigs require such timely delivery, but it is an interesting selling point, depending on what you are trying to pitch and where.

If you’ve never tried freelancing “across the pond”, it’s definitely full of potential, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Stay tuned for some posts that address this issue as Cath and I both have experience in this area. In the meantime, check out Inkwell Editorial for the article and others like in collected in a series covering international freelance issues.

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Scary Times For Freelancers?

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The New York Observer reports Conde Nast making a five percent cut in budget AND staff across the board. The existence of at least one title, Men’s Vogue, is in doubt at press time, and freelancers were mentioned by name as one of the resources that could be cut to fit the bill. Five percent doesn’t sound like that much for an organization as large as Conde Nast until you read further and learn that the five percent cuts apply for EACH PUBLICATION, not an as-a-whole, company-wide reduction.

Combine that news with the parting shot the Christian Science Monitor fired this week when it was announced the venerable publication would stop printing hard copies of its daily edition in favor of web-only publication and you have some interesting times for freelancers ahead.

The breed of writer I call “newsstand freelancers” are going to suffer as the big-money titles start shaving their budgets, but any freelancer who knows how to market, diversify writing gigs, and look in unique places for new work shouldn’t have much to worry about at this point, at least not in my view.

The key to all this is reading the headlines and anticipating the next round of tough times. Take a close look at your current situation. Are you earning the bulk of your income from a single source. It’s time to start adding clients to protect yourself. Is your resume page outdated or in need of a new look that helps it look more “web 2.0”? Invest the time, you may need to use that page soon. Are you a new full-time freelancer? Solidify your existing relationships with clients and editors by turning your projects in early, being flexible as possible, and willing to take on short-notice gigs that are inconvenient to you but endear you to your editor.

The key to avoiding the lay-off axe, the budget cuts and the tough times is to make yourself as indispensible as possible. Ask yourself how you can do that with your current editors and get to it. You’ll find yourself in a much better position as a result. The tough times are here, but not for everyone. Where you stand depends greatly on how you seek new work, approach the editors and deliver the content.

resources

Derek Sivers: The Grand Pursuit

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CD Baby Owner Derek Sivers sold his company this summer for $22 million dollars. Sounds like a massive jackpot for Sivers, doesn’t it? Would it surprise you to learn he didn’t get the payday? He put the $22 million in a charitable trust designed to further music education.

That’s part of something Sivers referenced in his blog post from October 16th. It’s a bit of inspirational writing, but in context of Sivers selling his company–probably worth far more than the $22 million price tag–it speaks on a whole different level.

There’s a lot of talk on FZ, and all over the net, about six-figure freelancing, making money and earning your maximum potential, but when the day is over, the real questions remain. Why am I doing this? Did the 13 hours I put in yesterday put me closer to something meaningful?

I think one of the big traps we freelancers fall into–at least THIS freelancer– is getting on the work-eat-sleep treadmill and forgetting to stop and enjoy life. Sivers seems to have learned how to balance the joy of work, the rewards, and finding time to evaluate the meaning of it all. His website has nothing to with freelance writing, it’s aimed squarely at musicians, but it does speak volumes about the kind of independence and freedom we’re supposed to enjoy as creative types. Call it a reminder to stop and smell the roses, even if it’s just on a coffee break.

resources

Who is This Dave Navarro Guy, Anyway?

I used to write and talk in analogies…a LOT. Now, analogies feel like a pretty tired as a way of explaining things, but I’ll resort to one here because Dave Navarro’s Rock Your Day really does feel like a quad espresso injected directly into a vein.

This motivational site has a LOT going for it, and in particular Navarro’s willingness to buy and try books by other freelancers with sensational-sounding claims and try them out to see if they give the results they claim.  Check out The Freelance Smackdown and see what I mean. You will feel at least slightly more caffeinated just reading this blog, or I’ll eat my hat.

I found this site courtesy of Freelance Folder, where Navarro has a guest post called Three Uncomfortable Ways to Make More Money as a Freelancer. Nice work…

advice, editorial

Freelancing in a Free-Fall Economy

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Jim Cramer is the guru responsible for Mad Money, the high-energy cable investment program. MSNBC quotes this pro-investment, pro-stock market man saying some radically different things than you’ve heard from Cramer’s books and programs. “I don’t care where stocks have been, I care where they’re going, and I don’t want people to get hurt in the market,” Cramer said in the MSNBC.com piece entitled, “Jim Cramer: Time To Get Out of the Stock Market”.

Cramer is reversing course in a major way, advising retreat from the stock market as a strategy for the first time ever–at least as far as I can tell. This economic chaos is leading to massive world uncertainty, layoffs, and an ever-shrinking bottom line for once-strong companies. In the 90s, it was the dot-coms who were the casualties of the bursting bubble…this time, it’s EVERYONE.

What does this mean for freelancers? Continue reading Freelancing in a Free-Fall Economy →