Today it begins.
I have always known I was a freelancer. The phrase my family uses to describe me is "not a nine-to-five-er." That said, nine-to-five does carry some not-so-romantic but comforting benefits. Health insurance. Travel reimbursement. Gas mileage. A regular paycheck.
But alas, I'm the daughter and granddaughter of entrepreneurs, and I'm also of the "ownership society."
I love to write. No such thing as retirement--writing is who I am. But with that ideal and that passion comes every writer's downfall. Running a business. Getting paid.
We right-brained people with our horrendous filing cabinets and hard drives/Zip drives full of e-mails have to spend time organizing, like any businessperson. I had a conversation with a fellow writer/content provider in which we both confessed neither of us knew how to charge for our services. Although University of Southern California master of Professional Writing Program does give great training in the business side, most writing programs in my experience don't teach marketing, recordkeeping, fee-charging, and work-for-hire contracts, let alone publishing contracts.
Today while tracking two possible freelance jobs (I'd like to give a plug to David Copeland's Freelance Daily, http://freelancewriters.blogspot.com/, a terrific daily newsgroup with tons of freelance leads, also PayingWriterJobs, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PayingWriterJobs/, AbsoluteWriter, http://www.absolutewrite.com, Writers Weekly, http://www.writersweekly.com, and of course, my local paper, http://www.thedesertsun.com/), I found my e-mail inbox inundated with back and forth e-mails. While I admit my e-mail organization system resembles my filing system at times, I finally wised up.
On my computer, in Windows, I have a folder with subfolders for e-mail. I created a separate directory, "freelance". Then I assigned every potential or actual freelance job its own folder with a client identifier number where appropriate and otherwise the name of the client/publication.
I also created a Work For Hire agreement today. My own--usually when I work with a publication I'm required to submit an invoice. However, a publication you have a relationship with is different from a client that doesn't know you and vice versa. This is new ground for me. I've signed three book contracts, entered into three royalty agreements and two bona fide collaboration agreements, signed screenplay, magazine, fiction, and poetry release forms, sent more contest applications than I can count...but my own Work For Hire agreement...now I feel I've passed the "novice" mark and can proudly call myself a full-time freelancer. Freelance entrepreneur.
No.
Writer always works. To quote Harlan Ellison's business card, "I write."
But will I stay organized?
Continued next week...
Kristin Johnson is co-author of the "highly recommended" Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadable media kit is available at our Web site, http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com
professional maid services Deerfield ..GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Some Catch-22, huh? In... Read More
I???ve spoken to hundreds of editors, employers, and project managers... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website yet?... Read More
"You should write a book." For years, I had been... Read More
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have... Read More
Sure you can write, but can you write crisp, compelling... Read More
Anyone who has read any of my articles on the... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Our plotting stage is our testing area.Everything... Read More
Virgil, the great Roman poet, wrote "Practice and thought might... Read More
To capitalize on ways to make extra income you can... Read More
We writers are a powerful lot. We control time. We... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
Q and A.Best choice when subject is very verbal or... Read More
Hands up all those who'd like to have a successful... Read More
It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis... Read More
IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More
Style manuals are all well and good, and in fact,... Read More
One morning, you open your inbox and find several e-mails... Read More
As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More
Everyone has a unique story to tell. From explaining business... Read More
Ever wonder what an author's life is like? What that... Read More
My bookcase take up one whole wall in the family... Read More
Readers often send me interesting and exciting e-mails about the... Read More
If you have an online home based business you know... Read More
As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More
quick home cleaning Lake Forest ..I started writing as a way of keeping safe memories... Read More
Our Image-Driven SocietyWe live in a new image-driven society. It... Read More
Have you ever wondered why certain writers are able to... Read More
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More
Writers are notorious collectors of slips of paper. They tear... Read More
In reviewing and browsing web sites over the years, I... Read More
Every morning I excitedly get out of bed. Just a... Read More
For several years before I left teaching to write full... Read More
This article is to help identify which style, technique or... Read More
In order to be successful with a newsletter, specialize in... Read More
During the past few months I have received many questions... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
No one is born a novel writer. But do you... Read More
What to do when you get rejected.You've just finished your... Read More
Have you heard the term 'ghostwriter' and wondered what they... Read More
The first and final rule of quality writing is this:... Read More
An island in the Mediterranean. A beach in Africa. The... Read More
1 - Join a reading or writing group. Ask members... Read More
Good writing requires self-examination. Why is one writing? What part... Read More
Do you have trouble getting your thoughts and ideas down... Read More
IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More
All the famous writers I heard of could paper the... Read More
(Skip directly to ten for the fastest shortcut!)Like any field,... Read More
The rejection letter says: "Your story, on the surface, appears... Read More
The first step in the writing process is to put... Read More
Writing |