Writers and Editors

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How Much Should I Charge? What can a writer or editor expect? Not surprisingly, several articles bear this title or one like it, including the following: • How Much Should I Charge for My Freelance Services? (Lifehacker) • How much should I charge? (Dan Wilson, Editor's Desktop, on why freelancers' rates aren't standardized) • How much should I charge? By the hour or by the project? (Allena Tapia, About.com) There is also "per diem." • How much should I charge? (Lynn Wasnak, NJ Creatives Network, 2011). Lynn provides ranges of fees for various types of work • How Much Should I Charge? (Lynn Wasnak, Writers Market, PDF of easy-to-read chart, based on summary of 2005-2006 fees) • Why should I bother using an editor, and how much would it cost? (Judith Broadhurst, The unexpected benefits of hiring a professional editor, Polished Prose) • Tips for Putting a Price on Your Work (Alina Tugend, New York Times, 1-27-12) • Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (13th edition, free when you join the Guild • How to Set Rates FAQ (HTML Writers Guild, but principles applicable to all entrepreneurs) • The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them by Ilise Benun and Peleq Top • Hourly rate calculator (Freelance Switch) • How Much to Charge (Paul Lima, Chapter 38 from Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing) • Ghostwriter (Wikipedia--see section on Remuneration and Credits, credits being a factor in pricing on collaborations) • Common editorial rates(Editorial Freelancers Association), with common pace of editing, also) • Services and fees at Story Circle Editorial Circle (affiliated with Story Circle Network, by, for, and about women) • SfEP suggested minimum freelance rates (Society for Editors and Proofreaders, UK) • Pay rates for technical, business, and trade editing (Megan B. Wyatt, Suite101.com, 8-23-09). Average payment for medical, science and corporate editors (the ones who get paid a decent amount, by contrast with those who work in trade book publishing) • Thinking About Money: What Freelancers Need to Understand. How to calculate your effective hourly rate, or EHR (American Editor, 10-6-10) • How to Set Your Copywriting Fees and Earn What You’re Worth (Dean Rieck, Men With Pens). Many comments! • What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants, interview with Laurie Lewis for National Association of Independent Writers and Editors • What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants (Barbara L. Jones's notes on Laurie Lewis's book,AMWA Mid-Atlantic Region) • What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants by Laurie Lewis (a book about pricing as part of a career strategy, not just a job strategy--solid practical advice and templates) • Go Ahead, Raise Your Business's Prices (Jason Fried, Inc., 11-1-10). "Sure, some customers will complain, and others might take their business elsewhere. But there’s a good chance you don’t want those kinds of customers, anyway." • Ghostwriting Prices (Writers for Hire, with fee range on the low side--the ghostwriters of bestsellers are paid more than that) • Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians . Read chapters 9 (Structuring a Business) and 10 (Set Realistic Fees) • Avoid Pricing and Discounting Mistakes (Karyn Greenstreet, Self-Employed Success) • Pricing strategies and cost factors (Encyclopedia of Business) • Pricing Strategies for Resume Writers (Resume Writers' Digest, which has no accent on final e) • What to say to your low-balling clients (Laura Spencer, FreelanceFolder) • Why should writers work for no pay? Contributors to the Huffington Post have begun to chafe at its no-pay policy. They could take a lesson from stand-up comedians who faced a similar insult in the 1970s. (Michael Walker, OpEd, Los Angeles Times, 4-1-11) • Should I work for free? (Jessica Hische's amusing and realistic chart) • When to work for nothing (Michelle Goodman, New York Times, Shifting Careers, 11-9-08) • Per diem rates, U.S. Department of State. If you're estimating travel costs abroad, these might help.The foreign travel per diem allowances (which vary by country and within a country) provide for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses when an employee is on temporary duty overseas. • Benchmarks for Estimating Editing Speed by David W. McClintock (originally published in Corrigo: Newsletter of the STC's Technical Editing SIG (June 2002), pp. 1, 3. • How long does editing take? (Jean Weber Hollis, Technical Editors' Eyre: Resources for technical editors)

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I've been freelance most of my career (after several years as an editor in book publishing), so I know it's possible to make a living this way. Eventually I'll provide more advice here about how to do it. Right now (while also making a living freelancing) I'm concentrating on getting the bones of this website in place and providing links that serve as a gateway to the information and resources you will need to do the same yourself.

Freelancing doesn't suit everyone. I happen to prefer working alone because it helps me concentrate, and being selectively gregarious I go out when I need the company--but don't need to be working around people all day. The loneliness gets to some freelancers, as do the serious problems with cash flow (because even if you have enough work, payments are sometimes slow in coming). Many people say they want the security of a job, but when job security became an issue for many people, a few years back, my comfort level with not knowing what I would be doing a year later served me well. You need to be able to market yourself, but that doesn't mean you have to be a salesperson so much as you have to let people know you are there, are dependable, and can and will do the work you're being hired to do. There is a learning curve, but there are places to learn and books to learn from. More on those later.

I'm adding some items on telecommuting, because with gas prices going up, I'm getting lots of queries from people who can't afford to keep their jobs, and for some telecommuting may be a good alternative. To the extent that I can post links to advice on how to make that work, I will do so. I will also post links on how to run a small business, because that is essentially what a freelancer is doing. Some present themselves as a company. I haven't done so only because I have been more interested in the work than in managing other people doing the work--although of course I do subcontract parts of my work. (On a book, for example, I always hire an editor; even though I edit, I can't edit myself effectively; nobody can.)

General information, tips, resources for freelancers

Alternative Income Sources for Writers, Norman Bauman's summary of an ASJA meeting on the subject in 2002, may be helpful, especially about technical writing. See also the material he added to his website: Catherine E. Oliver on what's required for technical writing. Norman's other reports include How to find and price medical writing jobs (1999). For more such summaries, including an interesting piece on text retrieval and search engines, go to Bauman's website, Medical Writing in New York.

And Now, the Tricky Part: Naming Your Business (Emily Maltby, WSJ, 6-29-10) and Name Choices Spark Lawsuits (Emily Maltby, "Start-Ups Can Get Mired in Costly Trademark Scuffles With Bigger Firms," WSJ, 6-24-10)

The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model by Daniel Roth (Wired, 10-19-09). With "content" replacing "writing," the only participants who lose out in this model are the writers. Amy Green continues the conversation in an SPJ blog: The dilemma of Demand Studios.

Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online. IRS process for getting a permanent number (instead of your social security number) for filing business and tax reports, for anyone paying subcontractors, including cleaning workers.

Behance Network (platform for creative professionals)

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"Brevity may be the soul of wit, or lingerie, or texting, or quail eggs, but all subjects are not the same. Efficiency of expression is in some realms a virtue and in some realms a vice. Brevity is certainly not the soul of news, if by news you mean more than information. 'The point' is not always easy. There is not always a 'takeaway.'" ~ Leon Wieselter, on the impoverishment of writers providing "content" for the new media, in Washington Diarist: Writers Have Become the New Proles in The New Republic

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Best tools for freelancers and entrepreneurs:
• Dropbox (a free service that lets you post your photos, docs, and videos online for accessing on the road or sharing privately with others--particularly helpful for files too big to email)
• Hootsuite (social media dashboard to manage and measure your social networks)
• Endnote (software tool for publishing and managing references and bibliographies)
• Mendeley (desktop and web program for managing and sharing research papers, discovering research data, collaborating online privately or in groups, reading and annotating PDFs
• Evernote (organize your notes and thoughts in one spot)
• 5 Timekeeping Apps for Your Small Business (Mashable)
• Online billing tools (Dave McClintock, on Entrepreneur, 11-19-10, reviews five billing and receivables tools for security, payment plans, support, mobility, and branding ability(how well you can brand your bills with your logo etc.): QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, AcceptPay, and PayPal, with nods to Outright and Xero.
• Top 10 Productivity Tools for Entrepreneurs
• Five Best Note Taking Applications (Lifehacker review 2011)
• Five Best PDF Tools (Lifehacker review 2011)
• Five Best Desktop Personal Finance Tools (Lifehacker review 2011)
• Five Best News Aggregators (Lifehacker review 2011)

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Business Cards:
• Moo (good quality and service for short-run business cards -- better quality than Vista, and you can have variations: same front side but different images on back, etc.)
• 30 Creative QR code business cards (Webdesigner Depot)
• 10 Tips for Designing a Professional Business Card (Andrea Campbell, Bright Hub, 3-11-11)
• Using Adobe Photoshop to Make Your Own Business Cards (Laura Jean Karr, Bright Hub, 11-16-10)
• 7 Free Business Card Templates for Microsoft Word (Tricia Goss, Bright Hub, 12-23-10)
• Cost of Printing Business Cards: Is It Really Cheaper to Make Your Own? (Linda Richter, Bright Hub, 2-21-11)

Business gifts. There's a $25 limit, says IRS, Publication #463

Clutter (Stuff) Management
• It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh (consultant on the cable TV show, Clean Sweep)
• Clear Your Way to a Clutter Free Life by Maartje de Wolff (explores feelings and thought processes)
• The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay
• Unclutterer (site of Erin Doland, author of Unclutter Your Life in One Week)

College is a waste of time (by 19-year-old Dale J. Stephens, CNN Opinion, 6-3-11). Stephens dropped out of college when he was awarded a $100,000 Thiel fellowship (for entrepreneurs under 20). "Employers are recruiting on LinkedIn, Facebook, StackOverflow, and Behance. People are hiring on Twitter, selling their skills on Google, and creating personal portfolios to showcase their talent."

Consider gigs as a virtual assistant. According to the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA), a virtual assistant is an independent contractor who (from a remote location, usually a home office) supports multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services. AssistU provides advice on becoming or hiring a virtual assistant. This is a fast-growing category of home-based businesses. Services the IVAA lists include association management,coaching support, graphic design and editing, transcription services, author assistance, desktop publishing, multimedia presentations, social media services, and website design.

Contracts 101: Negotiating Contractor Agreements (Vimeo, Dave Putt, VP of Client Services, MBO Partners). Putt,not a lawyer, explains the terms of a sample consulting agreement helpfully for independent contractors (and those who hire them)--especially why to avoid overbroadness in noncompete, indemnification, nondisclosure/​confidentiality, warranty, injunction, arbitration, errors and omissions insurance, and other clauses. Hire a lawyer when the expensive words "liens" and "bond" appear.

Days can be endless when you are an independent contractor (Vickie Elmer, Capital Business insert, Washington Post, 9-18-11).

Don't Exaggerate Your Size. Nearly every entrepreneur exaggerates his or her company's size to impress clients. Jason Fried (Inc. June 2011) says such behavior is silly—and unnecessary. Don't exaggerate your experience either!

Elders in Action. Get certified (or not) as elder-friendly. Their website (see its upper right corner) is elder-friendly.

Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). A tax payment system provided free by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Pay federal taxes electronically via the Internet or phone 24/​7.

Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) (a clear explanation by IRS.gov). An EIN is a federal tax identification number used to identify a business entity or household employer (e.g., of cleaning people or caregivers). Just as you get a Social Security number (SSN) when you first start earning income, so you should probably apply for an EIN when you become an entrepreneur. It's required if you have employees or are incorporated, and useful if you are filing 1099 forms sent to subcontractors--on which you're probably better off providing an EIN than an SSN. Here's IRS on How to Apply for an EIN. Here is NIST's explanation of TIN/​EIN. A federal Tax Identification Number (TIN) (a "95 number") is similar in function, according to NIST -- in being a 9-digit number issued by the IRS, as a way of uniquely identifying a business entity. Many companies use them as a way to facilitate financial management when an individual or firm may operate with different names, or names may change over time. A TIN/​EIN is used by "employers, sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit associations, trusts, estates of decedents, government agencies, certain individuals, and other business entities," explains NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology).

E-payment and accounting systems:
• Bay Business Group (Web-based bookkeeping for small businesses
• Bill.com (Web-based payment system)

Ergonomic office chairs (Ergogenesis) (customized chairs for if your body is not "normal" size) and an adjustable keyboard tray(The Human Solution) so you can stand while writing. (Tips courtesy of Susan Bairnsfather). Others rave about Aeron chairs, Herman Miller chairs, slightly tilted foot rests -- and setting a timer every hour to remind yourself to get up for two minutes, roll your eyes from side to side (they've been staring at a screen), and stretch. If you want to stand and type, consider the Geek Desk.

Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim (foreword by Guy Kawasaki)

Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing by Paul Lima. You can read this excellent primer free online, clicking on chapter-by-chapter hotlinks. Sample chapters:
• Sample Query Letters (Chapter 12)
• Sample Pitch Letters (Chapter 35, on selling yourself to a corporate client)
• How Much to Charge (Chapter 38, on quoting a price to a corporate client)
• Accurately Pricing Services (Chapter 39)

Fax services. With electronic faxing service (a fax comes through e-mail as a PDF) you no longer need a dedicated fax line. E-colleagues have recommended these reasonably priced fax services in the U.S.: MyFax, OneSuite Fax ("you can call it fax-to-email, FoIP, Fax over IP, web fax, or ifax; either way, it’s essentially a virtual fax machine to which you can affordably subscribe from your OneSuite account." OneSuite provides low-cost long-distance phone connections, which are particularly handy for calling in to long teleconferences--which you can do from outside your office.

Fitness tip: Trek Desk Treadmill Desk (about $400 and you can get a treadmill for it for $200 or so, sez this video story on Inside Indiana Business)

Foreign transfers. Payment between countries may be a problem if you use a small bank or credit union; they're easier in a bank with a SWIFT account. Three terms to understand for transfers from Europe (IBAN, BIC, and SWIFT) are explained well at http:/​/​auctionfeecalculator.com/​iban_transfers.html"target. As that site explains: BIC + IBAN is often the cheapest way to transfer money internationally and is now free of charge in much of Europe. In the U.S. you are charged a fee if an international transfer has to go through an intermediary bank, so read up!

Freelancer Directories
Many writers and journalists organizations have begun offering freelance directories, so if you're looking for a freelancer in a special field, that's one place to look, and if you're freelance, make sure you're listed in the directory of organizations to which you belong. Here are some directories. I'll list more as I remember or you make me aware of them:
• Association of Health Care Journalists (see AHCJ's list of independent journalists)
• Editorial Freelancers Association (search by state, skill, specialty, hardware, software)
• Find a personal historian (Association of Personal Historians, to help Mom and Pop write their memoirs)
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (freelancers in an organization that traditionally attracts staff journalists)

***Freelancer's Survival Guide by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (read free online) If you're still even a bit dewy-eyed, read what Rusch has to say. In addition, if you want your books published, read this long blog entry on how you can't count on publishers to give you a fair contract and you cannot always count on agents to watch out for your interests: Advocates, Addendums, and Sneaks, oh my. In short: read every line of every contract and educate yourself on what to watch for. Read also: Giving Up on Yourself, Part 1

Freelance Writer Rates: Who Pays the Most Online? Paul Tullis, TravelersNotebook, on Matador Notebook). Freelancers’ newsgroup polls members; range is $0.03 to $2.00 per word, for travel writing. The links to publications go to the "writer's guideline" pages.

Freelance writing's unfortunate new model (James Rainey, On the Media, LA Times, 1-6-10). With many outlets slashing pay scales, the well-written story is in danger of becoming scarce. "With the advertising-driven income in a state of disarray, the source of future freelance dollars remains in doubt." Media analyst Alan Mutter worried about "journicide -- the loss of much of a generation of professional journalists who turn to other professions."

Freelance-Zone.com. "Work smarter, not harder." Has job bank, various sections, helpful articles, such as A Job Opp You May Not Have Considered, Amanda Smyth Connor's story about Community managers, who are in charge of developing and maintaining the style and tone of content (social media, etc.) that is posted within a community

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer, expanded edition, by Robert Bly

Getting Started in Consulting (Alan Weiss, Contrarian Consulting 9-5-11). See also his column Ten Things You Should Know Before Meeting With A Prospect (9-12-11)

Go Ahead, Raise Your Business's Prices (Jason Fried, Inc., 11-1-10). "Sure, some customers will complain, and others might take their business elsewhere. But there’s a good chance you don’t want those kinds of customers, anyway."

Home Office Tax Deductons
• Tough Rules (Julian Block)
• Tips to Get It Right (Julian Block, HouseLogic.com, click on arrows for slide show illustrating home offices)
• Don’t Forget These Home Office Tax Deductions (Miranda Marquit, Peak Personal Finance 1-25-10)
• Office-in-Home Tax Deductions - Home Business Use of Your Home (Randy Duermyer, About.com)

How to Share a Folder Over Your Network (for Beginners -- Adam Dachis, Lifehacker 6-6-11)

How to start up as a freelancer or contractor, British-style (Tim@​Caprica)

Incorporate? Or not? Which way?
• The Nuts & Bolts of Running Your Freelance Business. PDF of genuinely informative slideshow from Lisa Breck's presentation 4-2-11 to AMWA freelancers (program here, includes other helpful resources). Breck's slideshow includes overview of sole proprietorships and partnerships, of LLC (Limited Liability Company), of S-Corp.
• Introduction to LLCs. Nelson on the dangers of sole proprietorships and partnerships and the advantages of forming a limited liability company (LLC), plus FAQs about LLCs
• A CPA Explains the Advantages and Disadvantages of an S Corporation (Stephen L. Nelson clearly explains the many disadvantages and advantages of an S Corp tax status, and provides SCorp Kits for each state of U.S.)
Google these terms and others in these presentations and you'll find even more, but this will give you an overview.

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INSURANCE FOR FREELANCERS Insurance, Health I am listing sites others have recommended, as a place to start looking. i am not qualified to recommend any particular insurance provider. Some freelancers look for very high-deductibles, mostly basic coverage for catastrophic (highly expensive) care (mostly in-hospital, but outpatient chemo can also be extremely expensive). Others look for an integrated healthcare system (such as Kaiser Permanente), believing in preventive health maintenance! • Affordable Health Insurance Options for Members of the National Press Club (Affinity, etc. -- some journalists accept steady gigs on small papers to qualify for NPC membership and health insurance) • Freelancers Union insurance • FracturedAtlas (liberate the artist)(various kinds of insurance for artists) • HealthCare.gov (learn how new federal rules about health insurance may affect you) • eHealthInsurance (compare different insurers' plans side by side; ask for advice from an agent) • HealthInsuranceInfo.net(consumer guides, by state, for getting and keeping health insurance, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute) • Health Insurance Consumer Information (News You Can Use from Healthinsuranceinfo.net) Insurance, Liability and Property • Liability insurance for writers; taxes and incorporation (Kay Murray, The Writer, 12-3-02) • Indemnity clauses and liability insurance (The Writer, 1-31-02) • Media Liability Insurance (Authors Guild). The Guild has an agreement with AxisPro to offer its members professional liability insurance. Download the FAQ for more details. See application form for Axis Pro WriteInsure liability policy, for three covered activities: freelance writing (including commentary on third party websites and blogs), book authorship, and/​or your own blog. • WriteInsure, through Axis Pro/​Argo Insurance Group (media and entertainment liability coverage, professional and miscellaneous errors and omissions, and cyberspace liability). Leading underwriter of media liability insurance. Available through Authors Guild and ASJA, among other organizations. Axis Pro offers four levels of coverage through WriteInsure, ranging from $100,000 per claim (with an aggregate payment limit of $300,000) to $1,000,000 per claim (with an aggregate payment limit of $1,000,000). The program covers legal expenses incurred in defending a claim and any monetary damages or settlements you may be required to pay. The "self-insured retention" (similar to a deductible) ranges from $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the amount of coverage you purchase. Here's a writeup about who it's for, from MyNewMarkets.com. • MusicPro Insurance (for instruments and computer equipment) Please let me know of other insurance available to creative professionals!

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Invoice for "ruining my day" (designer Jessica Hische's invoice can be adapted for other service providers)

Lessons Learned in Auditioning for Job (Alina Tugend, NY Times, 12-3-10). Advice on how to handle prospective employers' requests to produce creative samples or give business advice -- when to do it and how to protect your work.

Lessons (Re)-Learned From the Other Side of the Editor-Writer Equation (Karen Berger, CreateWorkLive--a blog about surviving and thriving in the creative economy, 5-30-11). This is healthy advice that will probably go unheeded by the people who need it: How to be helpful to editors looking for writers and how not to create a bad impression by being too eager and self-focused. Recommend it to chronic listserv bitchers and moaners.

Liability insurance, or media liability insurance. WriteInsure media perils insurance, available through Axis Pro. The Authors Guild has entered into an agreement with Axis Pro, the world's leading underwriter of media liability insurance, to offer Guild members professional liability insurance. Coverage is available under WriteInsure for book authorship, freelance writing and blogging. I don't think you have to be a member of AG to get it; I don't know if the cost or terms are different if you buy it individually. If anyone else does, or if other writers organizations are also making it available, please let me know!

“Mothers: Don’t let your babies grow up to be freelancers,” cracks one journalist, freelancing after leaving a staff job, as quoted by Rebecca Rosen Lum in California Progress Report story
Freelance Journalists Suffering in Second Wave of News Media Collapse 6-23-10

National Writers Union (NWU) list of publications that pay $1 a word or more, one of several resources listed on SPJ page of Tools for Freelancers

The New American Job: Are freelance and part-time gigs the future? (Linda Stern, Newsweek/​Daily Beast 1-27-09)

Newspaper Guild: Constitution amended to admit freelancers (9-10-04). The Newspaper Guild/​Communications Workers of America "reversed decades of history by agreeing to open its ranks to freelancers....a belated recognition that the fight for full-time jobs in the newspaper industry has been lost, at least partially, to publishers advocating workforce 'flexibility.'"

On Returning to “a Job” After Freelancing (Deb Ng, Kommein.com, 12-28-10, on why many freelancers do not yearn for a steady "job")

101 Reasons Freelancers Do it Better (HR World). Whether they're entrepreneurs, Web workers or something in between, freelancers enjoy a better lifestyle than their cube-dwelling brethren.

Pay the Writer, Harlan Ellison getting mad at people expecting freebies
Click here for readings and film clips starring Harlan Ellison (writer of "speculative fiction"),a series of Sundance "digital shorts." BEGINNING WRITERS: In particular watch this one: Pay the Writer
http:/​/​www.sundancechannel.com/​digital-shorts/​#/​series/​20958611001/​20972302001

The Power of Personal Passion: How entrepreneurs can turn what they love doing into successful businesses (Eileen Gittins, creator and CEO of Blurb, for Forbes 5-26-10)

Prompt payment for freelancers (contractors, suppliers), with discount! Gawker reports that Time Inc. will pay you promptly, if you pay them for the service. And NBC Universal has a different version of the payday loan scam for freelancers.

Quit Your Day Job: How to Sleep Late, Do What You Enjoy, and Make a Ton of Money as a Writer by Jim Denney. The book is more realistic and helpful than the title.

Referral Key. I do not know from personal experience if this is worthwhile. Someone I know who thrives uses it, however.

Secrets of a Freelance Writer:How to Make $100,000 a Year or More by Robert Bly (third edition), how to make the big bucks writing ads, annual reports, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, direct mail, Web pages, CD-ROMs, press releases, and other projects for corporations, small businesses, associations, nonprofit organizations, the government, and other commercial clients.

Seven Tips for Freelancers: Looking for Work Online (Cynthia Haggard, 11-12-08, reprinted at QuinnCreative)

Seven Years as a Freelance Writer, or, How To Make Vitamin Soup by Richard Morgan (The Awl, 8-2-10)
"Freelancing is basically just courtship, but the freelancer-editor relationship is nothing more than friends with benefits. The editor likes you because you remind the editor of when they had enthusiasm and appetite and vision and so you make the editor feel powerful in the way that nostalgia empowers people. But the editor will never choose you over the publication to which they are married." An excellent description of freelance journalism: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Should You Pay For Referrals? (Bob Bly, guest-blogging on Successful Customer Follow-Up 5-30-11). Bly doesn't give referral fees because he wants his clients to know his referrals are objective. Referral gifts are another matter -- and not a bad idea if someone has referred a client to you. (You can send ME lobster!)

Show Me the Money: Getting What’s Due (Karen Berger's blog, CreateWorkLive 11-30-08).

Social Security. Several possibly helpful articles: Collect now, or later? Timing your Social Security benefits (Tara Siegel Bernard, NYTimes, Your Money, 7-10-09), Continuing a conversation on Social Security (Tara Siegel Bernard, NYTimes, 7-16-09), A boot camp to prepare for retirement (also by Bernard, 7-24-09)

Some Questions to Ask About Potential Work (PDF, Anne Ketchen, Freelance Editor, on the very helpful KOK Edit website

Some Thoughts on Writing, followed by a conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Spot.Us, Byliner, Atavist Are Showing Freelance Writers the Money (David Cohn, Idea Lab, 6-8-11). "I think gigs or "gigging" will be the way freelancers turn their practice into a career in the future. Instead of pitching story to story, you'll be working project to project or gig to gig.And that means reporters who work on projects will need representation." Among places to be spotted:
• The Atavist. Read also Literary journalism finds new platforms by David L. Ulin (L.A. Times 5-15-11). "Byliner, the Atavist and Virginia Quarterly Review take the form into the future."
• Byliner. Read also Will Byliner Save Longform Journalism? (Elana Zak, New Media Bistro 5-12-11)
• Longreads. Aggregates (links to) the best long-form stories on the web. See its Community Picks section.
• eBuyline
• StoryMarket ("Freelancers: Discover Entrepreneurial Journalism. Showcase your work, bringing editors to you. Sell your original work to publishers a la carte."
("welcome to the future of content syndication")

10 Reasons Your Freelance Career is Failing (James Clear, Freelance Switch 12-5-11).

3 Lessons Children Can Learn from a Freelancing Parent Lexi Rodrigo, The Savvy Freelancer, on Freelance Folder. Lexi offers a free copy of 31 Days to Start Freelancing if you sign up for her e-mail.

Trading a Pink Slip for a Passion by Carrie Sloan (Elle, 4-7-10). How an untimely layoff led four women to a whole new career--including Jennifer Campbell's shift from public television to personal history work.

12 Breeds of Clients and How to Work with Them (Jack Knight,Freelance Switch). Very helpful; do you recognize the types? (Note to headline writer: "disinterested" doesn't mean "uninterested.")

25 Secrets for Successful Freelance Writers by Robert McGarvey (Kindle edition, 105 KB, $2.99). From one of the most successful freelancers in the business.

The Wealthy Freelancer (blog, Steve Slaunwhite, Ed Gandia, and Pete Savage), co-authors of the book The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle, available by Kindle (so you can read it while flying to a meeting with a client).

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowerman, and The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds

We Want a Discount... (translators Danilo Nogueira and Kelli Semolini on the many reasons clients feel entitled to a discount, Translation Journal, 12-20-10)

What Exactly Is $70,000 in Freelance Income? (Kristen King, (ink)thinker blog, 12-28-07)

WhichDraft.com (the blog) and WhichDraft.com (the forms), a self-directed legal resource (not legal advice!), for those who can't afford legal advice and can take advantage of this contract assembly web site (with multiple version tracking, comparison red lining, and online collaboration tools). We haven't tested it. Let us know if it works for you!

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Organizations Freelancers May Find Useful • American Medical Writers Association (AMWA's freelance directory) • American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA). Definitely helpful for freelance journalists & writers of nonfiction books • Association for Women in Communications (AWC), most helpful for women in corporate world • Association of Personal Historians (APH) (personal historians help people tell their life story, or lessons learned, in print, audio, or video) • Association of Work at Home Women (AWHW) • Authors Guild (advocacy, lobbying, and education for American book authors, in particular) • Authors Registry (a clearinghouse or payment agent for organizations wishing to distribute payments to individual U.S.-resident authors) • Displaced Journalists (a community where displaced journalists find common ground and "begin to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get on with our lives and livelihoods." Parent company: Real World Media • Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) • FreelanceWritersEditors (a forum for published professional freelance writers and editors to discuss the business of publishing - getting into print, finding and keeping clients, handling difficult situations, getting paid, networking, useful resources) • Freelance L (discussion group for publishing industry freelancers in all lines of work, including editing, indexing, proofreading, writing, typesetting, design, research, other) • Freelance Folder ((tools, advice, forums, resources for freelancers and entrepreneurs) • Freelance News (journalism.co.uk) • Freelance Success (FLX, to which many freelance journalists subscribe) • Freelance Switch (advice and resources for freelancers • Freelance Writing Organization--Int'l (online resources, job offerings, a free blog listing, as long as it's about writing--I have no personal knowledge of this organization) • Freelancers Union (I suspect people join this for the insurance; I do not know how effective FU is at providing such resources -- please tell me if you know) • Morning Coffee Newsletter (Freelanc Writing.com's blog on freelance writing jobs) • National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) • National Writers Union (NWU) list of publications that pay $1 a word or more, one of several resources listed on SPJ page of Tools for Freelancers • The Newspaper Guild • The Scriptorium (a virtual room for writers) • Union & Guild Resources for Writers Freelancer Directories Many writers and journalists organizations have begun offering freelance directories, so if you're looking for a freelancer in a special field, that's one place to look, and if you're freelance, make sure you're listed in the directory of organizations to which you belong. Here are some directories. I'll list more as I remember or you make me aware of them: • Association of Health Care Journalists (see AHCJ's list of independent journalists) • Editorial Freelancers Association (search by state, skill, specialty, hardware, software) • Find a personal historian (Association of Personal Historians, to help Mom and Pop write their memoirs) • Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (freelancers in an organization that traditionally attracts staff journalists)

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