Tripod Columns: Harry Goldstein

<body bgcolor="#CCFFFF" link="#FF0000" vlink="#990000"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="TOP" align="CENTER" width="178">  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal-map.html"><img src="../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="45" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/zones-map.html"><img src="../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/zones.gif" alt="Zone Map" width="170" height="69" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" 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onchange="self.top.podRedirect(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value)"> <option value="">Related Pods</option> <option value="Freebies">Freebies</option> <option value="MacComputing">Mac Computing</option> <option value="PC%20User">PC User</option> <option value="Second-Hand">Second-Hand</option> <option value="Smallbiz">SmallBiz</option> <option value="Travel">Travel</option> </select></td> </tr> </table> </form> <br clear="ALL"> <p>  <p> <p> <p> <table cellpadding="5"> <tr><td valign="TOP"> <p> <p> <p> <p><img src="../../../../work/columns/img/www_subdomain/workinglife.gif" width="194" height="152" alt="the working life by Harry Goldstein"> <p> <font size="+1"> <b> <font size="+2">T</font>HE <font size="+2">W</font>RITING <font size="+2">L</font>IFE, <font size="+2">P</font>ART <font size="+2">T</font>WO:<br> <font size="+2">F</font>REELANCE <font size="+2">F</font>INANCES</font> </b> <p> <p>Published December 2, 1996<br><p> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/work/archive/goldstein.html"><font size="+1">Previous columns</font></a> <br>by Harry Goldstein <p> </td> <td><font size="+1"> <p> <center><b>See <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/work/columns/goldstein/961104.html">last month's column</a> for tips on breaking into the freelance game.</b></center> <p> <font size="+2">A</font> lot of aspiring writers have romantic notions about freelancing, but it ain't all it's cracked up to be. As "traditional" job situations become scarce commoditites, many people are being forced to take self-reliance to new heights Emerson never dreamed of. Freelance income can be not only the difference between making this month's rent or being out on the street, it could be this month's rent PERIOD. <p> <font size="+2">T</font>here are other issues on the money end that you need to be prepared to deal with as a freelancer. First, you have to negotiate a fee. Once again, the fee depends on how much experience you have. Potential employers operate on the principal that the less they have to pay you, the better off their bottom line is. Your best bet is to know what your work is worth. Be firm, but not inflexible -- let the person you're negotiating with understand that you're a professional whose work fetches the going market rate. For writers, that's anywhere from $1 to $2 per word, depending on the magazine; for Web writing, the fee is 50-75% lower than print (if there's a fee at all), but because of the glut of web publications, work is easier to come by. <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP" width="160"> <font size="+2">Print magazines will try to buy all the rights to your work for reproduction from now until the Sun shrivels to a black hole.</font> </td> <td> <font size="+2">O</font>ther things you need to get straight before you start working are the deadline and the contract stipulating usage rights for your writing or artwork. Deadlines are pretty easy to negotiate, but contracts are a different beast altogether. Ask for a contract and read it thoroughly. Be especially wary of print magazines, which will try to buy all the rights to your work for reproduction in any existing or future medium from now until the Sun shrivels to a black hole. Many contracts stipulate that the copyright reverts to the artist/writer after a certain amount of time, usually 60-90 days, after which you can do anything you want with it. This is important, because after a piece runs, someone might contact you to use your work in a book or anthology or CD ROM -- and if you've signed away your rights, the publication you did the work for originally will profit from future incarnations of the work, not you. Also, make sure there is a kill fee included in the contract, so if the publication doesn't use your work, you'll at least have something to show for your efforts. <p> <font size="+2">S</font>ome publications will want you to work "on spec," which means they have no obligation to use your work -- or pay you -- if they decide they don't want it. Doing work "on spec" is a judgement call; sometimes it's a foot in the door, a goodwill gesture that will ensure you get a contract the next time. But if you do it once and get paid, don't do it again. You've established a track record with that particular employer and that should be enough, even if you don't have a lot of other experience. <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP" width="160"> <font size="+2">You usually come just after paper toilet seat covers and colored staples on the accounting department's priority list. </font> </td> <td> <font size="+2">A</font>fter you've turned your work in, you should be able to sit back and wait for the big, fat check to materialize in your mailbox, right? Wrong -- on two counts. Always have some overlap happening, whether it's another project that you've been contracted to do, something you're working up to pitch people on, query letters you're sending out, whatever: a big key to keeping the freelance ball rolling is making sure that you're always pushing it up that hill, so that your name is constantly out there and you're perpetually busy. Then, even if things aren't coming through at the moment, you're feeling very productive, which is a great way of to fend off the discouragement that accompanies the inevitable rejections. If "They" didn't like that one, you're working on something else They might buy next week. <p> <font size="+2">T</font>he other thing about sitting around and waiting for the check is that, as a freelancer, you're usually last on the accounting department's priority list -- just after paper toilet seat covers and colored staples. This means you have to keep track of outstanding invoices and bother people about payment every 30, 45, and 60 days. Don't believe the old "check is in the mail" scam. It's not in the mail until it's in your hands. If possible, try to cultivate a casual relationship with someone in the accounting department, a real, live person you can call on the phone or shoot an e-mail to, to check up on how payment is progressing. <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP" width="160"> <font size="+2">In the freelancing game, coming out ahead at the end of the year counts as a win. </font> </td> <td> <font size="+2">O</font>f course, once you've cashed that freelance check, the most complex financial component of freelancing comes into play: taxes. Most people doing freelance work, whether it's writing articles for Tripod or working as a temp proof-reading business documents, have to pay Social Security taxes in addition to federal, state and local taxes on their earnings at the end of the year. For the last few years, I've fallen prey to a vicious cycle many people find themselves in as April 15 approaches: getting off my regular 9-to-5 and racing to my freelance gig that starts at 6 and ends at midnight so I can scrape up enough money to pay the taxes on last year's freelance earnings. <p> <font size="+2">T</font>his year, I wised up. Instead of spending everything I make off freelance, I've done a few things: taken zero exemptions on my W-2 and paid about $100 per month in extra federal, state and local taxes; set aside an amount of money equivalent to what I had to pay last year in a short term CD that will mature in time to pay my taxes (if it turns out I don't need it, I can roll it over immediately); saved receipts on everything and kept a diary of expenses of things like newspapers and magazines, things I might not get receipts for (my accountant informed me that keeping a diary counts as much as having receipts). <p> <font size="+2">T</font>he bottom line is that I probably won't owe as much tax as I did last year because of all the money that's coming out of my regular paycheck -- and the fact that I'm keeping copious records on my tax deductible expenditures (this is something which varies from case to case, so consult a tax accountant to find out what you can write off). If it turns out I owe money, I've got it and won't have to moonlight to pay for money I made (and spent) the year before. If I don't owe that much money, excellent -- I'm that much ahead of the game. And in the freelancing game, coming out ahead at the end of the year counts as a win. <p> </font> <p> <hr><p> <p><a href="mailto:hargold@mail.idt.net">Harry Goldstein</a> is a writer and editor living in Manhattan. His work has appeared in Utne Reader, American Book Review, Promethean, AltX, word.com, and other periodicals. <font size="-1"><p>© 1996 Harry Goldstein, All Rights Reserved </font> <p> </font> <p>  <p> </td> </tr> </table> <form method="POST" action="../../../../www_subdomain/bin/search/pursuit.html"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="RIGHT"> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="MIDDLE"> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/work_money.html" target="_top"></a></td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="MIDDLE"> <a href="../../../../www_subdomain/work_money/index-html/anchor_toc.html" target="_top"></a></td> <td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"> <select name="pod_name" onchange="self.top.podRedirect(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value)"> <option value="">Related Pods</option> <option value="Freebies">Freebies</option> <option value="MacComputing">Mac Computing</option> <option value="Second-Hand">Second-Hand</option> <option value="Smallbiz">SmallBiz</option> <option value="Travel">Travel</option> </select></td> </tr> </table> <br clear="ALL"><br> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="RIGHT"> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="RIGHT"> <nobr><img src="../../../../img/www_subdomain/lycos_power.gif" border="0" alt="Lycos Powered" height="15" width="91"> <select name="cat"> <option value="tripod_www" selected>Search the Tripod Web Site <option value="tripod">Search Tripod Member Pages <option value="lycos">Search the Web</select></nobr></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="RIGHT"> <nobr><input type="text" size="20" name="query"> <input type="submit" value="Search"></nobr></td> </tr> </table> </form> <br clear="ALL"> </td> </tr> </table> </body>