I received an email this week from a client that I assumed I’d never hear from again. It hadn’t been a bad breakup, simply that my main contact left and her replacement had different freelance writers in her stable. With a whopping six-year gap between communications (a personal record), I was reminded of one of my favorite freelance phenomena: Halley’s client, you know, the clients that enter into your orbit only once in a great while. They’re not a bad thing, but don’t exactly provide dependable income, either. [Read more…]
The top 4 freelancer pet peeves
There are plenty of things to love about freelancing: freedom, flexibility, and those splendid days when you get 2 or 3 checks in the mail. But what about those times when things don’t run so smoothly? Here are the four most common day-to-day problems that freelancers face…and some thoughts on what you can do about them.
Finding new freelance clients
Actually, let’s amend that slightly: Finding new freelance clients that are a good fit for your business. Here are a few thoughts on where to start: [Read more…]
Referrals aren’t a given
Dear Dr. Freelance: I’m an editor rather than a freelancer, but I’m hoping you can provide some guidance on the protocol for referrals. A freelance writer I’ve used is asking for recommendations, but I’d frankly recommend people NOT USE her. In addition to being a poor writer, she’s awful to work with.—Holding My Tongue
Dear HMT: Back in my staff editorial days, one of my pet peeves was when a new writer turned out to be far less talented than his or her clips would indicate. There’s a certain subsector of the writing community that seems to survive on the good fortune of having been edited well and then perpetually parlaying that into new gigs. [Read more…]