Sometimes they just need to hear it. Sometimes clients need to know exactly why you left, what they can do going forward, and how they can succeed post-you. I’m not talking about the fly-by-nights who want to justify a $1/article job as “exposure.” I’m talking about legitimate businesses making critical mistakes that are chasing away…
Tag: payment
The Return of the Low-ballers
A Twitter acquaintance got in touch with me recently to get some suggestions/feedback/potential help on a project. He and I hit it off and we were both excited about this potential new project. Then we gave the client the price, which was more than fair and probably a bit on the low side, gauging the…
Perks Are More Than Just Coffee
Working off Paula Hendrickson’s post yesterday, I want ask: when you left that 9-to-5 or opted to leap straight from school into freelancing, how well did you weigh that decision? If you were leaving a full-time job, you probably spent more time considering the things you’d lose – 401(k), paid vacations, paid health care, paid…
The Good Old Days?
Remember when you first started freelancing, when 10 cents a word was the first offer of payment, when writing something for the local newspaper meant an extra 20 bucks in your pocket? It’s too bad that here you are, years, decades later, making the exact same amount. Writer Paula Hendrickson penned an article 11 years…
The Phrases That Do NOT Pay
While I’m out chumming the waters for new clients (is anyone else wondering where the clients went?), I thought I’d share some of the catch phrases in job listings that usually mean you’re not getting paid. If you’re a newbie or if you’ve been around a while, it never hurts to see them for what…
Freebies R Not Us
Last week I applied for a project and this week, I received a response. Great! Except… yes, the old “sample of how you would handle this” request. Look, I’m all for giving you an idea of how I’d handle your gig, but “samples” are limited. This one asked for a small sample – 100 words…
Truth or Dare?
Time to ‘fess up – do you collect deposits/fees from every single client every single time on every single project? If so, you don’t write for magazines, do you? There are times when you just can’t. Magazines pay on acceptance or on publication. If you think you’ll get them to change their payment schedule, good…
Cheap, Cheap…
I once worked for $15 an article. Before you flog me for telling others not to when I myself did, let me explain. It was 15 years ago and the market – the local newspaper. While I didn’t make oodles of cash, I established myself in a credible market. I bring this up after reading…
Lots of Work, Little Cash
How many times have you been there, too? The work – you’re drowning in it. Yet the cash for that work? Let’s just say Casper makes more appearances than your checks. At the moment, I have about $7K in outstanding invoices. Only one is just slightly overdue. Taxes are due on the 15th (you do…
Six Phrases That Mean “I’m Not Paying”
By now we can pretty much recite most of these, but just in case you’re new to writing, here are some sure signs the employer has no intention of paying you for your work. 1. “This is a labor of love for us.” Time and again, this has gone on to say “….and for that…