Freelance Writer Taxes
Every January, as I collect 1099s from my clients I think about taxes and how small business taxes effect freelance writers. (I even had this clip art waiting from an article I had written before It’s an unfortunate reality that for small business owners, like us, the tax burden can be extraordinary. Small Business Taxes for Freelance Writers Both Democrats and Republicans say that they support small business owners. When it comes to sole proprietors, at lest, they are both liars. As a successful sole proprietor you will pay the highest tax rate of anyone in America unless you are [...]
Demand Studios Title Drought
The number of articles available to claim at Demand Studios has dropped drastically. On the heels of the Seed.com shutdown, writers are asking what this might mean for Demand Studios a.k.a. Demand Media. Low Number of Articles at Demand Studios The official explanation from Demand Studios is always the same, that different clients have different needs that fluctuate over time. The party line makes sense when the company is talking about third-party websites, but much of the content generated by writers for Demand Studios ends up on Demand Media’s own websites such as eHow.com. Even if the demand from the company for [...]
How To Get Started as a Freelance Writer
Freelance Writing Quick Startup Guide I got a question on Google+ about getting started as a freelance writer. I felt like being helpful this morning, but as I typed my answer I realized it wasn’t really suitable for a G+ post. So, I copied it over here and then finished it out. Consider this the no nonsense, quick start guide for freelance writing. I’ll flush out more details over the next several days. (If I were you, I’d subscribe to my freelance writing blog feed.) Many of the items below are covered in more detail elsewhere on this freelance writing [...]
How To Get Started as a Freelance Writer
I’ve started getting more and more requests for information on how to get started in freelance writing. So, I thought it might be time for me to write a guide to getting started as a freelance writer. How To Become a Freelance Writer Get a piece of paper to take notes, because this is going to blow your mind. First, to become a professional freelance writer you need to write. Got it? Great. We’re all done. Seriously, that’s it. O.K., that’s not it. Publish what you write. Now, that’s it. Really. Getting Published as a New Freelance Writer Right about [...]
Dealing with Rejection in Freelance Writing
One of the toughest things to deal with in any business is rejection. By definition, running your own freelance writing business means that there will be times your work is rejected, or even worse, when you are rejected before ever getting to show what you can do. The former happens when you submit freelance articles, the latter when you submit resumes or query letters. As a professional freelance writer, you get used to the rejection, especially when it comes from lofty places. There is no shame in having an article for Time Magazine, for example, returned for edits or even [...]
Is Writing for Bright Hub Worth It?
I have a bit of a soft spot for Bright Hub, so much so that until today I have never mentioned or written about them for fear of sending too much competition that way. When I was first starting out as a freelance writer a few years ago, Bright Hub was one of my first recurring paying gigs. Running a successful freelance writing business requires having at least some source of income that is dependable and recurring. Without such freelance writing clients, it can be difficult to smooth out the variations in income that make freelancing so difficult. With a [...]
Setup Home Office for Freelance Writer
I’ve gotten some questions recently about setting up a home office for a freelance writer. Truthfully, there isn’t much different about a freelance writer’s home office than most other home offices. Basically, you’ll need a computer, Internet access, a phone, and a printer. Those are common to just about any home office. There are a few specialized writer’s needs that need to be taken into consideration. We’ll discuss those here. If you want to know about things like desks and chairs, try another Google search for basic home office setup. Freelance Writer’s Home Office Setup There are certain things that [...]
How To Catch Up After a Personal Emergency
When you work in a typical office job, you just call in sick when you have an emergency pop up in your life. Your co-workers pick up the slack, or your projects get put on hold. If you are a salaried employee, your pay continues like nothing happened. When you own your own small business things are very different. As an entrepreneur running my own freelance writing business, there are no other co-workers. Instead, there are clients. Most clients are sympathetic, especially if they are not also in “emergency mode” and will graciously offer to extend a deadline or two. [...]
Are Your Customers Really Buying You?
As a writer I may be overly sensitive to improper or incorrect word usage. Everyone uses slang and improper grammar when speaking. Your inflection, speech patterns, and pauses between words can convey meaning and intention. When you split an infinitive or otherwise mangle a sentence while speaking, the listener generally knows what you mean anyway thanks to how you said it. When someone writes something, that is not the case. Who Is Buying You? There is a growing tendency to use words wrongly in order to make a point, or more specifically to make a point in a more marketable [...]
End of Year Tax Planning for Freelancers
As the end of the year 2010 approaches, there are several things on the minds of most freelancers, small business owners, and professional writers. However, one of the things that might be getting lost in the shuffle is the unfortunate reality that the 2010 tax year is quickly coming to a close. I’m going to put together a series of freelancer taxes articles helpful to freelance writers and entrepreneurs in general. In the meantime, small business owners looking to avoid unpleasant tax surprises come 2011 should begin thinking about a few things. Small business taxes for writers are never fun, [...]
