Why I wrote for the Huffington Post (and why I stopped)

November 15, 2011 Editor Journalism compensationfreelance contractsgetting paidhuffington post

By Emma WoolleyThe Huffington Post is evil, right? It makes a lot of money from content it doesn’t pay for. It exploits writers and undermines their right to earn livings. It contributes to the overall devaluation of writing and especially web writing. I knew all of this and I still wrote for the Huffington Post.Most of you probably want to know…

In praise of praise

November 14, 2011 Editor Bit of fun freelance lifepraise

[caption id="attachment_2185" align="alignnone" width="580" caption="Screen shot from Freelancethanks.com."][/caption]Working independently has its benefits, but consistently receiving encouragement and thanks is not one of them. Editors don't always take—or have—the time to give positive feedback and, when dealing with freelancers, some…

On fear and hunger: the Born Freelancer’s open letter to employers

November 10, 2011 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancercompensationfreelancer ratesgetting paid

I was having coffee recently with a colleague.Okay, actually, in my case, it was hot chocolate. Hey, it was cold outside and I needed a sugar hit. But we freelancers haven't yet come up with a better expression than "having coffee" to denote a casual meeting. "Having tea" sounds too lightweight. "Having hot chocolate" sounds too juvenile. "Having…

To blog, or not to blog, that is the Born Freelancer’s question

October 24, 2011 Editor Advice advicebloggingborn freelancerfreelance life

This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments.I'm told that blogging is dead in this era of tweets and retweets. I must respectfully disagree. It may be long dead among a certain…

How to handle “idea theft”

October 19, 2011 Editor Journalism compensationfreelance lifepitchingtoronto freelance writers and editors

This week on the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers email list, a member asked the group for advice on a tricky situation. It's a familiar one to most freelance writers and many editors who work with both freelance and staff writers.This writer had pitched a profile of a young entrepreneur to a weekly community newspaper and the editor told her…

The Born Freelancer makes a case for business cards

October 11, 2011 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancerbusiness cardsmarketing yourselfnetworking

I was at a professional development seminar the other day and doing the usual networking thing with fellow freelancers. When it came time to exchange contact info, I began to frantically look for a pen and paper. (As an economy measure I'm currently still operating cellphone-less.) One of my new-found colleagues calmly took out his business card…

CWG/CMG representing Toronto Star and The Grid freelancers in talks with senior management

October 05, 2011 Editor Compensation freelance contractsthe gridtoronto startorstartrouble spots

Do you freelance at the Toronto Star or The Grid? There have been talks between the Canadian Writers Group/Canadian Media Guild and the Star's senior management about the new freelance agreement at the paper, which contains a couple of, in our view, unnecessary and troublesome clauses. The most recent meeting took place in late August, and…

Freelancer beware: 11 pitfalls of spec “pitches” and how to handle them from the Born Freelancer

September 22, 2011 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancercartoonclientspitchingspec

[caption id="attachment_1883" align="alignright" width="580" caption="A portion of Bart Aalbers' cartoon. See the full cartoon at bartaalbers.tumblr.com."][/caption]Here is a fantastic cartoon that illustrates some of the dilemmas we freelancers face [LINK]. Could anybody who is not a freelancer get it? It is so funny because it is all so sadly…

Increasingly ill-defined roles translate to lower rates for freelance editors

September 16, 2011 Editor Journalism editingfreelancer ratestrouble spots

"When hired to 'edit,' are you hired to be a developmental editor? A copyeditor? A proofreader? A compositor? Is what you are being paid commensurate with what you are being asked to do?" Freelance editors are hurting themselves and their peers by not distinguishing between different editing roles when negotiating with clients, says a post on An…

PWAC Toronto’s Alternate Revenue Streams panel, Storified

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