Believe it or not, many freelance writers have asked me whether or not they have to pay taxes on their income. Although I cannot speak for those in other countries, if you live in the United States you most definitely need to pay taxes on any income you earn as a freelance writer. As you can imagine, this is not something that you want to forget. If you do the IRS is not going to be kind when they catch on.
My best advice is this: hire a certified public accountant to help you with your tax situation. Before I ever started my career as a freelance writer I hired an accountant to go over every last detail with me. She answered all my questions, while also showing me how to pay quarterly taxes on both the state and federal level. This may sound easy enough, but there is definitely a lot of paperwork involved.
At the beginning of every year, usually in February or March, I visit my CPA to file my final return. This is when I learn if I owe additional money, or if I will be receiving a refund check. This is all based on how much money is paid in quarterly taxes throughout the year. Simply put, this is not something I would be able to do on my own. There are entirely too many forms and too much information gather. Even though I have to pay a few hundred dollars for this service, it is well worth it. You cannot afford to make any mistakes on your final return. For this reason I am more than happy to pay a professional to ensure that my return is 100 percent accurate, and that I take advantage of all possible deductions, etc.
Since I am not a CPA I am going to stop here. If you are just starting your freelance writing career I strongly urge you to make an appointment with a professional. This will help to ensure that you understand your tax situation, and that you are setup to pay the proper amount as the year goes by.
Most freelance writers work from home. Why would you want to pay for office space if you don’t have to? While there are many benefits of being a work at home freelancer, there are drawbacks that you need to be aware of as well.
Every so often I receive an email asking how I balance my home life with my career. It is very easy for other parts of your life to get in the way when trying to work. If you don’t learn how to avoid this problem you are going to find that your days are much less productive than they should be.
The first pointer I always give is to have a designated work area. I have one room in my house that is used as an office and nothing else. This allows me to stay away from everything else that is going on. And of course, having a designated workspace makes it much easier to stay organized.
Next, make sure you set a schedule. Work hours are work hours. While being a freelance writer means you can have a flexible schedule, you must make sure you are getting your work done. For instance, I attempt to work 7am to 4pm everyday. Does this always happen? Of course not. But that being said, if I try to follow these hours it will allow me to stay away from distractions in the home.
Finally, don’t give into temptations. It would be easy for me to take too many breaks, leave my desk for a nap, or put on the television when I should be working. These are all temptations, but if you want to be a success you should avoid them. Remember, if you are sleeping or watching television it means you are not getting your work done. And if you don’t get your work done you don’t get paid.
If your home life is getting in the way of your career you need to make some immediate changes. My best advice is to designate a workspace, have a set schedule, and avoid temptations no matter how enticing they may be. If you follow this advice you should be able to keep your home life from distracting you during work hours.
Every freelance writer loves their career for one reason or the next. What makes you stick around day in and day out? I love the fact that freelance writing is so much fun. Even though my other jobs were not horrible, they were never fun on a regular basis. Fortunately, my career as a freelance writer has been one exciting moment after the next since day one.
Here are three reasons why freelance writing is fun:
1. For me, meeting new people is always fun. And as a freelance writer this is something that I get to do regularly. Not only do I meet other freelance writers, but I have also had the chance to correspond with professionals in other industries. Becoming a freelance writer has allowed be to spark up new relationships with people from one side of the world to the other. Does it get any better than that?
2. Who doesn’t have fun when they are making a lot of money? Contrary to popular belief, freelance writers can earn a nice income. Many people don’t believe it, but who cares. As your income builds you will realize just how much fun it is to track your progress.
3. Perhaps the most fun aspect of being a freelance writer is the ability and freedom to do your own thing. When I wake up in the morning I know that I am in charge of my own career. To go along with this, the ability to work at my own pace has made for a much more enjoyable life. As a freelance writer you can work when you want from where you want as long as you satisfy your clients. This makes for a low stress, highly enjoyable environment.
Do you agree with the above points? Even though freelance writing is not all fun and games, in my opinion it is much better than working a traditional job. I would love to hear why freelance writing is fun for you.
Is it possible for your freelance writing career to become boring? In short, yes it is. Even if you love your career you are going to face days when you are bored for one reason or the next. This happens with every job, and freelance writing is no different. Fortunately, for me at least, these times are few and far between. Even though some days are better than others, being bored is not something that I usually have to deal with.
If freelance writing boredom has set in, try out these tips:
1. Mix up your workload. It is easy to become bored if you are always working on the same types of projects. If your regular workload is SEO articles, change things up by working on a few feature pieces. When you have different types of projects on your plate it is easy to stay excited and motivated.
2. Find a new workspace. Many freelance writers get bored working alone in the same room, day in and day out. If this sounds like you, relocate to another area of your house. Better yet, take your laptop to a local coffee shop or bookstore to get some work done. A change of environment may be all you need to wipe away the boredom.
3. Talk to others in the industry. It can be easy to get bored as a freelance writer if you never interact with others. Do you have any friends in the industry? If so, stay in touch with them on a regular basis. You can do this via phone, email, or instant messenger. It does not matter how you communicate as long as you do so.
If your freelance writing career is becoming boring use the three tips above to break out of this funk.
So you have decided to take the leap and become a work at home freelance writer? If so, you already took the most difficult step, in my opinion. The act of giving up the rat race and heading for a career as a freelancer is a big step. And once you get past this you can begin to work towards a successful career that you will truly enjoy.
Of course, reality will set in soon enough when you realize that you must now make your dream of becoming a freelance writer come true. Your first week working in this capacity is not going to be easy. There will be a lot going through your mind, and some of it will be bad. But if you stick with your choice and continue to work hard you will get out of your first week unscathed.
During your first week as a work at home freelancer you may run into some doubt. Should I have made the change? Is this the best career path for me? Doubt is common, and you should not let this slow you down. Every freelance writer had to deal with this early in their career. The best thing you can do is face this doubt head on as to find a way to work around it.
Also, expect your work environment to be different. You will no longer be in an office with co-workers, but instead at home alone or with your family. Just like the doubt you are going to face, this is a big change. It took me a few weeks to become comfortable working at home. Even though it is a big change, it is one that you will probably enjoy once you settle into a routine.
This post is not meant to prepare you for everything you will face as a new work at home freelance writer. But it is meant to open your eyes to the doubt, uncertainty, and change that will be staring you in the face.
Once you make the decision to work at home as a freelance writer you are on your way to success. Don’t give up no matter what obstacles you face.
When giving a quote for a freelance writing project you should consider two things: your rate and the details of the job. With these two details in mind you will be able to offer a fair quote that should suit both you and the buyer. If it doesn’t, you need to decide whether or not to renegotiate. Some freelance writers will drop their price a bit to land a gig, but others stick to their guns no matter what. Which group do you belong to?
Obviously, your freelance writing rates are the most important detail when giving a quote. No matter the client or the project, if you follow your rates it should not take you long to give a quote. For instance, if you have a set rate of $500 for a 500 word sales letter you can pretty much tell the buyer right away what you charge.
I don’t want you to think that the project details aren’t important, though. Sometimes the details of a given project may change your rate. As I have said many times before, one keyword article, for example, is not the same as the next. Just because you have a base rate does not mean that you will use it for every quote. The difference from one keyword article to the next can be huge. Length, subject matter, and research time should all be considered. For me, a 500 word article on the game of basketball would come much easier than one on landscaping tips. For this reason my quote would be different for each article.
When giving a quote consider your rate first. From there, let the project details guide you when customizing the quote. You may be able to offer a slightly lower price if the topic is right. But on the other hand, you may want to charge a bit more if you know you will be spending extra time on the project. Remember, you don’t have to rush to give a quote. You can take your time to ensure that you quote the right price.
Even if you get along with all of your freelance writing clients there is going to come a time when a payment is taking entirely too long to arrive. This is not the most fun part of being a freelance writer, but it comes along with the territory. Remember, you are more than a writer. You are also in charge of many other aspects of running a business including accounts receivable.
If a payment is late you will know it. In this case you need to send a payment reminder to the client. That being said, you don’t want to go overboard and accuse them of trying to rip you off. Not only will this anger the client, but it may harm your relationship as you move forward. Remember, just because a payment is late does not mean the client is trying to stiff you. They may simply be running behind for one reason or the next; this does happen from time to time. In fact, I have found this to be the case more times than not with some of my larger corporate clients.
Since you probably send most of your invoices via email this is the best way to send a payment reminder. Believe it or not, you can be quick and to the point when doing so. Take the following, for example:
Good morning:
I wanted to send a quick note to checkup on the most recent invoice. I wanted to make sure you received it, and that there is no problem with processing my request. Please let me know if you need anything else from me.
Sincerely,
Your Name
As you can see, the above is friendly while also getting the point across. I never accused the client of holding out on me, or came across as rude and/r disrespectful. In many cases all it takes is a quick reminder to push the client to immediately send the payment.
Sending payment reminders is part of running a successful freelance writing career. If you customize the note above you should not have any issues sending a reminder if the time comes.
Do you value your freelance writing career? If so, you want to avoid anything that may hold you back. Believe it or not, there are many ways to commit freelance writing suicide. And as you can imagine, this is not a good thing. Here are three situations to avoid at all costs:
1. Never plagiarize. If you get caught doing this you are going to run into more issues than you can imagine. Not only is your current client going to turn you away, but you are also going to get a bad reputation within the industry. This is never easy to overcome, and is a sure fire way to commit career suicide. As a freelance writer this is something that you must take seriously every day you sit down at your computer.
2. Don’t be an angry freelancer. Are you the type of person who is always in a bad mood? Do you always see the glass half empty? Nobody wants to do business with a freelancer who is difficult to get along with. You may be able to land clients, but if you show an evil side you will never land long-term gigs. It is your job to not only produce quality content, but to also keep an even disposition so you can form long lasting relationships.
3. Acting like you know more than the client. Even though you may have a lot of knowledge, you don’t want to come across as arrogant. If you do, your clients are going to toss you to the curb sooner rather than later. There is nothing wrong with offering your opinion, but you definitely don’t want to come across as a know-it-all. Simply put, it is your job as a freelance writer to do what the client asks. As long as you are getting paid and not crossing any legal lines you should move ahead with the project as it is outlined for you.
As you can see, you don’t want to commit freelance writing suicide. Instead, avoid the above situations at all costs.
As I have said in the past, I enjoy communicating with freelance writing clients via email and telephone. On one side, email is great because it is fast and effective. But on the other side of things, when you use the telephone it is easier to get on the same page. Through my experience, and I think most of you will agree, it is easy to communicate via email. That being said, you need to realize that there are some things to avoid when using email to stay in touch with clients.
It is easy to communicate via email if you provide the right information. If you don’t, you are going to find yourself exchanging email after email for no reason at all. While email is a great tool, it can also be a huge time waster if you let it. To avoid this, use a relevant subject line, and then get to the point in the body of the email. In other words, make it easy for the recipient to understand what you are saying.
While you need to send enough information, you don’t want to go overboard. This can lead to information overload and a situation where the recipient does not understand what you are after. For instance, if you are sending a quote via email make sure you don’t go overboard with other information. This will make it easier on you as well as the recipient. More information is not always better when it comes to email communication.
Don’t say anything via email that you wouldn’t say over the phone or in person. It is easy to hide behind your computer and talk a big game. But if you are not willing to say it in person you should not write it in an email. An example of this would be somebody who has no problem sending angry emails, but would never speak a bad word on the phone with a client. Don’t be one of these people. Keep a friendly, respectful tone with each email you send.
It is easy to communicate via email if you offer the right information and keep an even tone. Do you use this communication tool to your advantage? If you are a freelancer of any kind your answer should be yes.
Do you ever stop and ask why your clients stick around? In other words, why do they rely on you for all their freelance writing needs? This is an interesting question to think about, and one that can help you better understand your career.
In my experience, there are three reasons why clients stick around:
1. Quality. If you offer quality content you are going to keep the majority of your clients happy over the long haul. Believe it or not, there are many so-called freelance writers who don’t offer the best quality. When a client finds a writer who can do the job the way they want, they usually stick with them.
2. Your rates. This is not always true, but if you offer competitive rates your clients are going to stay onboard for the most part. No, this does not mean that you should lower your rates to the bottom of the industry just to attract and hold onto clients. But you should realize that your rates can have a lot to do with whether or not a client continues to work with you.
3. You are easy to work with. Don’t forget about the importance of the writer-client relationship. The way you treat your clients is very important. Even if your rates are higher than the competition, if you get along well with a client they will continue to work with you because the relationship is enjoyable and stress free.
With these three reasons in mind, you should be able to adjust your approach to ensure that your clients come back for more time and time again. Do your best to offer quality content at an affordable price while also being a pleasure to work with.
