Lately, a lot of people have been asking for my advice on getting paid for their work. It seems that more and more freelance writers are completing work for “so-called clients†but never getting paid. I am a big believer in asking for payment upfront. This protects you from those who want to take your hard work and run. This leads to the question: will clients really pay upfront?
There is no denying that when you receive upfront payment that the client is going out on a limb. After all, they don’t know if you are going to take the money and never send the work. This is what can make asking to be paid upfront so difficult. Of course, this is something you definitely need to talk about no matter how you or the client feels.
Finding a happy medium for the first project can often times be the best option. For instance, you can ask for half payment. This helps to ensure that you are getting some money for your work without asking the client to put out the entire amount. Additionally, I have found that most clients that pay half upfront will immediately send the remaining balance upon delivery of the completed project.
You will never know if a client will pay upfront until you ask. This is something that I do with every new client. When they pay upfront once they usually do so from that point on. After one project they trust me to deliver, so they have no reason not to send the money from the get-go.
Not every client will want to send 100 percent of your payment before receiving the work. You should be ready to negotiate. As long as you receive at least 50 percent of the agreed upon price you should be happy.Â
One of the biggest benefits of working for yourself is the way you can adjust your work schedule. You can work all nights one week and all days the next. This sort of flexibility is not something that you will find in a more traditional position. In my opinion, the flexibility to adjust your work schedule when necessary is one of the biggest benefits of being a freelance writer.
I am one of those people who like to stay on the same schedule as much as possible. This helps me to be most efficient while also ensuring that I am on the right track day in and day out. That being said, I am never afraid to adjust my schedule. For instance, if I need to leave the office in the afternoon I get up early so I still work the same number of hours. I don’t have to ask for permission, or worry that somebody is going to get upset about my new schedule. Again, this is usually not the case when working a traditional 9 to 5 job.
Like many new freelance writers, at the beginning of my career I was afraid to adjust my schedule. I wanted to work the same long hours everyday of the week. This worked fine, but I was missing out on the flexibility of being a freelance writer. You don’t have to work a different schedule everyday, but make sure you are taking advantage of the flexibility that is in front of you. It is a big benefit, and one that you don’t want to forget about.
There is nothing wrong with having a basic idea of when you are going to do your work. Just remember that you can tweak your work schedule from time to time to meet other requirements in your life. Flexibility and freelance writing go together hand in hand!Â
Many freelance writers find it difficult to setup their home office. For whatever reason this is the one detail that they get hung up on. This is not something that I readily struggled with when starting my freelance writing career, but I can see how some may find themselves in a different position.
It is very important that your home office is setup in the best possible way. After all, this is where you are going to spend a lot of your time. I am in my office more than 10 hours per day, and there is a very good chance that you will be in the same position once your career gets moving.
It is hard to say how to best setup your home office. Everybody has a different space and particular wants and needs. For instance, some freelance writers have an entire room to devote to their career. Others only have a small closet or a nook in the corner of their bedroom. As you can imagine, space greatly effects what you can and cannot do with your home office.
Experiment with different ideas before you settle on a particular home office setup. Move your desk around, try different areas in your home, and do anything else that will open your eyes to the possibilities that are available. You never know when you will find the perfect setup.
It is important that your home office is comfortable and setup just the way you want it. You don’t want to spend too much time on this, but make sure you are happy with the way things end up.
