Freelancing in Your 20s

I have a good advice from Jodi Brandon. Read it.

Beginning freelance writers are at a disadvantage—not that I need to tell you that. So many people call themselves freelance writers that you really need to put yourself ahead of the pack. But you can get tips for beginning freelancers from lots of places.

Young people are also at a disadvantage when beginning a career; they just don’t have the experience yet that more seasoned colleagues have. (The word young is broad, I know, but for our purposes here, we’re going to use young to mean 20-somethings starting out post-college or post-master’s degree.) But, again, you can get beginning career advice from lots of places.

Put them together and you’re where I was a few years ago: a 20-something beginning freelance writer. Yes, much of the general advice for beginners applies no matter what your age. My approach is to tailor the typical advice and information to 20-somethings getting started as freelance writers. Let’s begin.

A COUPLE OF BASICS

Age

Don’t broadcast your age (in today’s world, unfortunately, the perception is that older is often smarter, better, more whatever than younger)—unless it’s to your benefit, of course. One of my first clients was a bridal magazine that I still write for. When I first pitched my editor, I was engaged. Telling her that was to my benefit (it put me on the same plane as her readers). She didn’t know I was only 23 (no need to tell her that!). On the other hand, I included my age when I queried Jenna Glatzer, the editor of Absolute Write, for this article. Why? It made sense. The article targets 20-something freelance writers. Who better to write the article than a 20-something freelance writer?

Not broadcasting your inexperience (in the form of your age) seems like common sense, but many of us do this without even realizing it. We’re overcompensating: Without a lot of clips, we must sell ourselves as writers. So the more information the better, right? Not necessarily. Relevant is the only kind of information you should include. It’s the only kind of information editors care about. Trust me on that one.

Professionalism

Let’s face it: Professionalism counts. It goes without saying that you need business cards and letterhead (you know that because you’ve read Freelancing 101–type articles, right?). Here’s my advice: Keep it simple. Not only will it be cheaper that way, but you don’t need cute or crazy graphics. Aside from my contact information, the only graphic element I include on my stationery is a pencil dotting the “i” in my name and logo. Clever but not cutesy.

One other note on professionalism: You know that your outgoing answering-machine message should sound professional. Same goes for your e-mail signature and/or quote. Use this as an opportunity to tout your accomplishments and promote your web site ("Jodi Brandon, author of The Fabjob Guide to Becoming a Book Editor, www.jbedit.com"), not an opportunity to share your favorite Homer Simpson quote.

Getting paid what you’re owed

For all of new freelancer, there are some tips were it is so important for you to read.

If you’re a new freelance writer, you’re so focused on getting writing gigs that it’s a real letdown when you find that some of your clients are slow payers.

It can come as a nasty shock. Whenever I have time to browse the freelance writing forums, there’s always one poor soul asking: “It’s been eight weeks and I still haven’t received my check. When is it OK to ask when I’ll be paid?”

Big companies are the worst offenders.

Get clients to pay on time confirms that: “for many large companies it (slow paying) is a deliberate strategy. They demand payment owed to them promptly, but string out their payments to others. They will use the cash gained for short-term investment or internal purposes.”

You need payment policies in place from the start of your freelance career

Whether you write full time, or hope to write full time, the payment for your writing is what puts food on the table. So you need to have policies in place to ensure that you get paid on time.

Here are some tips:

* Avoid “pay on publication” gigs. You have no control over when publication occurs. Some magazines develop a huge inventory. Your piece may not be published for years. Do you have the patience to keep checking whether they published it? You probably don’t;

* Send an invoice when you send the first draft - don’t wait until the final draft- with luck it may be the final draft;

* Follow up on an unpaid invoice immediately, and then once a week until you’re paid;

* For business clients, set your own payment terms: a retainer up front, with the rest of the payment due immediately on completion on invoice;

* Always write under contract - send your own writing agreement if the client doesn’t have a contract.

With your payment policy in place, you can relax about payments owed to you. You know that you’ll be paid even if you have to follow up several times.