Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with freelance

SWM ISO of Software Developer for Causal Encounter

LongDrive — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:08:40 -0800

Dearest Hivemind, I am looking to hire a freelance software developer to create some sort of workflow management tool for a small arts business. Apart from web designers/developers, I have never done this kind of thing before and am wondering if anyone could possibly have a look at my list of demands, and point me in the right direction to find my dream developer? I'm using Macs btw. So it goes like this: I run a boutique illustration agency, and after our first year of operation, business is booming, and my files and folders are need of some serious discipline.

This isn't a project management issue, as we use Basecamp for all jobs, and that works a treat. It's managing the actual assets of each job which I file locally which is the biggest headache.

Every day I open anywhere from 1-4 new jobs. Each job needs to have a specific folder structure, and depending on the type job there is a master indesign file that contains layers for all the necessary paperwork related to the job. Then there are folders for sketches, final art, work in situ, briefs, etc.

From there, I used to have a simple spreadsheet that I entered each job into and then things like the status of each job, so I could quickly glance at it and see which invoices were overdue, which artwork was still embargoed for publicity, etc. This quickly got out of hand as there were too many different states of status to keep track of, and it developed to this completely insane method of colour labelling, which is starting to confuse even me.

I am soon going to be hiring an assistant, and the whole process needs to be overhauled so that anyone can essentially step in and do it.

My dream workflow would be as follows: (and yes, I realise this is probably impossible, but who knows)

Initial interface: When a job or quote request comes in, I enter the relevant details and it creates the necessary files/folders on my system

Paperwork Generation Pt I - During this process, certain information is used to populate a quote/agreement/estimate form and creates a PDF and automatically files it in one of the new folders it just created and emails it to the client.

Automatic Asset Filing - When assets come in either via basecamp or email, I can use some sort of contextual menu to file it to the appropriate job.

Asset Filing Pt II - If asset is a high resolution image, it is automatically converted/resized for web uploading.

Paperwork Generation Pt II - When the job is to be closed, an invoice is generated and automatically emailed.

Secondary Interface - As jobs are filed or in status, they can be sorted by which are in progress, archived, unpaid, etc.

Phew, so thats the long and the short of it. Again, I realise this may not all be possible, but I just wanted to put it all out there because honestly, I have no idea what sort of person to look for or where to start. Filemaker came to mind, but I have no idea if filemaker can interact with the finder in that robust of a way. Even if it was a cobbling together of existing software or starting from scratch (probably cost prohibitive, but I would consider it if it was feasible).

Most other things I could usually rely on word of mouth, but again, I have no idea what I am actually looking for. A miracle worker perhaps?

Hivemind, can you work your magic? I can be emailed directly at jwortsman at gmail dot com or via mefimail.

ps- I am located in Melbourne, Australia if that makes any sort of difference.

Looking for good freelancer script

Cochise — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:12:49 -0800

What's a good reverse auction/freelance site script? I'm looking to purchase (yes, I'm willing to pay for it), a script like Kubelance, Ilancer, Tukanas, or any other of the other freelancer script, but that actually works. I'm leaning towards getting Kubelance, but I haven't found enough reviews of it to convince me yet. Can anyone suggest another script that would be good? It's need to be very customizable.

Will shoot for money!

sixcolors — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:52:35 -0800

Tips for finding well-paying photography gigs? I started photography as a hobby in 2002. I've been taking a lot of pictures with my point-and-shoot digital and film SLR camera. I got a digital SLR last May. Since then, I've been taking tons of pictures, sometimes over a 100 a day. My confidence has been increasing, and I'm now interested in taking some paid photo gigs.

The problem is that I don't even know how to start. What kind of businesses should I contact? What kind of individuals should I contact? How? Email? Phone? Craigslist? Word of mouth?

Setting realistic freelance goals and sticking to them

El Curioso — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:06:08 -0800

Freelancers and other creative self-employed types: How do you set realistic, meaningful work goals and stick to them when the main person you're answerable to is yourself? When you're your own boss, how do you set work goals that are both challenging and attainable - and more important, how do you take them seriously? (What happens when you don't meet them?)

As a freelance writer I struggle with this. Motivation isn't really the problem. (I often struggle to make myself stop working.) It's more about how to keep yourself answerable to yourself without driving yourself nuts.

I try setting goals, but either a) I meet them and then think, hmm, that goal must not have been challenging enough, or b) I don't meet them, and feel bad about it for a while but then that goes away. So then I just give up (if the boss is never satisfied, why bother?) and work hard all the time, which is its own problem, never not thinking about work.

I love what I do, and I want to keep doing it better and better, setting my sights ever higher, but I'm also tired of not knowing how high is high enough, what's reasonable to expect. I know this is a bit of a psychological issue - never being satisfied with yourself, being your own toughest critic, etc - but I'm sure there is some good advice out there.

I'm especially interested in hearing from creative types whose workflow is often dictated by people and/or events outside of your control (i.e. no matter how much you bust your ass, sometimes they're just not buying, assigning, etc.)

Freelance liability insurance is making my head hurt.

Stacey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:52:39 -0800

I'm a small freelance business owner, with a new client whose standard contract requires me to carry general liability insurance. Probably not a bad idea, so I could use some tips for what to look for in this type of insurance, and any good carriers. But in the meanwhile, for this specific contract, I'd like to get that clause waived. Has anyone had any success having a clause like this waived, and how did you do it? I run a small copy-editing business part-time. Liability insurance hasn't been an issue up until now. Clients aren't on my property, I'm not on theirs, no one's traveling anywhere, they make all final decisions on whether to accept my suggestions...it just hasn't been a high priority and no one's asked about it before. But my new client is so happy with the job I just did that he wants to get me signed up as a contractor at his university so he can hire me again. Which is great, but there's this boilerplate language in the contract about how I need to carry all sorts of insurance - the general liability, plus workers' comp, employer's liability, and automobile liability.

Ultimately, if I can afford it, it's probably not a bad idea to have this sort of insurance. I'd like to start looking into it, and would gladly accept suggestions for companies that might have a reasonably-priced insurance policy for this sort of business. (I've looked around a little so far and the policies I'm finding seem to assume full-time employees, property, and 6-figure revenues, which is all way out of my league right now.)

In the short-term, I'd like to get paid for the job I've already done (which was originally supposed to be a one-off and thus not require all of this), and have time to look around for good insurance rather than jumping into the first thing I find just so I can satisfy this contract. A little Googling led me to some stories of editors who were able to have clauses like this waived after pointing out they don't really apply to businesses like mine. I'd like to try that tack and am looking for advice on how to proceed. Has anyone successfully had something like this waived in a contract? If so, what arguments were persuasive?

How do I get experience with nonfiction magazine-style writing?

iamisaid — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:46:22 -0800

I'm a journalism student who wants to gain experience with a particular form of freelance magazine writing, if not break into the business itself. How can I find a print or online outlet willing to give me a shot? I'm interested in the sort of long-form nonfiction found in publications like Harper's, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Radar, etc. Literary non-fiction, as it's sometimes called - this being one of my favorite examples. At this point, I'd just like to gain some real-world experience with this style of writing, even if it's unpaid. However, I'd like to have an outlet in mind and at least some plan of getting my writing published (in print or online) as opposed to putting it on some personal blog or the like - though I am realistic about the fact that I won't be starting out at The New Yorker.

I suppose finishing a story on my own and submitting it unsolicited to various publications is one option, but that doesn't seem to be a practice many of them encourage. I have written for my college newspaper and will continue to do so, but this isn't a style of writing generally found in student newspapers due to time and space issues. I know some of you will suggest an internship of some kind, which I will be doing at some point, but this would be independent of that. More importantly, I want to start writing ASAP while I have some free time over the summer.

I did a quick search of the archives and found a few things related to freelance writing (several horror stories, natch) and one more geared towards fiction outlets, but nothing directly related to my situation.

Getting started on my own

Bunglegirl — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:12:53 -0800

How do I best set up space to work as a solo graphic designer (furniture, computer equipment, etc.)? I am in a position where I might be able to work as a freelance graphic designer (or my own, single person company) instead of looking for a full time position at a studio. If I go this route I definitely want to upgrade my work environment (new table & chair, mouse, computer & monitor). I am mainly a print designer, mostly working in InDesign & Illustrator with the occasional retouching in Photoshop. I don't often need to work on photos with 100+ layers and am not interested much in motion work. Think Corporate Identity work, logos, books etc.

My experience includes 6 years at a tiny design studio with everything (including Herman Miller chairs) already set up. We used G4 towers, regular mouses and Apple displays. I've been freelancing on and off for a few years, making do with the equipment I have. I'll be renting a new apartment with, hopefully, an extra room to use as a work space.

Computer:
I am currently on a Mac G4 tower, but am in the market for a new machine (and all the $oftware) this summer. I loved my 12" iBook and would like to have a laptop again. I was planning on getting a new MacBook or MacBook Pro, a good, large monitor and mouse. My tower is okay but I don't think it could run CS3. I feel that a laptop would be enough to run the programs and files I would need. I prefer not to buy a tower and laptop for financial reasons, although the portability is mostly for personal use. It may be handy to take my computer to a client every once in a while.

Mouse:
My current mouse is a small old Fellowes mouse that was free. Although my hands are really small, even for a woman, it's uncomfortable to use and my wrist and outside hand have been getting more sore/numb/clicking.

Do I really need a wireless mouse? What about tablets? They look cool but I think it would definitely take some getting used to. I might benefit from a mouse that keeps my hand in a more natural position (thumb up) might help my current wrist problems. I've never really liked those mouses with the huge ball. I recently used a new Mac mouse for the first time but it seems I've become accustomed to my trackwheel and extra buttons (without hitting a key to use them).

Keyboard:
I have a new extended Mac (wired) keyboard so I'm not worried about that.

Monitor:
My current monitor is way too small for all my pallets and is slowing me down. I think it's around 17" so I imagine I need at least a 22" monitor. I usually leave color correction up to printers so I wouldn't think color would be terribly important, but I probably couldn't get the cheapest model out there. I've looked around at reviews of LaCie monitors, but I'm not sure if it's worth it or if it's better than Mac displays. I always felt that Mac displays were overpriced, but I'm not sure.

Backup:
I plan on getting some sort of external hard drive. Everyone has bad luck with every brand so I'll probably just go with Western Digital or something. I was thinking 500Mb, if I need more space I could buy another 500Mb drive.

Printer:
I definitely need at the very least a black and white laser printer. A color printer would be nice, but I'd like one that doesn't make me replace color cartridges to print black. One of those printer/scanner/faxes would be nice, but I remember spending so much time dealing with printer issues at my studio that anything cheap seems too good to be true. I have a fax machine I could use separately already, if I need it. I do scan things sometimes, but not often. I probably wouldn't scan anything for print myself, I can't afford something of that high quality.

Furniture
Table: I'm currently using an old desk and chair which don't fit together well. The chair is too high for the desk and the table too shallow for my monitor. I have an old library table that I'd like to fix up, but it has the legs cut down. I was planning on replacing the legs so it was about waist height when I stand. I loved the tables in high school art class and would like something similar that's sturdy and has lots of space so I can work around all sides of it, spread projects out and use it for other projects (painting, sewing, bookbinding or whatever) too. I was planning on putting wheels on the table with 2-4 locking wheels. I usually see tables have only 2 locking wheels but I want to make sure it stays put when I need it to.

Chair: I like being "high up" and am excited about working in a stool with foot rest. But I also have a bad back and posture problems. I need a good stool. If I could afford a stool Aero chair I would. The used chairs I've seen are still $300+ and I'm going to be putting down a lot of cash at once.

What else? I suppose I need some file cabinets. I have book shelves. Am I missing anything?

I'm currently small but as I take on more projects my paper system of recording hours, invoices etc. is starting to seem silly. I will probably use some sort of program to do this and have looked at a few. I'm putting this in computers/internet instead of work because it's so computer heavy. Any insight would be appreciated.

Opportunities for my health business?

healthyliving — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0800

How can I reach potential clients and new avenues for my health business? Would love specific suggestions for online networks, writing and speaking opportunities, and individual consultations. My business revolves around holistic health, life coaching, homeopathy, and intuitive skills. Here's what I already know about:
- Contacting local places to speak at
- LinkedIn, Facebook, Biznik, self-growth.com, Starfish Partners, AHHA, BNI
- My website and blog

Also creating an online store to sell natural lotions and bath salts, know of any place to sell besides www.etsy.com?

Anything else is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

How much should my friend charge for this artwork?

Mikey-San — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:12:56 -0800

A friend of mine is a freelance illustrator fresh out of school, and he's been approached by a colleague of a former teacher of his. The teacher is retiring, and the colleague would like to commission a cartoon as a retirement present for the teacher. My friend is a brilliant artist, but lacks professional experience, so he's got little reference for what to quote for the work. Can anyone provide a good frame of reference for quoting this kind of job? Details inside! (I'm asking for my friend, of course, who isn't a MeFite but really should become one.) Pertinent details:

- The cartoon would be a single-page, 8 to 10-panel comic with approximate dimensions of 11"x14".
- Including proof sketches, research, and actual penciling and inking time, he estimates three working days to deliver.
- He typically works with 300-grade Strathmore smooth bristol and Winsor-Newton waterproof India ink.
- He's won a couple of awards for his illustration work, so people who work with him know he's talented, but still green professionally.

I can provide any other details if anyone has questions. This isn't my profession, so I wasn't able to give him a better answer than, "What do you think your work is worth?"

Pricing for web design from a template?

inactivist — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:04:25 -0800

How much would you charge for web design from a template? I'm a graphic design student about to graduate with a good amount of professional experience under my belt, but as far as web design goes, I'm entirely self-taught in HTML and CSS. I've been offered freelance web design work, feeding information into a template that the client picks. What to charge? I've only done a web design project once and it didn't involve going from a template. There are only 6 pages of content (and thousands of searchable listings already in place).

Moving from Freelance to Employee

conigs — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:17:05 -0800

I am currently a freelance film/video editor slash motion graphic designer. One of the companies I freelance for is in the process of making me a job offer. I'm trying to figure out what a fair salary/wage is compared to what I pull in as freelance. I realize there are many factors to take into account with benefits, reduced taxes, etc. (Location isn't a big deal as all the places I freelance for are within 5-7 miles from home.) But it's really difficult to see what I make in a year go down that much (even considering the above). Basically, it's looking like I'll take what I make freelance after taxes and use that as the basis for judging the offer (take that number, add back in taxes the company with withhold, then take off any benefits).

Have you gone through this? I'd love to hear what you decided on and how you came to that decision.

Commissioning Illustrations for an ABC Book

alms — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:11:38 -0800

How much should I budget for a series of 26 illustrations for an online ABC Book? How about 26 short animations? Any tips on finding a good artist who won't break the bank? I'm contemplating a small commercial project that would have an ABC Book ("A is for Apple, B is for Boat, C is for Cat, etc") as a component. The target audience is young kids, and of course their parents. I'm assuming I'll need something bespoke, but I'd be happy to use stock artwork if I could find something appropriate.

For illustrations, we're talking relatively small single images, e.g. a 200x200 pixel cat. For animations, we're talking very short, e.g. 4-5 seconds of a cat prancing.

I know that ultimately the answer will be determined by the market and my negotiating skills, but I'd like to get a reality check before I start looking for artists and requesting proposals. Do I have any chance of getting something good for $5,000? $10,000? $2,000?

Also, any tips on finding an artist to work with? Some graphic design skills (typography, web layout etc) would be a plus.

Chinese art agency?

nerdpita — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:30:43 -0800

Does anyone know of an agency that works with, represents freelance chinese illustrators for editorial art? My company is doing something that is China related and is interested in using illustrators and artist in China to go with certain articles. Any websites I could take a look at with examples of professional illustrations? Or do you know of any personal sites I should check out of a Chinese illustrator that you think is great? Thanks.

How do freelance PPC managers charge?

generichuman — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:22:13 -0800

How do Adwords/PPC professionals charge to manage a client account? I can't get a straight answer. I do a lot of PPC management work in-house. I've just been floated the chance to manage a small client's PPC campaign, on a freelance basis. (Yay! Freelance work!) They're a small company, just starting up, with a relatively limited budget.

So, experienced freelance online marketing managers, how do you charge? Flat rate? Monthly retainer? Up front purchase? Percentage of client spend?

I've done freelance work before, but always content management or copywriting. I have no idea if there's an established practice for PPC management.

Finding a sharp, reliable student worker

PatoPata — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:33:25 -0800

I'm thinking of hiring a college student or recent grad for some professional-level work. How do I screen applicants, and how do I make sure I get the best results when we're working together? I provide a professional service that requires strong writing skills, and I want to sub out some of the writing on a freelance basis.

I'm tempted to hire a local college student or recent grad. I think they'll be more open to learning my company's voice, they'll have a different perspective than mine (we need lots of ideas), I'll be able to pay them well, and I like the idea of helping a professional writer start out with a cool opportunity.

I'm confident that the right student could do the work. I did similar work in college, and I recently helped train and was impressed by a new graduate (who is unfortunately under a non-compete).

The journalism career counselor at our local university has agreed to help--she'll post my ad and ask professors to recommend students. I've also placed an ad in the city newspaper, and I'm still not ruling out the possibility of finding an established writer who has the right style.

I'm requiring writing samples, of course.

My questions:

1. What should I look at to determine how professional a student is? They'd need to be reliable, able to schedule their life, etc.

2. Assuming I find a student who will work out, what's the best way to make sure we stay on track? My business is entirely online. My current ideas are to break the projects down into weekly deliverables and to discuss them in person during a short meeting at a local café.

3. Am I overlooking something major?

The main risk I see: I could train someone who then gets a full-time job and stops freelancing. An established independent contractor is less likely to disappear like that.

Where does a small web design/development company find work?

petah — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:25:40 -0800

Where does a small web design/development company find work? We've been in business for a little over a year, and 100% of our clients up until now have been through word of mouth. Most of our work has been designing and integrating into a CMS like Wordpress or Joomla, with a few eCommerce sites as well. Lately though, it seems that our network has dried up, and we've been short on work.

We've tried looking at craigslist, with no success. ("$20 AND EQUITY TO CREATE FACEBOOK CLONE!!1")

We're currently looking at eLance as an option, but we're not sure if we'll be able to compete with all of the off-shore companies. (We're three guys from the U.S.)

I've seen a lot of those job boards that have been pretty popular on all the web design blogs, but they seem to be directed towards full-time hires or freelancers.

So I guess my question is, how do you guys find work as web designers/developers? Are any of you guys in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance for any tips/advice.

Tax question for an entertainment writer

awesomedude — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:28:19 -0800

I'm an arts and entertainment writer for a blog, and I also do freelance writing for a number of newspapers and magazines. I cover movies, art, TV, music, theater, and video games. What kinds of things can I write off on my taxes? I'll be writing off the computer and other more obviously work-related supplies I bought last year as business expenses. But can I also write off the cost of my cable and Internet service, since I use both, daily — and, since blogging is a 24-hour business, almost exclusively — for work? Books and magazine subscriptions? How about tickets to concerts and movies, most of which I wrote about? Obviously this would be pushing it, but can I write off the Xbox 360 I bought last year, since I do write about video games? I review movies sent to me on DVD screeners — would an HDTV be an acceptable, write-offable business expense? How about iPods, speakers, and headphones, since I also review CDs? Anyone have any experience with this?

Should I pay?

eightball — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:35:29 -0800

Taxes: Should I claim this freelance I did last year? I did some freelance web work for a church in 2006 - 2007. Was paid about 5K in 2007. I never received a 1099 from them. Do I have to claim this income?

I'm pretty sure the answer is going to be "yes, you should claim all income you received". But what I really want to know is: What are the chances that the IRS comes knocking on my door some day? Considering the fact I never got a 1099, how would they know I received this money?

No! Color in the coloring book, not on Mommy's manuscript!

libraryhead — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:01:16 -0800

Toddlers and copyediting do not mix. Help me figure out childcare. My husband and I have a (sweet, clever, rambunctious) 2-year-old daughter. For the past year, she went to a wonderful babysitter three days a week while I worked part time. Now I've lost my job and my babysitter (laid off from the job, and the babysitter found better-paying work--not babysitting). I'm pregnant again, due in August, and have decided not to look for a permanent job, since I plan to stay home with the new baby for a while.

Luckily, I can get freelance work in my field and work from home but, as with most freelance, it can be a little erratic. Some weeks I might not get anything. Other times I'll have a big project with a short deadline and have to work long hours to get it done. I'd love to have a steady stream of 30-hour projects coming in on a regular basis, but that's just not the way this business works.

My question is: How can I organize childcare that works with an irregular work schedule? I don't make so much per hour that I feel like I can afford to pay for too many hours of daycare when I'm not working. But when the big projects come in I'm really stuck if I don't have a babysitter booked. I just can't work for more than 15 minutes without being interrupted, and when I try I feel guilty for parking her in front of "Elmo TV". The girl *loved* going to her babysitter, where there were two other kids to play with and lots of toys and activities. I want her to have that opportunity, but I just can't see myself ferrying her around to a bunch of playdates. I'm not the kind of mom who likes nothing better than getting down in the sandbox or breaking out the finger paints, either. We'll both be happier if she has some playtime while I have some work time.

We've thought about hiring a "mother's helper" to come to the house part time. Since I'll be home, too, we could probably go with a student or someone less experienced and not have to worry so much. But mornings are my best work times, and I'd guess most students would be in class then. My concern about hiring someone directly is that the arrangement I really want -- being able to expand and contract hours at need -- doesn't seem very fair to them, and they could be in a tight spot if they're counting on a certain salary to pay the rent and only have the one client (me).

Maybe a home daycare is the way to go, but the few I've checked out via Craigslist seem kind of skeevy, to be honest. There must be good ones, but I don't know how to find places with openings, or if they would have the flexibility I need. I don't think she needs or wants the heavy structure of a big, preschool-style center, and the one place I checked out doesn't do part days anyway.

And, of course, we want someone loving and trustworthy who will care for our little girl and have fun with her. Come August, everything changes. We just need to hold it together for five months without going crazy.

Are there options I haven't thought of? Has anyone out there successfully figured out freelance-friendly childcare? Specific tips about how to go about finding the right provider and how much we should expect to pay are also welcome. We're in the northern suburbs of Boston, if it matters.

What are appropriate rates for computer surveillance work?

Jack Feschuk — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:37:08 -0800

I'm currently running a business where I monitor computers for people. I use custom made software that gets by all the anti-malware scanners and through the firewalls. I have been charging $40/hr for the first hour, and $45 for each hour after that. Since most of work may only take 1-4 hours per client I've been told that I'm charging too little. Figures have been thrown at me by friends, family and even clients that I should charge $60, $75 or even $100. What is a fair amount in this business. Yes this involves spying on people at the workplace, churches and spouses. My first question. I've searched mefi for similar stuff and came up empty.

How do I get started finding business?

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:12:21 -0800

Where does one find public RFPs for technical projects - specifically websites? Is there a trusted, standard repository of some sort? To be clear, I'm not looking for a template to write my own. I'm looking for RFPs to evaluate and make proposals to. Since I do not know who out there (companies, government agencies, etc) needs a website or web-based tool, I don't know where to even start to look.

I've seen a few sites that require payment and supposedly will get me RFPs, but I have no idea about their reliability and they look "spammy." I'd pay if I knew I'd get some legitimate leads.

Are there good repositories, search engines or paid services for this? Are they affordable for someone with little to no starting capital whose entire purpose for looking is hopefully to group together with some trusted friends and work on these projects?

Bottom line: I have several very talented and intelligent colleagues/friends who are interested in taking on some projects and making a living from it.

My reason for submitting anonymously is that I'm currently employed for a web development firm. While I do not have a non-compete clause or anything like that, I'd rather not have my identity tied to a public question like that -- especially one that often shows up #1 on google within minutes of being posted because of AskMe's high page ranking.

Followup questions can be sent to askmefirfp@gmail.com

IT would be nice to work at home

rhizome — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:57:54 -0800

I want to be an IT mercenary, how do I get started doing freelance/contract SysAdmin/Programming? I've decided I'd like a more flexible schedule and start making motions toward being self-employed and working from home. My skills are along the lines of "Senior Sysadmin" and while I am learning more programming techniques (design patterns and OO) most of my experience is in hardcore Linux and Windows admin.

Sysadmin functions seem to me to be in-house, but am I being too narrow here? I'm learning Ruby/Rails right now and have plenty of HTML/CSS/perl/PHP awareness, would that be better to focus on as far as contracts go? I don't have resume-level experience as a web programmer and I wouldn't want to have to start fresh on the ground floor at $10/hr. However, my sense is that web programming is much more amenable to remote work and freelancing than shell scripting, performance tweaking and monitoring.

I know about Metafilter Jobs and Craigslist gigs and those things, but the offerings can be a little slim for the level of work I'm talking about. Are there agencies who specialize in this kind of thing (rather than the typical headhunter staffing agencies)? Does it make sense to plan to take longer contracts rather than shorter ones? Is there even a choice there? I'm stuck!

Ghostwriter! Word.

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:49:44 -0800

I've been offered a ghostwriting gig. Help me with my expectations, please. So, I mentioned to several people in my life that, rather than continue in print production or bookkeeping (between now and the time I begin work on a Masters degree in Film in September), I wanted to get some experience with freelance writing and/or copyediting. I got a hit right away from my friend who works for a small publisher. Very small - nearly just a vanity project for the owner of the company, who is himself "not educated or experienced, but very smart" according to my friend. I actually designed the company logo a while back, too. Anyway, the owner wants to publish a novel based in truth about some conspiratorial figure I've never heard of, and that's about all I know so far. (Uh-oh... my Turner Diaries senses are tingling...) Sounds fun enough to me! We haven't met yet, but from my friend who runs his business, I have the impression that the job will be mine if I want it, in any case.

What kind of rate should I request, as someone with very little professional writing experience, writing a book that is not expected to profit enormously?

How much time should I expect to spend on a short reseach-based novel?

What complexities or stumbling blocks should I look out for in this arrangement and the adjunct relationships?

Resources for, um, how to write my first novel without personal inspiration, and on the fly?

I believe I can muddle through the copyediting and the research parts, but making the content interesting, authentic and well-structured are all problems I have no experience solving.

Any other advice, freelancers?

Thanks very much in advance!

How should I charge for freelance work on-the-road with a client?

SampleSize — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:36:57 -0800

I do freelance graphic design in NYC and have just been asked by a client to travel with them to Chicago for 5 days. I usually charge by the hour and work locally. I have no clue how to quote for this. Suggestions, please?

Where can I get a quality yet cheap webdesigner?

fcoury — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:04:16 -0800

Where can I get a quality yet cheaper as possible logo and web template for a web 2.0-oriented website? I don't want any pre-existing template, I want something tailored for me yet I am planning on not spending much.

I know there are some "get your freelance here"-alike websites, but what I really want is a referral for designers who maintain an online portfolio.

I imagine not spending more than US$ 100 on that work. Am I too cheap? :-)