Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with freelance

Freelancer, you suck.

beingresourceful — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:23:03 -0800

My freelance job is negotiating the hours I turned in, and refusing to pay me. What do I do? I was hired in early December and told I would get my first two-week paycheck on the 18th. $15/hr. 25-35 hours per week. Checks every two weeks. I was told to turn in my hours on the morning of the 18th and get my check the same day.

I turned in my hours and I was told she needed to talk to the doctor (owner of the business.. the person I am talking to is the office manager). I went to the office to pick up the check and it wasn't ready... she said she would need to talk to the doctor and have my check on Monday.

On Monday she started negotiating down my total hours from 59 to half.. saying I had nothing to show for my work there.. which is false (I designed a brochure and that has gone through 3 never-complete revisions).

On Tuesday she revealed she had spoken to the doctor/owner on Friday, and they disagreed with my hours. I was told my check would be ready on Wednesday... but we couldn't reach a compromise.

We had the same conversation again on Wednesday. I walked her through the hours I turned in, asking her what the problem was specifically. The problem seemed to be rectified if I compromised and accepted to strike one 8-hour day from the first week.. this sounds like they are not valuing my time... but she still wasn't satisfied.. so I removed 4 more hours... one half of one 8-hour day... leaving 44 hours. She sounded pleased, but then wanted 40. At this point I'm getting tired... fine.. take four more hours off. We agreed. She felt bad and claimed she was a fair person to boot... but still kept those 4 hours off.

That was the last day before Christmas holiday, and I couldn't make it to the office anymore that day, as the negotiations had gone into the final hour, and I had an evening appointment (which would have cost me $80 to miss). So I told her to mail it.

It's now January 5 and I have not received a paycheck, and no further contact.

Please advise.

Archiving Freelance Internet Writing

spicynuts — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:26:10 -0800

How do freelance web writers/journalists archive their published work for portfolios or C.V.s or other reasons? Let's say I want to create a portfolio or resume that has links to my published work on the internet, but I know that over time many of the links will become obsolete as the sites I was published on remove outdated articles. Is there a tool or site that exists that lets you somehow cache your published work as a web page or otherwise allows you to continue to link to web versions of your published work? What I'm trying to avoid is having to create screen grabs or pdfs of my work...I'd rather have a portfolio that's just links.

How can a mother with tiny kids make a living?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0800

Brainstorm with me. I've got two babies, a failed life plan, no resume, and I need to build a future. What would you do? I'm a 31 year old woman with a degree in Writing. I have no work experience save my writing clips. I have a toddler and another baby on the way.

I anticipated raising my babies myself, and being a freelancer. I am those things, but my freelance work only totals about $300 a month. My husband is a good man. But he only earns about 1900 a month. I can't force him to earn more.

I have recently decided that my feminist friend was right all along. That despite how I was raised, 'it isn't a man's job to take care of me'. If I'm the one who wants more money, I'm going to have to be the one to find it. Though it is technically possible, it feels like defeat to sentence my family of four to live on 2200 a month. Our mortgage is near half that (one of the cheapest houses in town, I swear).

Please understand that this wasn't the plan. We were cautious people with a plan that didn't work. We wouldn't have started a family if we knew we'd hit the wall at $2000 annual over the poverty line.

I thought about getting an online MLIS (librarian's degree). Its up my ally. I have connections to three of the 10 libraries within commuting distance. The time to get the degree would allow me to see my kids to preschool before I started work. Median income is twice what my my husband makes. Maybe he could even stay home with the kids. But my husband, who works in the field, says it's a bad investment, that he knows people with that degree who have been looking for years for work.

Any low end job will be all but negated by the price of child-care. (No family lives nearby to watch the children).

I do not know what to do. I have two babies that I desperately wanted to raise myself. I feel hobbled.

What would you do if you were me? With these details? How would you take responsibility for your life?

Thank you for your time.

I've been freelancing for 3 years. What the heck do I put on my resume? Say at an interview?

OrangeSoda — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:25:01 -0800

Times are tough, and I am looking for part-time employment. I have been doing freelance video work for the past 3 years. How do I reflect this on my resume and what do I say in a job interview? Has anyone had a similar problem? Any tips so I sound professional and not like I've been slacking off?

How to handle taxes when you earn money in different ways?

lunalaguna — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:09:06 -0800

Tax advice for a freelancer, contractor, and full-time employee I'm trying to determine how to handle my January 15 quarterly taxes when I've been a freelancer, contractor, and full-time employee in 2009.

I was laid off from a full-time, salaried position at the end of January. In March, I started a job that was technically contract, but I was paid through a recruitment agency (taxes were taken out, and I'll receive a W2). When that contract ended in July, I began a part-time, salaried position, and also registered a DBA for freelance purposes.

Since I didn't have any freelance work in July or August, and honestly didn't have my shit together, I didn't file quarterly taxes on September 15. I did, however, have significant expenses over the summer related to starting a business and working from home (new computer equipment, software, office supplies, designer's fees for my logo).

Now I've had a fair amount of freelance work over this quarter for which I'll need to pay taxes.

My questions are:
1. Do I only need to factor in my freelance income for this quarter when I file? What about the already-taxed income I've earned during my contract earlier this year and the part-time position? Do I just claim that in April, when I've received my W2?

2. Can I deduct my summer business expenses on this quarter's filing? I've been told by other freelancers that you can space your business expense claims out during the year, and that you don't necessarily need to claim them for the quarter in which they happened. I don't know if this is true.

I know I should get an accountant, but with the holidays, I don't have the money to spend on one at all. Also, it'd be nice to learn how to deal with this myself.

Their lovin' don't pay my bills

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:32:22 -0800

I'm a freelance writer who's considering suing a client for nonpayment. Before I go there, please give me the benefit of your experience. I'm being stiffed by a client for almost $10K. After several months of collections efforts, a demand letter from my attorney resulted in assurances of goodwill but nothing more.

Now I'm considering filing suit for breach of contract. The total is too large for small claims, and my attorney tells me it will cost a couple grand up front in legal fees. In the meantime, I fear my former client will soon close their doors and may file for bankruptcy.

I'm looking for experiences from other freelancers or small business owners who have been in similar situations. Did you decide to sue, or walk away? How much did you recover, and what did it end up costing? What do you know now that you wish you'd known then? Thanks for sharing your hard-earned wisdom.

How much to charge for a catalog essay?

serial_consign — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:13 -0800

How much should a freelance writer charge for a catalog essay? An emerging artist peer asked me to write an essay for an upcoming show of hers. As a freelancer I know one generally tends to "ask for as much as they can" (and not blink) - but I really have no clue what the standard fees are for this type of gig. Anybody have experience and insight to share here? If it matters - I'm guessing this document will be 1000-1500 words.

Will a newspaper job inch me closer to a career in public relations?

sureshot — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:46:48 -0800

Job_Offer_Filter: I'm a struggling freelance writer trying to (someday) break into the pr/communications field. I've just been offered a staff writer position at a small local newspaper. Does accepting the job inch me closer to my desired field? Or just burden me with a ton of unmarketable experience? So, my background:

4 years out of college, doing my best to flex my English/Creative Writing degree. Over the past three years, I've established myself as one of the top arts writers in a large, non-Chicago Midwestern city. I have regular columns in the glossy monthly, aimed at young, hip, and moneyed readers. I am a regular contributor to an alternative weekly, and I fill in for the big daily's art critic when she is sick or on vacation. I also get to do occasional speaking engagements, juried art shows, etc.

Problem is, none of this has evolved into full-time work. I've worked random odd jobs since graduation, some vaguely related to media--wrote audio description scripts for a year, wrote back cover copy for paperback books at a small publisher, picked up random corporate copywriting/speech writing/press release writing projects here and there. I've been unemployed and broke a lot. I'm now working 30 hours per week as a paraprofessional at a local public school, while still doing all my writing stuff on the side.

So now I have an actual job offer:

Staff writer/reporter position at a pair of small, neighborhood newspapers. A small local publisher, hanging on by a thread. The staff seems overworked and underpaid. The job calls for 10,000 words per month, writer pitches/plans all stories (in a very broad range of subject areas), deadlines every two weeks. Some nights and weekends. The pay is low. $30,000 (salaried, which means no overtime pay).

I don't see a future in newspapers. And print publication, though a true love of mine, is not my final career goal. I want to sneak my way over to the other side of the media. And I'm not sure that amassing more print clips is the way to do that. But print journalism is much closer, industry-wise, to pr/communications than teaching, so maybe a year or two at a paper would narrow the gap for a career leap. And perhaps I could learn enough new media skills (video and sound, slide shows) to balance out my increasingly-obsolete print portfolio.

The alternative would be to stick at this part-time school job until summer (when I will be laid off) and devote myself to a long-term, strategic job hunt. Get an on-line portfolio up, maybe start a blog. Network like crazy. By summer, I"d be ready to launch a targeted, nation-wide search. And if the fish aren't biting, I just go back to the school in the fall and keep at it.

So. All of this nattering is to simply ask: Will a newspaper job get me closer to where I want to be? Or is it just another detour?

Any recovering journalists out there starting a new life in PR?

Brand me

b33j — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:49 -0800

What is that I'm doing? Tag my business. I’ve been working freelance for a couple of years while I finished my degree doing a variety of tasks for academics (4 or 5) who work in the field of Education. Some of the things I’ve done have been to create logos for various groups, diagrams and illustrations for lesson plans and books, some photography,animations, presentations, formatting of material for publishing, transcription, managing an international journal and formatting it, creating databases and entering all the data, as well as analysing it (lightly – I’m no expert in statistics) and producing all graphs and reports.

Now that I’ve finished my degree, I want to increase my clientele. I think I can make a go of this because I turned over around $30K at about 14 hours a week. I have a domain which is my own name and the word design. I hope to launch my website (with a blog -thanks metafilter for earlier advice) in January. I’m working on a design for my business card. My current clients will probably forward my details onto their mailing groups if I ask them – I just need one last thing. What do I do and what’s a good tag line? I would have thought “academic support” except that that phrase tends to mean helping students to survive university. I tested the tagline “the whole package” on one of my current clients, and she was aghast, but couldn’t exactly say why.

So, to summarise my business card, for example...

b33jdesign
~~Academic Support~~ (?)
~~The whole package~~ (?)
w: www.b33jdesign.com
e: jr@b33jdesign.com
p: xxx xxxx xxx

Related

Which NYC area colleges and Universities are teaching valid hand marked-up xhtml and css in their web design courses?

stagewhisper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:21:11 -0800

Which (if any) NYC area colleges and Universities are teaching valid hand marked-up xhtml and css in their web design courses? I am trying to find a freelancer or small firm to take over a dating website redesign for a client in the NYC/NJ area. The back-end is/will be Cold Fusion (this is the only option as far as the client is concerned) and the front end styles and all formatting will be implemented using style sheets and fully accessible xhtml. I am having trouble finding an entry level designer who not only has the proper skill set, but who also understands why it is important that their code validates.
The best option seems to be to advertise this job on various area school's alumni and/or student job boards, but if the state university that I am currently a grad student at is any indication, not all web design courses and digital design concentrations teach much beyond WYSIWYG dreamweaver classes, and the computer science classes don't address user interface design and css much, if at all.
Is anyone here familiar enough with the design programs at other schools (Pratt, Parsons, SVA, Rutgers, etc.) that they might suggest the best programs and career services offices for me to contact?

Freelance to Freedom

Spurious — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:05:29 -0800

Books on freelancing? Looking for inspiration to take the plunge. I get out of my current academic position in 1.5 years and I am not returning to academia. My dream is to launch a freelance consulting career (consulting on my research topic). Sometimes I am confident I can do it, other times I am pessimistic.

What books can I get to inspire me to keep pushing towards launching a freelance consulting career?

Who outsources to Cleveland, anyway?

chesty_a_arthur — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:15:39 -0800

Apparently I am one of the freelancers whose profiles Outsourcingroom.com (allegedly) stole from elance. Unfortunately, the Outsourcingroom.com profile appears very high in Google searching for my name. How can I get Google to remove this badness from their index? Outsourcingroom.com (as you will see if you google them) is an...organization that has -- allegedly -- stolen thousands and thousands of freelancers' profiles from Elance.com via a security breach last July. Elance is all "sure, we're concerned and we patched the hole", which, whatever. And I suppose stuff like this is the risk one takes when using the Internets for work stuff.

I've requested that Outsourcingroom.com remove my profile, although I don't seem to be able to remove it myself (because I can't log in. Because I don't have login information. Because I didn't create the profile) and maybe that will work. If it doesn't, I doubt I can do much elance hasn't already done.

But I don't like having Outsourcingroom.com/chesty_a_arthur come up when someone looks for me, pushing down other legitimate hits. Any ideas for red-flagging this site with Google? Do you know where this kind of thing falls within their policies?

Small Freelance Graphics Pricing?

Mizu — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:40:48 -0800

How much should I charge for two small illustrations that will be printed on wedding invitations? Times are tough, so when my friend asked if I would make some small graphics of two types of cameras for her wedding invitations, I said that of course I'd do it! I do have training in this area and have worked design jobs with an hourly salary, but I've never actually sold anything freelance. I definitely do not want to overcharge my friend, because it's kind of a combination wedding gift thing, and because she'll be doing all of the grunt work, making the invitations and doing the printing/technical aspects. All I would be providing is two little one-color graphics for her to use. I have many months to work on this, so there isn't any time pressure, either.

If it helps, we're both in the USA and I won't need to provide physical prints of anything, just the files.

How much should I charge for these? If I wasn't doing this for a friend, what would I charge? I honestly cannot judge how many hours this will take me, probably not many, so how can I give her an estimate before I make the graphics? Is there a very simple (and freely available) contract format I could write up to make payment a concrete and straightforward affair?

Thanks so much for helping me out!

There's no way I'm going to J-school: What can I read, instead?

AAAA — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:08:38 -0800

What books can I read that will give me some idea of what it might take for me to make my living as a writer or journalist? Before you ask, yes: I know what's happening with journalism right now. Clearly, this isn't the decade to be thinking about making a living with writing of any kind, but when I think about some of the alternatives, well... none of them are particularly attractive to me at this point in my life. I can write, I can perform research, and, what's more, I like to do both those things. I'd like it even better if those were the only things I ever had to do to make my way in the world.

So I think I should try becoming a journalist.

The trouble is, I don't really know where to start. I've published a few articles in different places over the course of the past year, and I've been paid--so I know I'm capable of writing professional (or near-professional) quality stuff.

But aside from the actual writing, most aspects of the trade are still pretty mysterious to me. I don't understand the business side of things (what's a "query letter" supposed to be like?), and I don't understand how a journalist behaves during the information gathering parts of the process. I've had to contact sources for some of my projects, but when I speak to them I'm never entirely certain that I'm doing it right (assuming, that is, there's even a "right" way).

I know some of you are journalists or journalism students. Can anyone recommend some good reading material that will help me learn some of the non-obvious aspects of the trade? I'd also be interested in personal stories, but I'm mostly looking for things to include on an independent reading curriculum. In other words, if J-school didn't exist, what would you, as a starting writer, choose for your personal textbook?

Hiring marketing professional for freelance business

The Dutchman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:28:25 -0800

I am a freelancer in a sub-genre of graphic design. In a bid to get more clients, I'm attempting (through Craigslist) to hire a marketing professional (or professionals). My general idea is that they would work to get me more clients, and I would give them a percentage of sales resulting from my work with those clients. My question here is what the specifics of the deal should be. My initial thought was 15% of income for life on the clients they bring me. Does that sound reasonable? Too much? Too little? The wrong way to go about it entirely? I really like the commission model, at least for now, because I don't have money to lay out up front and I like that we both benefit or both don't. Is there any kind of standard for this kind of relationship?

How to get connected and get working as a retoucher in Berlin?

freudenschade — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:27:52 -0800

Talented, creative, experienced (but mostly non-German-speaking) Canadian digital artist looking for postproduction/retouching work in Berlin. Got any leads or advice for my girlfriend? We moved to Berlin a couple of months ago, and after some much-needed down time, the job hunt has begun. We have visas that allow us to live and work in Germany for at least the coming year. Being fairly competent in German and focused in the tech/software/marketing world, I'm OK for leads for now, but my girlfriend could use some tips.

Background: She graduated from Sheridan College with a diploma in Applied Photography in 2004. Spent the last four years working for Dixon Film & Photography, one of the top advertising photography studios in Canada -- the past two of which were as head retoucher, working on national and international ad campaigns for big clients in partnership with top ad agencies. She's incredibly talented, and able to contribute to projects creatively as well as technically. Basically, she's a postproduction ninja. She just needs someone in the industry here in Berlin to take notice.

You can view samples of her professional and personal (fine art) work here: www.lunaland.net

So, creative industry Berliners (and others in the know), what can she do to make some more connections locally and find the right position? Full time would be ideal, but regular freelance is an option as well. Again, she doesn't really speak German, but it seems like it would definitely be possible to find work as an English speaker in the mostly English speaking creative/advertising industry.

Any and all feedback is definitely appreciated. Specific suggestions for related work (i.e. art direction) would also be great. Danke schön in advance!

Been there, did that, got the degree, now what?

b33j — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:54:09 -0800

I've nearly finished my degree. Help me work out my future. I am nearly finished my Bachelor of Multimedia Studies. By 30 October I will have graduated with a GPA between 6.5 and 6.95 out of 7 (say, between 3.71 and 3.97 on a 4 point scale) and more likely the upper end of that range than the lower. Unfortunately, despite the name of the degree, I cannot code a decent webpage, nor work within a 3D package or do more than the simplest of animations in Flash. I’m very good with Illustrator and general graphic design, layout and formatting, mediocre with Photoshop, out of practice with Indesign. I have a DSLR, but my understanding of composition far exceeds my technical ability.

I’ve been freelancing (part-time) during much of the last 3 years, working for academics (in a different field) doing things like: creating databases (and doing the data entry for it - blargh), formatting and editing a new international journal, contacting the authors and reviewers; designing documents for print; creating presentations for international conferences; producing diagrams – that sort of thing.

I enjoy the flexibility and variety of freelancing. I haven’t had any issues with payment disputes, or difficult attitudes with this client base. This is clearly awesome and incredibly unusual. So one of my career plans is to keep doing what I’m doing, only to find more people to do it for. So here are the questions about keeping on doing it:
Q1. How do I increase my client base without outlaying a lot of money?
Q2. What percentage increase in hourly rate can I charge, given that I now have a degree that says I can do what I was already doing without pricing myself out of the market?

On the other hand, what about a real job? I’ve kept track of advertised vacancies for graphic designers (etc) within a 300 kilometre radius. Last week I saw a job advertised, “experienced web designer and coder, graphic designer and data entry operator, $20 per hour”. (I charge nearly twice that now!) Many of the advertised jobs I would qualify for offer a wage less than what I was earning as an administrative assistant. So if I didn’t keep doing what I’m currently doing…
Q3. How can I take advantage of my GPA to land a good paying job, and/or a job with prospects of a good rate of pay?
Q4. If I don’t go to work for someone else now, will the advantage of achieving good results fade, and if so, how quickly?

Australian, female, 42, located near Brisbane (state capital). Any other job / career tips gratefully received.

Freelance web design/development for a newbie - is this feasible?

shaun uh — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:16:50 -0800

I am planning to leave my current job in about a year, and hope to be able to make some money (I don't need a lot) by doing freelance web development/programming. While I have a bit of experience with programming and very basic web design ((X)HTML/CSS), this would pretty much be a new field for me. I guess I'm wondering - is this a realistic goal? And if so, what steps should I take to help me get there? I have a couple of advantages:

I have access to a number of different tools through my current job, including the Adobe suite (photoshop, illustrator, flash), and I've been working on teaching myself how to use them in my spare time. If there are other programs that might be useful for me to learn to use, I can probably get access to them.

I also get to take very cheap but very respectable comp sci classes. I am currently taking a class on Java and a class on how to build dynamic websites using AJAX/PHP/MySQL.

Right now, my plan is to take these classes (plus two more in the spring) to learn as much as possible, keep teaching myself how to use flash and illustrator (I feel really comfortable w/ photoshop, but I've heard it's inferior to illustrator for design purposes), and trying to get some "real experience" by making websites for friends and entering contests at places like 99designs.com and kongregate.

(It's worth mentioning that I'm not looking to be at the top of the field - I was thinking of marketing myself more towards small businesses and small nonprofits who don't need anything too fancy.)

Again, two questions - Is this doable, or is no one going to trust me to do the job right with so little actual experience? (If this is the case, do you think it might at least help me find temp work?) And if you think it is worth pursuing, what else would you suggest doing?

How do you keep from crossing the line between squeaky wheel and stalker?

gottabefunky — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:12:10 -0800

Fellow freelancers and/or marketing gurus: where is the fine line between staying on a potential employer’s radar and being a pest--and how do I get as close to it as possible? We all know that networking and Building Relationships are the keys to getting freelance gigs, as much as or more than sheer talent.

Some of my clients tell me to bug them every now and then to check in about potential projects. But I feel the need to keep those communications fresh and interesting, and not have it look like just copied and pasted a “just checking in” email one more time.

How do you keep from crossing the line between squeaky wheel and stalker?

Of course there are communication hooks, like projects one of us recently completed (“Congrats!”), industry scuttlebutt or even recent life events (for the friendly types). What about when there really is no other reason to get in touch besides, “Hey, got any work for me”? (And the time after that? And the next?)

What are your secrets for staying in touch in an engaging way, indefinitely? Is it even possible (or necessary)?

FWIW, I'm talking about writing for print and TV.

How to professionally manage freelance writing about my industry?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:30:26 -0800

How do I successfully do freelance writing (my night job) about my industry (my day job)? I work in a high-tech industry that is a small, close-knit, incestuous community. As a result, I know most of the key players in it, including CEOs, startup founders, etc. I myself work for a high-profile startup. I'm incredibly passionate about this industry and it's been something I've been psyched about since I was in high school.

Along the way someone happened to notice I was good at writing, so I started being paid to blog about my industry. This worked out fine, and I was completely open about it with my employer, who just wanted any company-related material to be run past our PR folks before I posted it. Then I was asked to write for a somewhat related print magazine. Recently I've been asked to write for an industry analyst report.

This is all very cool, and I've discovered I really love the writing. It's also been a real success for me professionally, where others in the industry will recognize my (somewhat odd) name from the writing I do, and a new professional relationship starts from there. But what was early on an easy agreement with my employer has become occasionally awkward with my entire professional network. Now I'm being asked to speculate about a new company started by an entrepreneur I'm on a first-name, familiar basis with, or to interview a friend whose research project is press-worthy, or to put a writing colleague in touch with a higher-up at my company.

I know the basics -- I have told editors I will not write about my own company or its immediate competitors, and I know where there are lines not to cross when a friend has talked with me off-the-record, over drinks, about their new company or project, but the information is still considered business confidential. If I do need to talk to someone as a writer, I usually start the email/conversation by mentioning that I'm now wearing my "reporter hat". However, I'm starting to see where things could get more difficult to navigate in the near future.

So what I'm looking for is advice on how to manage friendly professional contacts when they're sometimes journalistic contacts. Alternatively, I'm interested in better ways to communicate boundaries to my editors, and how to identify those boundaries in the first place without compromising my usefulness. What are the best practices here?

Does freelancing count as a second job as far as taxes go? (CA)

mallow005 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:25:13 -0800

Sometimes I get small job requests that come from outside my fulltime job. They don't pay much (barely over 1k this year) but it's enough to require me to report myself as a business. Does that mean it's a second job?

Need Instant Good Money, Who Doesn't?

VC Drake — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:39:22 -0800

Is there anything similar to Mechanical Turk on the Internet? When I say similar I am referring to being instant work and not like the freelance sites where you have to bid for work and wait around to see if you got accepted or someone else did.

Also, it would be nice if there was a site with instant work that was better-paying too.

Any other options out there, folks?

Can I include companies I was subcontracted to in my portfolio?

miniape — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:30:23 -0800

Freelancers, if you're subcontracted by company A to work for a big client, company B, do you include both company A and company B in your portfolio? Does this change if you're actually employeed by company A, but still want to maintain a freelance portfolio? I've often seen people do this and I've read 'how to break into the business' type articles that instruct people to do this, but something about it seems a bit dishonest.

Sure I worked on projects for company B, but I was an employee of company A. I'm I being overly cautious?

Here are samples of my work, and you can click here to read my opinions on Obama!

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:49:22 -0800

How would I best go about making a web-based writing portfolio with limited internet abilities? I am a former newspaper journalist now working in academia, but I still do freelance writing assignments from time to time. Most communication with clients is done through e-mail, and when asked for samples of my work, I typically send an MS Word document with 6 or 8 pieces copied and pasted from their various sources. I would like to find a more professional way to do this, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on how.

What I want is some sort of simple URL link to a easy-to-browse collection of my best or favorite work -- the kind of thing that I could send by e-mail, have in my facebook profile, etc.

My HTML abilities and time are extremely limited, so buying a domain name and building a fancy freelance site are kind of out of the question. Instead, I'm considering either using a pre-packaged portfolio service like inkspot.com, or a free blog like Wordpress or Blogger. If I went with a blog, which is where I'm leaning at this point, I'd choose a dozen or so articles I've written and link them as blog posts. Where necessary, such as with certain stories behind a newspaper paywall, I would excerpt parts or all of the story as the post, with some disclaimer of copyright. I have good relationships with all of these publications, and don't foresee any copyright issues.

So my question is: how cheesy is this approach? Would you, as a magazine or newspaper editor, or marketing executive, etc., see my use of a blog-as-portfolio as unprofessional or cheap? Any better ideas?

looking for inspiration to get out of the 9-5 grind

Jason and Laszlo — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:48:07 -0800

Do you work less than 5 days/week (9am-5pm)? and/or do you work from home? If so, what is your job, and how did you obtain it? I'm just looking for inspiration to get out of the 9-5 grind. Thanks!