Making the most of LinkedIn
With LinkedIn in the headlines over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about my own neglected LinkedIn profile with a mild sense of shame. LinkedIn has always struck me as the driest of the social networking sites. It’s all business, unlike my newsy Twitter stream and my gossip-laden Facebook feed. But I’m realizing lately that […]
The Born Freelancer asks: does spelling still count?
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. How important is correct spelling in today’s brave new world of tweeting, texting and the obsessive need to be “first with the news”? […]
The Born Freelancer finds a cell plan to fit their budget
This series by The Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Please add to the conversation in the comments section. One of the hardest things to learn about being a freelancer is living within a budget that fluctuates, often difficult to predict one month to the next. About a year […]
The Born Freelancer on casting aside doubt
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. This month I celebrate my first anniversary writing for you as The Born Freelancer. My thanks to all of you who have read […]
Advice from Canadian journalists on crafting the “perfect pitch”
Besides being the kind that gets you a “yes” from an editor, what makes a pitch good? An original angle, a custom-tailored scope, timely, articulate, well-researched: all very important characteristics. But what can a writers do to make their queries “perfect”? On April 26 at The HiVE in Vancouver, The Tyee gathered together Gary Stephen […]
Signer beware: Libel clauses in some freelance contracts leave writers holding the bag
Clauses that make writers wholly responsible for defamatory language in magazine articles have been popping up in freelance contracts for a while now. Last fall, we mentioned that The Grid, owned by Torstar Corp., was distributing new freelance agreements with clauses that could leave writers exposed to counter-suits in the event a libel suit was […]
Domestic bliss? The Born Freelancer on the merits (and pitfalls) of working at home
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. Several posts ago I wrote about the pains and pleasures of having your own out-of-home office (and how to find one). This time […]
Tune in: Radio freelancing tips from the Born Freelancer
This column by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. Today’s working freelancers need to have as many skill sets as they can comfortably manage in order to pursue their storytelling on as many platforms […]
Stake your claims: More tax tips for freelancers from the Born Freelancer
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. In my last post I talked about being a freelancer and the preparation required to pay taxes. I thought I’d covered most […]
Time to file: The Born Freelancer on taxing matters
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. Death and taxes. The only things certain in life. That and the fact there will be nothing I want to watch on […]
