Fixed Rate Contracts and Hourly Contracts

Employers usually pay in one of two ways: fixed rate contracts or hourly contracts. Fixed rate contracts are where you would bid a flat rate for performing a specific task. For writing, this usually means a certain number of pieces by a certain deadline. Hourly contracts are a lot like a regular job. You work on a schedule, and get paid by the hour. Most freelance writers have a preference between the two, but that doesn’t mean you have to. For example, if you build websites, you might prefer to bid on a job that is a fixed rate for one job, but find another opening that is offering an hourly rate that you just can’t turn down.

Some Observations on Contracts

-Fixed rate contracts are not as schedule-oriented. If you are a night owl and prefer to work certain hours or at a certain pace this may be the way for you to go.
-Hourly contracts, like regular jobs, usually have a cap, or a limit to the number of hours you can work on a project. This also requires that you keep good notes and carefully log your hours.
-Fixed rate contracts are at the employer’s discretion. You will need to ask careful questions about what the employer expects and needs from you. If they are not satisfied with the end result then you may not get paid, and you will have little recourse. Some sites offer an escrow option that holds the funds for the project until you are finished and the employer is pleased with the work. If the employer doesn’t want to pay for any reason, some sites offer arbitration services, but not all sites do.
- Keep in mind that unlike with hourly contracts where the employer checks in frequently and evaluates your work regularly, fixed rate contracts involve a lot more independent work.

Charging By the Job

It is not uncommon for a freelancer to charge for a particular service being performed. For example, many freelance writers will charge a flat rate for a certain number of words. A 300 word article will be a little less than a 500 word article, so on and so forth. It is a good idea to calculate a flat rate for your pieces by the word count, but not to set them in stone. If an employer wants to give you a whole bunch of work, but is only willing to pay slightly less per article than what you would normally charge, it may be more beneficial for you to work with them on the word count rate and make up for it with the volume of work you will be performing.

Bringing It All Together

Think of freelancing like any other job. When you first start out you might make a little less money, or not have the ideal “shift” for you. Freelance work isn’t any different. After you have spent time working on a variety of contracts and developed a good professional standing with your employers then you may begin to charge a little more for your services. It all comes down to the amount of experience you have and the kind of professional relationships you develop.

Employers are paying for quality, not quantity. For instance, an employer will pay more for a functional website than one that doesn’t have the bells and whistles he is looking for. If you are writing, even if you can turn out 5,000 words a day, they had better be 5,000 good words, and not mediocre work. It is better to take more time and submit high quality work than it is to flood your employer’s inbox with so-so work. Freelancing is like any other job out there; you get back what you put into it.

Is the Job Right For You?

Is it something that you just can’t pass up? If it is a project that you are very familiar with that will not require a great deal of research then it is acceptable to bid a little under in order to get the job. However, you don’t want to underbid on the job to the point that it is not worth your time. If it is a project that will require a lot of research and a great deal of work, then bid your normal rate. It would not be advantageous for you as a freelancer to take less than you are worth, because you could be spending that time finding other clients that will pay what you are worth.

Choose projects that demonstrate your strengths and skills, and that you know you will be able to deliver on time. This is of the utmost importance when establishing good relationships with employers. If you choose the right projects and perform the work to the best of your ability, then you may get repeat business from that employer.

Determine Your Prices Upfront

You should have a set list of prices for each one of your services already, and it is a good idea to stick to it. If the project you are bidding on will pay far less than your normal rate then don’t sell yourself short. You can be flexible without giving your work away.

Bidding Lowest

Whenever you bid as low as possible to get the job, nine times out of ten you will end up resenting it. Yes, it is money today, but you are also encouraging other clients to continually lower the prices that they expect to pay. By underbidding, you are not doing either yourself, or your fellow freelancers any favors. Of course, doing a few jobs at a low rate can be a good way to build up your rankings on freelance sites like oDesk and Freelancer.com.

Special Rates

If you have a client that you have won several jobs from in the past, don’t be afraid to give them a little bit of a break on the price. That’s not to say that you should ever work for less than you are worth, rather, if there is the potential for long term work with that client it may be advantageous for you to offer them a slight discount upfront. By doing this, and giving them stellar work, the client will return to you in the future whenever they have more projects come up.

Make Your Bid

You never know until you try. What might not sound like a reasonable bid to you might be perfect for the employer. Don’t ever sell from you own pocket. What might not seem affordable to you might be perfectly affordable to the client.

Calendars

Scheduling books work wonderful for keeping track of deadlines, and milestones. If you need to submit a project over the span of several days for instance, it is a good idea to write down what days and what you will need to be submitting on those days. This will also help you to keep track of payments and to get a visual representation of how your schedule breaks down. Also use the calendar to mark down how long it takes you to complete certain assignments, as it is never a bad idea to have an estimation of how long certain tasks will take you. You can use either a web based calendar, or a plain old planner variety, as long as it is easy for you to use, and is something that you will be able to commit to using.

Task Lists

Whenever you are working on larger projects that require multiple steps it is a good idea to make yourself a list of each individual task that will need to be completed. Once you’ve listed all of the steps, and then write beside each task about how long it will take you to complete each one. This gives you a good idea, but it will also help you to relate that information to your client if need be. You can also use this list to make notes, and jot down ideas about the project. You will be able to track your progress over time by comparing the task lists to future ones, and determining how much your speed or skills have improved.

Determining Your Schedule

Figure out what times of the day are the best times for you to work. Everyone has a time that they prefer whether it is early in the morning, or the middle of the night. Knowing this about yourself will help you to create your schedule to facilitate your best work.

Work in smaller increments, don’t just sit down and try to plow through your projects. Not only can this affect the quality of the work, it can burn you out over time. Doing a little bit at a time on each project you need to get done keeps you from getting burnt out and helps keep your work at its best. If your heart just isn’t in it at the moment then stop and take a break, you don’t want the quality of your work to suffer.

Also trying breaking your schedule up into segments. Work on one project for a set amount of time, and then move onto the next one. This keeps things fresh in your mind, and allows you to break up your day.

Create Your Writing Resume

This is just like a regular resume except you are showcasing your skills as a writer. Start out with a basic list of any and all professional writing experience you have along with your specific skills. List writing strengths you honed in college, your creative writing experience, whatever you have that qualifies you for the job. Employers are going to view your resume before they make it to your portfolio.

Build a Portfolio

This is where you are going to store examples of your work. The more variety you have in your portfolio the better. These are the sample pieces that you will selectively send along with your resume and cover letter whenever you are applying for a freelance job. Anything that shows of your skills as a writer can be included in the portfolio. Short essays from college, samples of business writing you’ve polished, and anything else that is clean, and represents your talent as a writer.

Don’t have any experience or polished pieces? It’s not that difficult to get some.

-Start a blog and write on a variety of topics, whatever strikes you.
-Pick a topic that interests you and write a short report on it.
-Try your hand at a short story.
-Volunteer with a non-profit organization to write some material for them.
-Create your own website with lots and lots of content.
-Join an online writing community for feedback.

Check Out the Scene

Now that you’ve got your resume and portfolio together, check out blogs, web-zines, article databases, and varying websites. You will want to get a feel for what’s out there, formatting, and language that is commonly used in different written pieces. Write for practice on subjects that interest you.

Check out some of the larger freelancing websites out there. These are websites where writers can apply to job listings by category or genre. You don’t necessarily have to jump right in, but you can certainly browse around and get a feel for how things work. Odesk.Com and Elance.Com are two of the big players in this arena.

More Tips

Try to write at least a thousand words everyday whether it’s for profit or pleasure. Keep a journal and jot down your ideas for future articles or blogs. Also remember that the best writers are readers. Read everything you can get your hands on and pay close attention to the structure, language and flow of different types of writing. Dig out some of your old essays from college and go over them to check your progress as a writer. Re-writing some of those essays could be fantastic practice before you start applying for freelance jobs.

Billy Pitre was my hero. He had a regular job, but still did occasional broadcasts for the station. He is a lovable, down-the-bayou kind of guy who has one of the driest senses of humor I have ever seen in my entire life. I learned a lot about dryness from him. Intelligent and low-key, you would never tell he was making a joke from his expression or voice inflections. You’d think he was talking about property tax paperwork or something. Then, when you got the joke, it was that much funnier.

I was with Billy at the Firemen’s Fair. Music was playing, and every few minutes they’d toss it to us.

“We now go out live to the Firemen’s Fair with Billy Pitre and Chuck Boutwell.”

Then we’d talk about the fair. We would get food between broadcasts and comment on the food.

“Chuck just had the jambalaya from the Home, Hook and Ladder booth. How was it?”

We’d talk, encourage people to come to the fair, thank our sponsors, mention particular things people might want to see at the fair and of course, joked around.

The second-proudest moment of my humor life was when I cracked Billy up so badly he had to stop for a while.

I had been admiring his dry sense of humor and hoping to develop more dryness of my own. I had just been thinking about a funny way of describing Billy’s sense of humor, when our on-air discussion drifted over to the grounds. If it rains during or right before the fair, the grounds are messy, which results in less people.

Billy was describing the ground as dry, but he was stuck for a metaphor. I could tell he didn’t want to say “bone dry” because it was a cliché.

“The ground is as dry as … what would you say, Chuck?”

I almost said, “As your sense of humor,” but I remembered a better reference.

“I’d say it’s as dry as Burgess Meredith’s elbow, Billy.”

Billy busted out and had to catch his breath.

“Burgess Meredith’s elbow?!?”

It was my second proudest moment of my humor life.

The very proudest moment involved bodily functions and confetti, and it isn’t appropriate for a family newspaper.

Remotes were fun, but the bulk of the work in my early days at the station involved baby-sitting the semi-automated equipment. It paid minimum wage, but that was okay for a college student working other part-time jobs and getting grants and student loans, which I am still paying off.

The important thing was the free time. It was semi-automated, so there were times when a human had to do things, but in between you would have stretches of time for doing homework and writing papers. When I got into graduate school, there was a lot of paper writing. And I was doing some part-time writing for local publications and the student paper.

Heck, if you didn’t know me, you might think I was an ambitious, hard-working guy.

Not.

I had an early portable computer. It was made in the pre-laptop days — unless you had a really big lap. I think there were laptops available at the time, but I bought this one used, and it was good enough for word processing.

This computer was barely portable. It was as big as a medium-sized sheet cake, but thicker. I don’t think it even had battery capabilities. Just plug in, flip up the monochrome screen, insert the floppy disk and start typing.

Ah, those were the days.

I’d have books and papers spread out, pecking away on this device, and every 12 or 20 minutes, I’d have to push a couple of buttons at just the right time. Then maybe another in 30 or 60 seconds. Then hit a switch. And I’m done for another 12 or 20 minutes.

The set up was perfect, especially for a graduate student, so I was really not bothered by the minimum wage.

Minimum wage is an interesting thing in a way. If you think about it, it is your boss telling you, “This is the lowest possible amount I can pay you. I would like to pay you even less, but the federal government won’t let me.”

But that’s another column.

There was only one time when the minimum wage became an issue. The station manager, an incredibly well-respected person in the community who I loved a great deal, left a stack of paperwork and said she wanted me to file it that night.

I’m normally an almost preternaturally laid back person, but I actually got a bit feisty.

I left her a polite and respectful note, and with appreciation of my job, explained that the reason I was willing to work for minimum wage — without the possibility of a raise unless mandated by Congress — was because the free time allowed me to do my studying and writing for school.

I respected that she had the right to tell me to do the filing, but if that was the case, I wasn’t interested in working there. I would find a job at a local retailer or fast-food establishment where I would at least qualify for a raise periodically.

I think she got my point because she never said a word about it, and never left filing for me to do.

Next week: word games, late night crazy call and “you know what I want to hear.”

Cha-cha-cha.

Chuck Boutwell is a humor columnist for Big Fun on the Bayou. Opinions expressed in this column represent the views of the columnist, not necessarily this publication. He can be reached at chuckboutwell@yahoo.com.

In the Novel category, Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize winner The Sense
of an Ending was shortlisted but lost out to Pure by Andrew
Miller.

Claire Tomalin’s acclaimed study of Charles Dickens was beaten in the
Biography category by Matthew Hollis’s book about Edward Thomas, the First
World War poet.

Now All Roads Lead To France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas focused
on the last five years of Thomas’s life and the poet’s friendship with
Robert Frost.

Carol Ann Duffy won the Costa Poetry Award for The Bees, her first
collection since being appointed Poet Laureate in 2009.

Moira Young won the Children’s Book Award for Blood Red Road, a
post-apocalyptic thriller for teenagers. Ridley Scott has optioned the film
rights.

The overall winner will be announced on January 24.

Writers searching for ways on how to freelance in the new year can rest assure that while the opportunities are out there, hard work, perseverance and networking are the keys to getting your voice out there.  For promising authors out there looking to unleash that future best-selling novel on the market, consider one very possible option: ‘DIY’ (Do It Yourself).  The market is flooded with horror stories of would be authors and their endless stream of rejection letters from a host of publishing houses.  With the ongoing boom of the ebook market (see Amanda Hocking), authors not looking to wait for the publishers to validate their material can publish their own work on sites like Amazon.com and CreateSpace.com.  What makes this an added bonus is that you retain worldwide rights to your work and it’s available across the broad spectrum of devices such as the iPad 2, Kindle, etc.

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Screenwriters looking to make that coveted leap into big sales should not rely only on selling a screenplay as the key to making credible earnings potential in 2012.  Hollywood is filled to the brim with scripts that get passed over everyday, and the road to selling that million dollar script is an arduous one at best.  While working your way to becoming the next Christopher Nolan, try diversifying your revenue stream through publishing ebooks and establishing your own blog.  

When setting up your blog on tips, travel, news politics, nightlife, etc., don’t underestimate the power of affiliate marketing.  Writing a review on the latest James Patterson novel? Setup an account with Amazon Associates and post a product link to your review.  When someone reads your review and orders the book via that link, you get a commission.  The same theory also works for other tools such as Google Adsense and Linkshare.

If you’re not up to speed on the allure of social networking, start studying up.  With every blog article, review, etc. that you write, take advantage of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  As most of all writing is rewriting, most of success in the digital world is networking and promoting yourself.  And while you may already be familar with the aforementioned sites, don’t forget about Google Plus as well.  Just as Facebook and Twitter exploded on the scene, look for Google Plus to do the same as well.

No matter what route you take in the new year to get your work out there, hopefully these tips will help.

Enjoyed this article? Receive email alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the ‘Subscribe’ button above. Also be sure to visit www.lazarusinfinity.blogspot.com for more material. 

Generally the first thing to consider would be the structure of the business itself. For freelancers there are two options – a limited company or a sole trade. Which approach is more tax-efficient depends on the profits you are generating and how those profits are extracted from the business.

As a sole trader, you will pay income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) on your profits – whether or not you extract the profits from the business. Comparatively as a limited company you will only pay corporation tax on your profits, and income tax and NICs on any salary can be minimised by extracting dividends instead, and leaving your profits in the company – perhaps with a view to using them for expansion. Assets that are transferred into your company may also be claimed and the value owed to you paid back without tax.

One important way of ensuring maximum tax efficiency is to claim all expenses to which you are entitled. These expenses reduce your overall profits and therefore reduce the amount of tax you will pay on those profits. Expenses include things like travel to and from clients’ sites, subsistence expenses such as lunch and overnight accommodation, and mileage allowance for the use of your car. Allowances are also given for equipment your business may purchase such as a laptop or tools, and may also be claimed on those assets that were owned prior to the date you started your business.

Many self-employed individuals do not realise they can also offset the costs of working from home against their profits. Utility bills and rent/mortgage payments can be correctly apportioned and offset against profits to reduce your overall tax bill. The interest paid on a loan to start your business or inject funds into your company may also be claimed.

VAT may also be embraced if your customer base is VAT-registered and thus the addition of VAT would not make you more expensive. Indeed, it can be beneficial to operate under the flat rate scheme, whereby you pay a flat rate on your gross sales, the level of which is dependent on your business sector. This simplifies your bookkeeping as there is no need to separate out the VAT on your purchases. You can also claim back VAT on pre-registration expenses: claiming back six months for services and up to three years for VAT on assets. Your first VAT return may therefore be much less than anticipated.

With higher rates of income tax it can be beneficial to grow your business then sell in order to create a capital gain. This can be taxed at a much lower rate, particularly if you are entitled to Entrepreneurs Relief.

You could engage family members in your business. Payment of legitimate wages can make use of their personal allowance and obtain a tax deduction for your business. Spouses can potentially be partners or shareholders to utilise their basic-rate tax band and thus reduce a potential higher rate liability.

Pension contributions made by you or your company could be directed into a self-invested pension plan (Sipp) to finance the acquisition of commercial premises. The property would then grow tax free within the plan and rent paid to occupy the property would be tax deductible for your business yet be a tax free income of your pension. This effectively gives you tax relief on the capital purchase.

You should, however, take great care to claim only legitimate business expenses and keep accurate records as well as submit your tax returns in good time. There is a draconian penalty regime operated by HMRC for lateness and for inaccuracies. So whilst there are many ways to achieve tax savings you should be mindful that your record keeping is now, more than ever, subject to close scrutiny should you be unlucky to be selected for review.

By Steve Crouch, co-founder and financial director at Crunch

Like the majority of actors in New York City, I do not have an
agent, but I freelance with a couple of them, which, in the
overall, has been a good arrangement for me.

I contacted a manager more than a year ago, and we agreed on a
freelance arrangement. At that time, I did not know the exact fees
involved. Now, when I say “freelance” with a manager, I mean that
she is doing what an agent does: She calls me and sends me out for
auditions. There have not been any traditional management duties
whatsoever in our relationship. In other words, she does not do
more than an agent. Don’t get me wrong: I am fine with it, and I
think that agents do an exhausting and good job.

A couple of months ago, I booked a nonunion voiceover through her,
and to my surprise she took 25 percent out of my fee. Now, while I
feel that 75 percent of something is better than 100 percent of
nothing, I feel that she is doing an agent’s job and taking a
manager’s pay. My other agents take between 10 and 15 percent of
the fee.

I understand that agents need to be licensed and somehow need to
adhere to a very strict set of rules, as opposed to managers, who
basically can do what they want. But when a manager does the job of
an agent without doing a manager’s job, I feel that is wrong. Am I
right? Or am I just being a complainer?

—75 Percent Left, New York

Dear 75 Percent:

As you now realize, the time to discuss fees is in the initial
meeting, before you have agreed to work with a representative. Had
you brought up the issue at that time, you and the manager might
have been able to come to a compromise about her commission. At the
least, you would have known what to expect.

According to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs,
theatrical agents are licensed by the department as employment
agencies. Their commissions are then capped at 10 percent, except
for orchestra and concert engagements, for which the cap is 20
percent. (For more info on New York agency licensing, visit
www.labor.state.ny.us/formsdocs/wp/ls390.pdf.)

However, talent managers are not licensed by the state and are,
according to the DCA, “exempt from the definition of employment
agencies if their placement of their clients in employment is
‘incidental to’ their management services.” The state’s Arts and
Cultural Affairs Law limits payments to “agreed commissions,
royalties or similar compensation based upon payments received [by
the client] as a result of his employment in the field of show
business.”

I followed up with the DCA, and apparently, “agreed commissions”
could mean that you and your manager could set any commission rate
as long as you both agree to it—10 percent, 25 percent, 99 percent,
whatever. It’s true that a manager isn’t supposed to be working
simply as an unlicensed agent—solely procuring work for you—but it
sounds as if you are okay with that aspect and only object to the
commission.

You’re not being a complainer. You have a good point, but the
question is how to proceed given what has occurred. My suggestion
is that you let this 25 percent be water under the bridge, but go
in and speak to the manager about the future. Let her know you love
that she’s sending you out but that you would like to use the
agency commission model if she’s not working with you in a
management capacity. You can present this in a simple and
respectful manner, and it might help cushion the point if you take
responsibility for your part in not clarifying the issue earlier.
She may go for your plan, or present you with compelling reasons to
pay her a higher commission. She may step up her managerial duties.
You may decide to part ways. Whatever happens, you’ll have the
conversation you needed to have back at the beginning.

Finally, New York actors who feel that a manager or an agent is
abusing the rules outlined above or is otherwise acting outside the
law can call 311 to speak to a DCA representative.

Dear Jackie:

I have a midlevel boutique management company representing me. I
have signed a three-year contract. The manager seemed to really
like me. She had me evaluated by her acting coach, who said, and I
quote, “She is beautiful, and talented to boot!”

However, on one occasion she discouraged a talent agent from taking
me on, saying very negative things about me. She has been very
forthright with this information—almost to the point of being
cruel. In addition, she tells me that I’m aiming too high and need
to get a hobby. She also said that my passion for acting is a red
flag in her book. I am concerned that my manager may be doing more
harm than good.

Please know that I attended a prestigious acting conservatory on a
full scholarship. I have also been in a competitive private class
for a very short time and have been moved up twice. This positive
feedback is the only thing keeping me motivated. Please, I love
this work—I have since I was a small child. I want to be groomed.
Is this grooming?

—Management Worries, Los Angeles

Dear Management:

You need to do what you feel is best. It’s your life, your career,
and your feelings in the grinder. You can either stay with this
manager a bit longer while looking for another representative and
seeing if the situation improves, or you can terminate the
relationship immediately. If you honestly feel bad about yourself
after speaking with her, I agree that she is—in your words—doing
more harm than good.

Get out your contract and take a long look. It very likely has a
clause in there about either party terminating the contract with
written notice. If you haven’t booked anything through the manager
yet, she’ll probably let you go without a word. Send her a polite,
succinct letter thanking her for her time and letting her know that
you are ending your professional relationship. No need to explain
why. It’s better to be unrepresented than to work with someone who
drags you down.

Still, you might learn something from this experience. It’s
possible her boorish suggestion that you get a hobby is based in
common sense. Acting is a tough nut to crack, and it can make you
crazy if you don’t have other interests. Do you have a life outside
your craft or are you focused totally and completely on acting? If
it’s the latter, take her poorly worded advice to heart and begin
looking for balance. You love the work? Fantastic. Make sure you
also love your life.