The Born Freelancer on Why We Do What We Do
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? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Why do we do what we do? And why do we keep on doing it?
Making a living, of course, is a top priority. Get two or more freelancers together and the first topics of conversation will always be (1) how to increase our fees and (2) how to get paid on time.
I’m talking more about what we want to achieve. And why we keep on doing what we do.
Accuracy and truth play into it. Trying to capture a slice of life, good or bad, and persevering to reveal and share something of its essential nature are definitely a part of it.
There must be also something about it that strongly motivates us—for there are far easier ways to make a living.
I’ve thought long and hard about why I have continued to do what I do. The answer remained an elusive mysterious element “x” that I could not put a name to.
That all changed when I heard two simple words.
My “eureka!” moment
Some time ago I was speaking with a visual artist about his latest abstract painting. I asked what it was all about. “Capturing magic” was all he would say by way of an explanation.
What he said caused a chill to run down my spine. It resonated deeply: in that instant I knew that I too was trying to capture magic in my work. And as I thought more about it I realized the process of my work itself also provided some of the magic in my life.
Magic as metaphor
We creative workers take a blank screen or canvas or time on the airwaves and fill it full of content where none before had existed.
It’s like a magician pulling a rabbit out of their hat.
It may be highly subjective but I think we all know when we’ve achieved or come close to capturing what I am now choosing to call magic. Our work feels unusually satisfying and our objectives have all been reached. Indeed perhaps we’ve even achieved something far beyond our original objectives. (The overall impact of any such work being greater than the sum of its parts.) We’ve used our skills and talents to their utmost to bring something new and fresh into existence that defied and challenged us in the first place to do so. It cuts through the noise and chatter and draws attention to itself by its uniqueness and perspective. It may enlighten or move or amuse or anger but it ultimately connects with its audience. It may even inspire.
I call that capturing magic.
We know too when we’ve failed to reach it. Our work, while perfectly serviceable, lacks something. It may lack an indefinable sparkle or added element that makes it stand out amongst its competitors, that indefinable yet very tangible blessing of the muses. As such it just adds to the background noise of our cluttered and noisy information world. It sits there and does no more than it is asked to do.
I call that lacking magic.
We can recognize it in other’s work too. We know it when we see/hear/read it. It is perfection or near perfection, the right elements are all there and we are left feeling transported to a better place (albeit temporarily) having experienced it. It gives more than it was ever expected to give.
As an example: I was rereading a collection of short columns collected in book form written by the late freelancer Arthur Black. I’ve written about him on this website. What I had forgotten was how full of magic his work was—each column fun to read but also perfectly worded, effortlessly full of insight and truth and humanity. I was left feeling elated, and amused but also somehow more thoughtful about topics he raised. His words connected with me deeply in ways I still cannot fully understand or articulate.
I call that capturing magic.
More about capturing so-called magic
For each of us it will be slightly different.
Perhaps the word “magic” puts you off. Too artsy-fartsy? It did me too until I surrendered to it. Now I can think of no better word to describe what it is I try to capture and present to the world in my work. And it also describes my motivation to stay at it—I want to keep feeling that feeling again and again!
So it seems there are two kinds of (related) magic for us creative workers. There’s the magic that’s out there in the world (or in our heads) that we try to capture in our work and hope to expand upon and share with others – and the magic we ourselves feel in the process of creating that work (when it goes well). Both require the benediction of the muses. (I’ve mused about the muses elsewhere on this site.)
Remember what it was that drew you to your work in the first place? That was when the magic first began.
Probably you were a kid. You read something that stuck with you, something that made you want to pick up a pen or keyboard. Or you saw a TV show that made you think, I want to do that too. In my case I visited a radio station when I was a youngster and decided that that was to be (in part) the life for me.
That magic you felt was something that resonated deeply within you. It erupted a spark of life that perhaps had not existed before or you were not previously aware of. But when you later started the process of your work you felt it again, charging you up, connecting you to the world and making you feel more fully alive.
You had met your muses.
That’s the magic that keeps me motivated to keep on doing what I do. Maybe it is for you too. Or have you lost it? Does your work not excite you any longer? Try to remember what you first felt that drew you to your work. Trust your instincts and you’ll regain the feelings of magic you once had.
Now I have identified it, it is easier for me to recognize when I fail capture it. The process itself usually is a giveaway. Perhaps the idea wasn’t so good or maybe my execution failed. Or maybe I had failed to appease the ethereal muses who ultimately decree what is magic and what is not. Nevertheless I try to capture a bit of magic in everything I create. I don’t always succeed. In fact, I frequently fail. But it doesn’t stop me trying—again and again and again.
The takeaway
Since meeting that visual artist I have realized that my desire to capture magic with my work is just an extension of a subconscious wish to find the magic in life. Whether it’s a beautiful sunset or a stirring tale of humanity where none was expected, I know it’s out there. It’s up to me to stop, identify and quietly appreciate it.
I posit that our duty as creative workers is to thereafter reconstitute and recapture the essence of those feelings of that experience through our work. (If not we creative workers, then who?) If I do it right, and if I have the support of the muses, there will be just a little more magic in the world for others… and through the process, for me too.
I don’t know about you but that’s why I do what I do…and keep on doing it.
May I wish you a productive and magic-filled summer!
AI innovation and education: how to navigate learning and teaching
This article on AI and what it means for education is written by Becky Zimmer, a freelance writer based in Humboldt, Saskatchewan with experience in farm, community, small business and sports reporting.
Historically, technological shifts have always disturbed the familiar and usual.
According to educational insiders, the technological development in AI is posing the biggest threat to the world of post-secondary education.
When Darren Hicks stumbled onto his first case of an AI written essay in the fall semester of 2022, there wasn’t much he could have done to prove with 100 per cent certainty the student had not written the two essays themselves.
The 500-word essay on Hume and the paradox of horror looked well written, but reading deeper into the structure and arguments, it made very little sense to someone who actually knew about the writings of Hume. If the assistant professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina hadn’t caught a whiff of AI generation, Hicks said he would have passed the student, but he and the institution still counted it as a form of academic dishonesty. This was different from a traditionally plagiarized essay, said Hicks, but without the student actually admitting to using AI generation, he wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on reporting the student to the academic board.
“A plagiarized essay just screams its nature. It says, I am a piece of crap. This one didn’t. This one was confidently written, it was cleanly written, it really believed it knew what it knew.”
Plagiarism has always been a concern in the realm of education and professors know what to look for. Hicks doesn’t see AI increasing the number of plagiarists in the world of academia, but plagiarism is not the conversation we should be having. It’s about more than just academic dishonesty, said Hicks, and he likes to think that most students are in university to learn and get an education. An essay gets at what it means to be fundamentally human, but it is getting harder and harder to prove that lack of human creation. Besides the practical argument that AI just gets things wrong, the bigger question for students should be why they are getting an education in the first place.
“It does raise just fundamental questions about what education is,” said Hicks. “Why are we doing it? What does it mean to be human? The huge questions…if you are (at university) to learn, if you’re in this class, because you’re interested in the material, then it defeats that purpose to use AI to do this stuff.”
As AI development continues, we won’t be signing any global contracts to stop it anytime soon. With that in mind, we shouldn’t be afraid of using it, said Hicks.
“Let’s find a way to work this thing into the classroom. I give the student credit, she already knew about this technology, which is pretty good. It’s her bad luck that I knew about it, too, and was a step ahead.”
Given his area of research is also in educational technology media, Alec Couros, director for the Centre for Teaching and Learning, is heavily invested in the use of AI in the classroom. He develops programming to teach University of Regina professors how to use technology within the classrooms, but also speaks with his grad students about what works for them and what doesn’t from a teaching perspective. Much to the dismay of high school teachers, Couros also shows high school students how to use AI. Couros is OK with forcing that conversation, he said, since this technology will just continue to advance, not disappearing if people simply ignore it.
“We need to better communicate what it is, what we think is appropriate, and also make it quite clear, this is not just about academic misconduct, it’s about your own learning. If you don’t learn to do certain things, it’s not going to benefit you in the long run.”
Just like we mentioned in the first story, there are limitations to what AI can do. It takes skill to clearly write the AI inquiry. That itself is a learning experience, said Couros. Asking for proper citations can be done, but again, only if the inquiry is clear. It won’t be perfect, but students need to understand that AI is a good place to start but is not the be all and end all. If they’re using AI as the final result, they are going to have some problems.
From a utopian lens, more and more AI is replacing those menial, unimportant cognitive tasks within academia and many see it opening doors for academics to shift their focus to critical thinking, collaboration, comprehension, and creativity.
However, with this utopianism also comes a sense of foreboding for the future of education, Couros said, and we can’t continue down the path we are currently on without addressing concerns in AI development.
This is the second in a three-part series on AI in the world of writing, including the first part on AI in journalism. Our last one will look into the impending future as AI continues to develop with some notable people starting to note their distrust.
Stay-at-home retreat: a freelancer’s guide to crafting the perfect staycation
This article is written by Vanessa Chiasson, a freelance writer based in Ottawa who specializes in travel and human interest stories.
As a travel writer, I often say that I need a vacation. People think I’m kidding around (“Didn’t you just get back from somewhere?”), but I’m not looking for another flight. I simply want a break to benefit my health and happiness. That’s why I design a frugal, flexible summer staycation and I want more freelancers to do the same.
7 ways freelancers can plan a staycation
What should a freelancer do during their staycation for maximum rejuvenation? In her book Solo, Rebecca Seal says:, “The best evidence suggests we need a mixture of things. Quiet time, in which our minds can wander (and wonder). Some physical relaxation and some physical engagement. Exercise and rest. And the same for our brains—exercise and engagement, but in ways which are nothing to do with work.”
With her words in mind, here are some easy, accessible, enjoyable ways to embrace staycation life.
Resort-i-fy your bedroom
Every freelancer deserves a luxurious retreat that’s all their own. Making your bedroom feel more like a hotel is a beautiful way to launch your vacation. Clear some clutter and embark on a deep clean. Rearrange your furniture or artwork, add fresh flowers, and treat yourself to a fancy candle.
Enjoy a day of opposites
There’s nothing like a vacation to get yourself out of a rut. Plan a day of opposites to embrace this sense that anything is possible. If you never have breakfast, it’s time to go full English. Instead of coffee, choose tea. Grab a different bus, walk a new route, and select alternative brand names when you’re at the market.
Recreate a childhood memory
What did you love doing more than anything else as a kid? Growing up in Nova Scotia, my idea of summer bliss was a trip to the “ice cream barn,” followed by a late night of reading with the flashlight. And I still love this! Many childhood activities, like browsing a toy store, eating giant donuts, and binging cartoons offer easy staycation fun.
Embrace a day of guilty pleasures
The demands of deadlines often make the most innocent indulgences feel verboten for freelancers. During vacation, why not make a day of it? Sleep late, stay in pyjamas all day, watch movies in the bathtub, eat the fettuccine alfredo AND the chocolate cake, and go to bed at 9 p.m.:00 PM or 3:00 a.m. AM.
Have some fun in the sun
Every year, I sustain myself through the brutal winter with thoughts of sun-kissed summer afternoons, conveniently forgetting what July humidity does to my hair. Still, I never regret trying to have some fun in the sun. Go to the beach. Get dressed up and enjoy swanky cocktails on a rooftop bar. Take in a ball game.
Clear your to-do list
For better or worse, vacation has become the non-work time where you get domestic work done. While it’s annoying to spend a precious free day tackling odds and ends, chances are you’ll be tremendously satisfied after devoting some time to your home and yourself. Assemble that bookshelf, trim your hair, and dig in the garden.
Record your vacation for posterity
It is one hell of an achievement to be a working freelancer and even more so to prioritize yourself and your well-being. Your staycation isn’t just a thrifty vacation. It’s a celebration of everything you’ve accomplished this year. So take photos, buy a small souvenir, and decorate your office with postcards to remind yourself how much you’ll love doing this again next year (or sooner!)
More from Story Board
The Born Freelancer on Imposter Syndrome
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? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Freelance writers and imposter syndrome
I’ve read a lot recently about the many different types of people who experience “imposter syndrome”—the feeling that they don’t truly deserve or have the right to the success they have achieved. It might be fleeting and occasional or consistent and ever-present.
Freelancers, as a group, might be particularly susceptible to it.
Almost every freelancer I know has confided in me that they have felt like a complete imposter at some time or another.
I have too.
Why would we feel this way?
- Freelancers constantly face rejection and criticism
Although in time we may build up a defensive armour, over the long haul they still can inflict a negative impact. They can continue to subconsciously undermine our sense of self-worth and self-confidence even as our careers substantially improve. - Freelancers know we frequently rely on timing and good luck in the advancement of our careers
The introspective freelancer is acutely aware of this and may give it far greater weight than it deserves, ignoring their hard work and natural talent. - The typical resume of a freelancer may look impressive but we know its elements often only came together at the last moment and despite severe provocations
Looking it over we may feel it is a fraudulent document as it only lists our successes—and not our many, many failures. - Freelancers scramble for work every day
This constant battle to keep afloat can imprint itself so deeply that even when finally successful the impulse is to keep scrambling. Such feelings of perpetual career instability (real or imagined) hardly feels like the stuff worthy of praise or accolades. - Each freelancer has a career arc uniquely their own, which often appears to break all the established rules of conventional employment
It may feel like a house of cards ready to fall at any time.
How can we alleviate it?
- Learn to genuinely and humbly accept who we are and what we do
- Accept that what we do can be good and valuable and appreciated
- Understand that feelings of unworthiness are irrational and unsupported by facts but that almost everyone has them now and then
- When confronted with acclamation and praise, we must learn to accept them with the same internal calmness and resoluteness with which we must also accept criticism and rejection. We should not take either too seriously
- We must separate ourselves from our work just enough so that our self-esteem and self-confidence are not constantly fluctuating with the success or rejection of our work. Family and friends are our most important sources of support
- We must truly believe that feeling like an imposter is ridiculous and absurd (unless you really are an imposter!)
My worst experience of “imposter syndrome”
I was, once upon a time, working for a popular television outlet albeit as a lowly junior freelance writer. I heard that there was to be a big party to launch a brand new show with a young rising star. More importantly there would be lots of free food and drinks. Trust me, to a young struggling freelancer, it was the availability of free food and drinks that made me decide to attend.
So I went along to a fancy hotel ballroom and was granted admission. As I surveyed the crowded room I was immediately panicked. Everyone seemed at ease and comfortably chatting, laughing and boasting loudly about their work. I didn’t know anyone and I felt a complete fraud. What right did I have to be there?
It was, looking back on it, my worst experience in which I felt the extreme depths of depression and despair caused by “imposter syndrome.”
That is, until I spotted a nervous-looking woman standing all by herself near the food table. A kindred soul? I hesitatingly started up a conversation and much to my relief she seemed happy to chat. We quickly agreed it was an awful party, that neither of us knew anyone, that everyone else seemed to be happy and confident and that we both felt like fakes and imposters.
It felt wonderful to know I wasn’t the only one there who felt out of their depth and like a complete fraud. Belatedly I asked her name and what she did.
She looked at me quizzically and then smiled.
It turned out…the party was for her and her new show. She was, in fact, the “young rising star” who was to go on to much critical acclaim and success.
But all that was in her future. At that exact moment, she Inexplicably felt the same way I did.
The takeaway
Looking back, all these years later, I realize probably almost everybody at that party felt like a fraud. It’s just that they were better at hiding it and pretending they didn’t feel it. Perhaps that is another way to combat it.
As for me, I felt unexpectedly empowered that day. If a “young rising star” could feel the same way I did, then somehow I instinctively realized “imposter syndrome” (as we now call it) was something so irrational, so absurd and so ridiculous I could no longer allow it to have any sway over me.
To this day, if I ever catch myself starting to feel like an imposter at any time under any circumstances I just remember that party and the perspective it ultimately gave me. The feeling soon subsides.
If you too occasionally feel it, I hope you now know you are not alone. And that it can be overcome and/or successfully managed.
Although not an officially recognized psychiatric disorder, “imposter syndrome” can also become debilitating for some sufferers. Should you find it continuously undermining your work—or any other aspects of your life—you may want to seek professional counselling.
What about you? Ever felt like an imposter, professionally? Why? What did you do to alleviate your feelings? Let us know using the comments feature below.
What does AI development mean for journalists?
This article on AI and what it means for journalists is written by Becky Zimmer, a freelance writer based in Humboldt, Saskatchewan with experience in farm, community, small business and sports reporting.
“As I watched the AI program furiously typing away on my computer screen, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the future of writing. The once tedious task of crafting an essay had been handed over to a machine, and as I read the words appearing on my screen, I couldn’t believe how eloquently the AI was able to convey its thoughts. But as the program continued to write, I began to question the authenticity of its words, and I found myself facing a moral dilemma that I never thought possible.”
The “moral dilemma” described above is one I have been struggling with lately.
Not because of the self-congratulatory praise the artificial intelligence gives itself, the AI’s definition of writing as a “tedious task,” or the speed of which my ChatGPT inquiry: “Write a hook paragraph to a story about an AI program writing an essay,” was answered.
Despite a lot of positive assessments of AI authorship, what else does this new technology imply?
Artificial intelligence is popping up more and more in the news and on social media feeds as people use it in photo composition, political commentary, and what appears to be either wishful thinking or potential propaganda generation.
I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to be a writer. Maybe those were lofty ambitions at the age of four but it has stuck with me, my laptop background a sea of inspirational messages and illustrations that encourage me to keep pursuing the decades old passion.
However, just because there is an AI generating program willing to put the words down for me doesn’t negate the importance of human writers and reporters. As Brierly said, “there’s no reason why you should stop.”
“If we want a very accurate capture of a person, we’ll use a camera, but if we want to capture the person’s personality, interpreted by a gifted artist for whatever the qualities we look for in that portrait, we might turn to a portrait painter and say, I would really like you to paint me a portrait of this individual.”
We have embraced and debated other beneficial technologies throughout the centuries, going all the way back from the printing press to the calculator, said Brierly, and now tools steeped in AI are part of that discussion. I didn’t bat an eye when I signed up for Otter.ai, a transcription program that had me sold in a matter of 10 minutes after it completely transcribed three 45-minute interviews. Writers, academics, and editors have been constantly singing the praises and failures of the spellcheck features of word processors for decades. And these examples don’t even touch on the ways AI tools have made digital communication easier for people with disabilities.
Are my interview transcriptions perfect? No. Has spellcheck found every mistake and perfectly suggested every change to correct them? No. But both have still saved me energy and countless hours in front of my computer.
New technological advances have always meant a shift in conversation, but why has that discussion changed now that the AI is holding the pen and forming the paragraphs? Because it does challenge the way we are currently doing things, said Brierly.
“How important is it that we sit down and manually write a cover letter? Is it more important that we can read a cover letter and know whether it’s a worthwhile cover letter or not?”
Therein lies the difference, said Brierly. It is a poor workman that blames his tools as the old saying goes, and the work of the AI generation cannot go unchecked.
“Do we know that that cover letter is doing a good job of representing us? It doesn’t really matter how it was generated, what matters: is this good content? Is it content worth sharing, and content that you will stand by?”
While it may save us time in writing that first draft, whether that be for a new Facebook post, informational blog article, or news feature, there still needs to be careful checking and putting our own touch on it.
Even as just a consumer of news, Brierly understands the journalistic difficulties of staying ahead of the tweets, social media posting, and misinformation of the digital news age. If a journalist can introduce a tool that will help them generate content and quickly verify it before clicking send, they’re in a good place, he said.
Becky Zimmer grew up on a farm on the Saskatchewan prairies. From the age of four, Becky remembers wanting to do nothing else but reading and writing. Now as a journalist, Becky enjoys photography, volunteering, covering local events in the rural community not far from where she grew up, and writing about writing. Becky has covered agriculture for the last eight years, but has also written about municipal politics and was a news editor before concentrating on a freelance career. Becky has written about provincial and national government policy changes, mental health, international commodity markets, and agricultural innovations, as well as local sports, civic politics, and town councils. She has traveled extensively throughout Canada and took her first trip to Europe in the summer of 2022.
As a freelancer, she is always looking for new opportunities to work behind the scenes within the writing community and wants to continue traveling the world with her laptop and camera, doing nothing else but exploring and writing about the world. She has been published in The Globe and Mail, Prairies North Magazine, GrainsWest, CBC Saskatchewan, Pattison Media, and Glacier Farm Media but is always open to new opportunities, whether in the news or corporate communications and PR worlds.
Why Should Freelancers Have a Blog?
by Robyn Roste
Should freelancers have a blog? Is there any value in blogging these days? These are the questions. We’ve all heard we should blog, but there isn’t a lot of talk about why we should or what we should blog about.
Since revamping my blog a year ago I’ve had a lot of discussions with other freelancers about the merits of blogging. Here are a few reasons people say you shouldn’t bother with a blog.
1. Blogging isn’t well regarded
True, it’s not. The term “blogger” doesn’t inspire thoughts of professionalism and prestige. And if all you do is blog then it doesn’t mean much. But what if a blog was a piece of your well-crafted strategy? Just a thought.
2. Nobody reads blogs anymore
No, they don’t. At least not like they used to. Sure, some sites have a tribe of loyal readers who can’t wait for the next post, but the landscape of blogging has changed and getting eyeballs on the page takes a different skillset. You have to provide value, cover topics people want to learn about, and present articles in a binge-worthy way.
3. Blogging is a waste of time
Read the rest of this post »
The Born Freelancer On Filing Self-Employed Taxes
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? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Death…and taxes.
Both are said to be inevitable but only one requires you to file an update every year.
Well, so far as we know.
Tips on filing self-employed taxes
I’ve been filing my own self-employed business taxes all of my working freelance life. With the tax season rapidly approaching I thought I’d offer you a few of my personal favourite tips and associated thoughts on filing your taxes as a self-employed professional freelancer. I hope they will be of particular interest if you are new to the whole process and might act as an introductory springboard from which you will further investigate how best to prepare your own taxes.
Read the CRA’s business and professional income guide
A good place to start!
You can download it from the CRA website or read it online or even phone them to get the CRA to mail a hard copy to you for free. This is their complete guide for filing business income tax and it contains most—if not all—answers to your questions about filling out the requisite business income forms (which you can also find the same way).
Its information is very densely packed and sometimes very technically worded so don’t be intimidated by it. Read and reread it slowly at first, section by section and take frequent breaks as you do so! You will eventually be able to make some kind of sense out of it…hopefully.
Call the CRA with questions
On the other hand, sometimes the tax guide and the business income forms they ask you to fill out seem so densely worded they cause the words to fly around the room as you go cross-eyed. What do they mean? What am I supposed to do? How can I possibly be expected to understand this foreign language?
Often a phone call to the CRA can straighten out any basic misunderstanding of their tax forms or tax guide. Make sure to call a business inquiry line (listed on their website).
Be prepared for frequently long waits on hold (especially as tax time approaches) but eventually you will get the answers you need from a helpful agent, completely free of charge.
Hard to beat the price.
File on time
This seems so obvious but sometimes it is the obvious that is most easily overlooked. You can always correct or amend a submission but if you fail to file on time—and owe them money—you may be subject to fines that you could have so simply avoided.
Also, filing on time means being potentially eligible for various tax breaks and refunds for, which you would not qualify otherwise.
We self-employed freelancers don’t have to file until June 15th here in Canada, but I always file at the end of April like everyone else. Most HST/GST reports are due then as well so it makes sense to me to get it all done and sent off together.
Get an HST/GST business number
This is a very useful thing for the working self-employed freelancer to have. (If your annual income is under $30,000 it is optional. Above that amount it is a legal requirement. See the CRA website for up-to-date details).
Come tax time it can help you get another refund (if you qualify). It also helps characterize you as a professional as you will charge your clients HST/GST and have the necessary business ID number with which to do so.
If you don’t have one you should look into it even if you don’t yet legally require it. Registration will cost you nothing. The only downside is a bit of extra paperwork.
Filing/keeping receipts
This is vital for any working freelancer filing business income tax. Any expenses directly related to making an income are potentially deductible but receipts must be scrupulously kept.
I find it best to ask for a receipt for everything I buy. When I get home I can discern if it has any business application and is therefore potentially deductible, either wholly or in part. Then all usable receipts must be categorized and carefully sorted, ready to incorporate into your annual tax filing.
All receipts must be kept at least seven years in case the CRA wants to audit you. A durable method of keeping your receipts safe and organized must be created (such as obtaining a filing cabinet or plastic storage “tubs” etc.). It too should be deductible. Digital or digitized receipts should be securely backed up.
Segregate the work area in your home
One of the most useful tax deductions for the working freelancer is, in part, a result of work space in the home being dedicated entirely to operating your business.
An example: If you have a room in which you do all your writing and it occupies a tenth of your entire home floor space, you could potentially be able to deduct 10% of certain “home as business” expenses.
See the CRA business income tax guide for details.
There are different ways to calculate this but the designated space must be used for work only. You can’t claim the space occupied by the kitchen table even if you do use it to write on (after breakfast).
And anyway, having a dedicated work space should only improve your work and increase your productivity as you will face fewer distractions.
Well, that’s the theory.
Join a professional organization
Joining a professional organization like the Canadian Freelance Guild has numerous advantages (including more in-depth tax guidance, see CFG membership details). It may also help to further recognize and designate you as a genuine working freelancer and not just as a “hobby” freelancer.
The CRA frowns upon the latter and may disallow certain self-employed tax advantages if they feel you are not genuinely trying to make a living in your freelancing capacity.
Membership in such a relevant professional guild or organization should also be tax deductible.
Consider incorporating
There are numerous advantages to this if you are making enough to warrant the expense of filing incorporation papers. It’s also useful in the event you are working with partners as it legally binds you together. It can reduce your taxes and offer you protection from creditors amongst other advantages.
Whether you need to do it or not is best advised by a professional accountant.
Very few freelancers I know have incorporated. Those few exceptions that did are in partnerships doing extremely well, financially speaking.
Get an accountant
Does it all seem too much? Would you rather drill holes in your eyes with a rusty spoon than look at another income tax form? Perhaps you should consider getting a professional accountant who specializes in our unique tax status to file your taxes. (CFG members should contact the CFG for more specific advice.)
Something like half of the working freelancers I know use one. They will give you solid expert advice and relieve you of the headache of actually filing your taxes.
You will, however, still be responsible for keeping all your receipts and supplying your accountant with all the paperwork they will need in order to do the onerous work on your behalf.
It will cost you for their expertise but, since you are employing their services in aid of your work life, you should be able to deduct their fees.
Alternatively, going to a commercial tax filing franchise or free public pop-up tax clinic might or might not prove helpful. Most of these services are not necessarily trained to specialize in our specific self-employed tax problems. If you go to one, ask first before you commit to them helping you.
The takeaway
Filing your annual taxes is just another aspect of being a professional working freelancer.
It might not be the most glamorous part of our careers but it is one of the most important. It must be taken seriously and treated with the utmost care and attention. The real secret is to be as prepared and organized as possible and to leave yourself plenty of time in which to do the required calculations without panicking.
Unlike conventional nine-to-fivers we are favoured with many tax advantages they do not get.
The most obvious is our ability to deduct certain expenses that can be proven to be necessary in order to conduct our business and make an income.
I would like to add a final word of caution not to abuse this aspect of our tax circumstances. Reject any well-meaning but ill-founded suggestions to be more aggressively indiscriminate in your choice of expenses to deduct. Include only those deductions you feel 100% confident are legitimate and would withstand the scrutiny of any possible future CRA audit.
Not only will you be doing the right thing (legally) but you will be able to sleep better at night too.
Priceless beyond any deduction.
What tax tips do you favour? Have you had any memorable experiences filing your self-employed taxes? Please share them with us using the comments feature below.
4 Tips for Setting Corporate Writing Rates for Freelancers
Have you ever wondered how to break into the world of corporate writing? Sheila Pinder reviews our latest Canadian Freelance Guild webinar series on The Business of Freelancing and answers this exact qusetion.
We’ve heard the rumours and we want in. We want to enjoy higher pay for our work and be treated with the same level of respect that we show to our clients. We want to know just how much corporate work can pay, and whether the rumours are true.
Can you make more money from freelance writing for corporate clients?
We asked these questions of our CFG Expert Panel on Corporate Work: What’s out there and how to find it (you can find the full discussion on the Webinars page of our CFG website).
Our corporate experts
- Trudy Kelly Forsythe—More than 30 years of freelance experience that includes working with her communications company to serve The University of New Brunswick and the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, among several others
- Jaclyn Law—Began her writing and editing career at Chatelaine and Abilities, then freelanced for 15 years, working with corporate, institutional, non-profit, and media clients on print and digital projects. She is currently the managing editor of MoneySense
- Paul McLaughlin—Over four decades of freelance experience, including 15 years as communications consultant for Canada’s leading forensic accounting firm, where he wrote and edited a bi-monthly publication, Report on Fraud
- donalee Moulton—Professional journalist and corporate communicator for more than 25 years; she is the owner of a communications company whose clients include the World Health Organization, Environment Canada, and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Here’s what our experts told us
- Corporate rates for freelancers are market—and experience—dependent. Rates can range from $50 to $200 per hour. Whatever you’re offered, our experts advise that you not be afraid to ask for more
- Magazine rates for freelance copy editing typically run between $35 and $45 per hour. This same work for a corporate client will pay more. If you’re working for a sole proprietor, you can expect to earn approximately $65 per hour, while a medium-sized business might pay closer to $75 per hour. Rates will be higher if your services include more than copy editing. In the latter case, rates can range from $50 to $85 per hour. If you are also expected to provide some strategic planning support, for example, this will add to the rate you set
- Our experts advise that many freelancers start out by quoting a flat rate per project. If you’re working on an editing project for example, consider the number of words (and pages) that you’re being asked to read. Think about how quickly you can complete the work. Ensure that your hourly rate and subsequent flat rate are realistic and competitive. You may want to switch from a flat rate to an hourly rate after providing an agreed-upon number of drafts. Be sure to include these details in your contract terms
- Track your time. This will help you to set appropriate rates for the next assignment. Remember that there is a difference between billable and non-billable work and that both are necessary. There is always another email to send, marketing to do, and invoicing to take care of. Many corporate communicators work on retainer for their regular clients. They calculate the number of hours they are prepared to set aside for their client each week or each month and set a flat fee to cover that amount of time
Ultimately, the rumours are true. Corporate work is both lucrative and satisfying. The trick is to ask for enough money to allow you to enjoy the work you do.
The Born Freelancer on the Five Phases of Freelancing
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? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
The Five Phases of Freelancing
In this post I thought it might prove useful to look at the multiple phases of freelancing and what one might realistically expect from each.
I’ve arbitrarily designated five distinct phases but you could infinitely subdivide that number to achieve greater specificity. By necessity I will present generalizations and composites of each career phase. I’ve described them in terms of occurring in order from youth to maturity but each phase could begin or end at any time.
Phase One: The Wannabe Years
They bring a wry smile to my now slightly world-weary face. They’re full of frustration and yearning to just get into the business! At times such a leap seems impossible. Doors are firmly closed, and you are repeatedly told to come back only when you have experience—but how can you get experience if nobody will let you get it?
In reality, this is a wonderful time in which to study, to learn, to play around with your skill sets and develop as wide a range of interests as possible. There are no deadlines to meet, no editors to placate, no bank accounts to keep filled. Your only limitations are your imagination and your willingness to learn.
At this point you may not even contemplate freelancing as a lifestyle (although many of us, already prejudiced against a more conventional choice of careers, did so at an early age). You may view it merely as a method of getting a foot in the back door of your chosen profession (such as writing or broadcasting).
Phase Two: The Rookie Years
These years combine the “best” and the “worst” aspects of freelancing.
First, the best. It is exciting! You will never forget the hustling, the endless interviews, auditions, spec submissions and resume-padding. If lucky you may find a helpful mentor. Your first real freelancing job will forever burn brightly in your memory as the crossing-through-the-looking-glass moment from Wannabe to Rookie that you’d always dreamed about. Oh sure, it may be negligible (in truth) but it will be a triumphant occasion for most.
And now, the worst. Progress will be unsteady. You’ll get one freelancing gig and then weeks or months may go by before another turns up. (Better get used to it!) You may have self-doubts and your mental health may take a beating. Some may decide that taking up dentistry wasn’t such a bad idea after all (like their parents said). Others will double down—having once inhaled the sweet smell of success—and will forever be hooked.
A few clients may take advantage of your need to get experience and will give you the worst jobs at the worst pay. The trick is not to be so proud that you refuse them but to do it all with an integrity and budding-professionalism that will get you noticed. You will eventually begin to get more work, more recognition and (we hope) more money. (Of course, if money is your primary goal, you will quickly learn that there are better ways of making it.)
Phase Three: The Journeyman Years
(The term “Journeyman” is used here in a non-gender-specific way.)
In this phase, you will find freelancing work on a regular basis but it won’t always be the exact thing you want to do. And when you do get it you won’t know for sure when the next freelancing job will come along. (It’s sort of like that old joke, it’s lousy food and such small portions too!) Many will need to supplement their freelancing with regular or temporary part-time work.
Your reputation will grow and employers will get to know you are trustworthy and reliable. You will no longer choose to work “on spec.” You will continue to promote yourself using whatever platforms you find appropriate. You will continue to upgrade your skill sets whenever the opportunity arises. You will join professional guilds and learn how to negotiate successfully and also how to turn down unfair clients.
This is usually the point of no return: Do you continue freelancing or do you go part-time or even give it up? You may get offers to jump to a more conventional but related nine to five job such as PR. Many will jump. It’s not easy to live with the ups and downs of a freelancing income especially if by now you have a family and other commitments.
Those who persevere and carry on freelancing may do so for longer than they expect during this phase.
Phase Four: The Silver and/or Golden Years
The dream is that eventually you will gain full control over what you do and when and where you do it. In reality, all freelancers know that most of their career will be decided by a combination of good luck, rigorous networking and hard work.
A chosen few will enter their Golden Years. You will have control, your reputation or brand of choice will become well known and secure, and continuous work will allow your income to be stable and enable a comfortable if not spectacular life. You will save like crazy for the “rainy days” that are sure to come…one day.
Most who enter this phase will have found fufilment and a real sense of connection with their work. Freelancing will provide not just an income but the very type of lifestyle, free from the constraints of a nine to five job, that will define and characterize who you are and how you wish to live.
A slightly diluted version of this may be deemed The Silver Years in which everything is as it is for those experiencing The Golden Years but there will always be less of it and more constant scrambling and hustling. These are the years most of us will encounter and find no less enjoyable or worthwhile.
The worst aspect of this phase is that you will never really appreciate you are in it until it ends.
Phase Five: The Emeritus Years
It’s hard to say when this phase will begin.
It is easier to say it will begin when you least expect it.
You’ll be going along, working, networking, happily complaining and then one day…the work requests and the returned phone calls, one by one, will stop.
Hopefully you have saved up enough to cushion the blow.
Your regular clients may be retiring or moving on (often becoming freelance consultants themselves). The venues you worked on may be sold or changed and new owners may not perceive your continuing value.
Younger, less expensive, less experienced freelancers will now be competing for your gigs—and often successfully too.
And so you now need to reposition your brand to take advantage of your experience and promote it as a positive—and not a negative.
If you are so inclined you may also choose to teach or at least to mentor a rookie or two, giving back some of that which you have gained.
See my earlier posts on Ageism and on Teaching for more ideas.
I’m not sure the true freelancer ever actually fully retires. There always remains (to some degree or another) the hope of one more assignment, one more kick at the can, one more chance to share what we’ve learned in a lifetime of learning and sharing.
The Takeaway
This may have read like a rather negative assessment of freelancing—when in reality it is the ideal choice of career and lifestyle for many of us. If I had to do it all over again, I would choose freelancing again without hesitation. But there is nothing wrong with doing so with eyes wide open, and making yourself aware of the pitfalls and shortcomings (past, present and future) as well as the more obvious advantages and benefits. That has been the purpose of this post.
Freelancing requires a certain toughness and duality of mind. You can dream dreams and make them come true but you also must live with your feet firmly on the ground and be well versed in the necessary life skill sets in order to survive let alone thrive. Most folk lean heavily towards only one of these seemingly contradictory paradigms. It is the rare individual who can successfully embrace both with equal ease and ability. They are a breed apart.
They are called freelancers.
Build your freelance business with these five easy social media tweaks
by Robyn Roste
In October 2010 I joined Twitter. I had heard it was a good place to get freelance work so I put up a profile, followed a few people and tweeted when the mood struck. In general this was while I watched sports or when something interesting happened.
While I was having a great time, I wasn’t getting any work and wondered what I was doing wrong. So I took a social media course for freelancers. The strategies weren’t rocket science but they were a fundamental mindset shift, which took me some time to wrap my head around. As I implemented the tactics, much to my amazement, I began getting freelance work. It changed my entire freelance business and social media is now an integral part of my marketing strategy.
Freelancers emerging from longstanding in-house corporate gigs, or who are new to the freelance world, may be blinking in the bright lights of social media wondering how on earth they’re meant to use this tool to connect with potential clients or employers. I get it. How does posting photos on Instagram result in paying clients? How does linking an article on Facebook grab potential employers’ attention and encourage them to reach out? On the surface it makes no sense.
The digital landscape is confusing and overwhelming to say the least. When I got into social media marketing there were three networks with straightforward strategies. Today, there are many more platforms and the rules seem to be ever-changing. Tactics that worked a few years ago don’t seem as effective anymore. So what is a freelancer to do?
Read the rest of this post »
