Yellow Pages Canada offering content mill rates for app writing work
CMG Freelance is advising freelance writers across Canada not to accept work from Yellow Pages that pays in the range of 6 to 9 cents per word. Story Board has heard from several highly experienced writers who were approached by Yellow Pages Canada last week with an offer to write “Smart Lists” for Yellow Pages’ […]
Levelling Up as a Freelancer (or How to Spot a Turkey)
How to quickly evaluate every freelance opportunity by Miranda Miller Do you know when to turn down a contract? Wait. Turn down? What?! If the very thought of turning down work seems outrageous and counterproductive, you need to read on.
Writer Scott Carney launches WordRates & PitchLab Kickstarter
by Rachel Sanders Scott Carney figures he’s beaten the odds and come out the other side: he’s become a successful freelance writer. What was his first clue? Everyone kept asking for his advice. “I get emails and phone calls and letters from writers around the country all the time asking for advice on how to negotiate contracts or how […]
The Cost of Saying Yes to Every Gig
How turning down projects can help you build your freelance writing business. by Miranda Miller Opportunity cost dictates that even when you make the best choice possible, you lose out on the benefits of the next best option. We see this constantly as we move through life, in everything from grocery shopping to deciding […]
Toronto freelancer goes the distance to pursue non-paying client
Most freelancers have had to deal with it at some point in their careers – a client who is slow to process invoices, or, worse, one that’s deliberately avoiding paying their contractors. Chasing down a paycheque can be frustrating, humiliating and damaging to your productivity. Sometimes it seems easier to just give up on that […]
Freelancer Stephen Leahy on crowdfunding his environmental journalism
by Rachel Sanders Stephen Leahy was at a conservation conference in Mexico five years ago when the dire state of freelance journalism became clear to him. After the event, he spoke with several other freelancers, all of whom had received travel awards to attend the event. Most of them had not been able to sell a single story […]
Money in the bank: tips for freelance accounting
by Hannah Hoag Not long ago, one of my regular clients had some hiccups with their accounting procedures. Every month or so, I’d have to contact the department to inquire about a payment and track down the source of the problem. Sometimes the payment had never been processed. Other times the cheque had been lost […]
Pay Me Please helps freelancers get what they’re owed
There’s nothing quite as frustrating to a freelancer as having to chase a publisher down for unpaid invoices. Story Board has reported on late-paying Canadian publishers a couple of times over the past few months. In both cases, freelancers were angry enough to go public with their complaints. Last fall, a similarly frustrated freelance journalist started […]
Warning to freelancers: The Revelation Magazine
Freelance writers, photographers and web developers are advised that a Toronto-based startup magazine is behind on payments to its contributors. The Revelation Magazine, an online publication that bills itself as a “non-denomination Christian lifestyle magazine,” published one issue in December before suspending publication in mid-January. More than two dozen freelancers — writers, photographers and graphic […]
What to charge for your writing
by Rachel Sanders When you’re offered a juicy writing assignment, sometimes the fee seems less important than the experience, the enjoyment, or the byline you’re expecting to get out of it. But as you move along in your writing career, it’s important to consider what your time is worth. If you want to freelance full-time, […]
