www.inkthinkerblog.com — Important disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. When in doubt, always consult an intellectual property or copyright lawyer for help with your contract questions.
This week I officially accepted an assignment for a publication that I’ve never worked with before. They’re new on the scene but very hip and beautifully designed, so I knew when they offered me the gig, I would accept it.
But then I took a look at the contract. There was nothing wrong with it per se, but there were parts I didn’t understand and things that I just knew were supposed to be there that weren’t (from the writer’s standpoint, anyway). So rather than grudgingly signing on the dotted line, I asked for clarification. And once I got clarification, I requested several very specific changes including the language I wanted to see.
It was all I could do NOT to include the phrase, “I understand if this is too much trouble and you’d rather just pass on this one,” but I’m glad I fought the [coughcough self-defeating coughcough] urge. The response? “No problem, I’ll send a new copy right over with all of those changes.” And they did!
What’s the moral of the story? Well, there are a couple:
- Don’t sign a contract you’re not comfortable with.
- If you’re confused or unsure about something, get clarification.
- Be assertive and confident in asking for what you want when it comes to changes.
- Don’t apologize for protecting your interests; it’s part of the job.
- Say thank you when you get what you want.
Do you have any stories of successful (or unsuccessful) contract negotiation? Leave a comment and tell us about it!
More on contracts from Inkthinker:
Tags: tips, negotiations, freelance contracts, advice
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
www.inkthinkerblog.com — Michael Stelzner announced the results of this year’s Top 10 Blogs for Writers competition!
- Copyblogger, by Brian Clark
- Freelance Writing Jobs, by Deborah Ng
- The Renegade Writer, by Linda Formichelli and Dianna Burell
- Web Content Writer Tips, by James Chartrand and Harrison McLeod
- Web Writing Info, by Courtney Ramirez
- The Golden Pencil, by Anne Wayman
- Catalystblogger, by Jennifer Williamson
- Freelance Parent, by Lorna Doone Brewer and Tamara Berry:
- Write from Home, by Amy Derby
- Copywriter Underground, by Tom Chandler
I can’t say I’m not a little jealous that I didn’t make the list this year, but I’m so excited about the new faces I’ve discovered! I hope you are, too. If your favorite isn’t on the list, leave a comment with the link so we can enjoy your treasure!
Tags: top 10 blogs for writers, freelance writers, advice, recommended reading, blogging
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
www.inkthinkerblog.com — Over at Freelance Writing Jobs, Deb has two great posts on how to stay focused despite distractions, and how to do away with some distractions entirely.
In “Increase Productivity by Decreasing Distractions,” she links to good old Chris Garrett and offers some great advice of her own:
- Designate specific e-mail time and don’t deal with e-mails at any other time during the day.
- Set aside specific time for research and catching up on reading (newspapers, blogs, etc).
- Limit nonessential activities that aren’t helping your goals.
In “How to Keep a Bad Day for Becoming a Distraction,” Deb shares her advice for keeping your mind on the tasks at hand despite personal issues that might be weighing on you:
- Take yourself out of the distraction with another distraction.
- Resolve the issue if you can; resolve to resolve it later if you can’t.
- Write it out (privately rather than on your blog might be smarter, FYI).
- Talk it out with a pal.
How to you stay on task when your mind is anywhere but on your work?
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
www.inkthinkerblog.com — I need to find some way to get Chris Garrett to pay me every time I link to his blog, because I would be making a full-time living from it. He is just so good at what he does — and more important to me, good at what I do, which makes me better at it!
Take today’s post, for instance, which offers 10 things to blog about or ways to get ideas when the well is dry. It’s the beginning of what looks to be a series on generating blog post ideas. Here’s the quick summary, but go read the whole thing so you can get all of Chris’ wisdom on the topic:
- Vary your type of post (eg, list post, Q&A post, etc)
- Seek inspiration in magazines and newspapers
- Springboard off of other bloggers’ posts
- Cull your archives for ideas
- Talk about your “joys and frustrations”
- Answer a reader question (check the comments if you think you don’t have any)
- Imagine a specific audience member to write to
- Talk to a real audience member, not imagined
- Think of another topic area to write in
- Get back to basics and write a primer on your topic
This is the in-my-own-words version, so like I said, read the original post.
Are you doing any of these things? Leave a comment and tell us which.
Tags: blogging tips, blog ideas, chris garrett
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
www.inkthinkerblog.com — Every year, Devon Ellington leads her readers in an exercise to identify goals, dreams, and resolutions. And every year I mean to participate and then don’t! But if there’s one thing I learned in 2007, it’s that you can’t reach your goals if you don’t know what they are. Trying to do so is like setting sail without a compass. Or something.
And many of my freelance colleagues are compass-less. You don’t have to schedule out every single minute of every single day, but it helps to have daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. Start with the big ones and work backwards. For instance, my goal might be to make $95K as a freelancer next year. A great goal! But if I don’t break that down into the steps I need to take to get there, I might as well not have a goal at all. I need to know how much I need to earn every day, week, and month so I can stay on track with achieving my goal.
Another goal might be “to improve my freelance business.” That’s all well and good, but if I don’t qualify and quantify what that means, how will I know I have succeed? How do I measure “improvement”?
In the past, Devon’s GDRs have been more list oriented (see GDR for 2007), but this year they’re paragraphy, perfect for those writers who love to wax eloquent. I think both versions are worth checking out. Whether you share your responses publicly or just keep them to yourself, do complete this exercise. I think you’ll find that thinking about your goals and formalizing them makes a huge difference in your success rate.
Do you have some goals in mind already? Leave a comment and tell us what they are!
Tags: freelance writing, goal setting
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
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