contracts

A Count-Your-Blessings Post

Met these characters in King's Landing, New Brunswick
Met these characters in King’s Landing, New Brunswick

Inspired by writer Laura Best’s recent post, I’m going to answer the question she ended with: Has anything small made your day recently?

I don’t know if the events of last week count as small (I thought they were a pretty big deal), but they certainly made my day–and my week!

Two weeks ago I agreed to do some work for a new client. I was very excited about this new company, which had contacted me out of the blue and promised work soon. The project was confirmed two Thursdays ago and required interviews with three different people, but I didn’t start getting the contact information and article topics until last this past Monday. I got the last person’s contact on Tuesday, so the soonest I could do the interview was Wednesday. The articles were due on Friday. I got a note from the marketing person on Wednesday saying that she’d talked to her boss, and because she’d got the information to me a bit late, and because she was taking an extra long holiday weekend, that they were giving me an extension to this Thursday. They didn’t want to rush the project. Okay. I’ve been freelancing for a long time now, and I’ve never, ever, had a client do that. Needless to say I really want to make this client happy, and hope that they will send more work my way.

Last week my application was due for an e-writer-in-residence position with a nearby library. The application package included two reference letters. I asked my local teen librarian and a teacher, whom I’ve known for many years and whose school I had visited several times, to write letters for me. Thinking of what they wrote, still makes me blush, but reading those letters definitely made my day.

I was also offered a writing gig for a current client. I love working with this client, but his company’s contracts never include the 13% HST (sales tax) that I have to send to Canada Revenue on the freelance work that I do. The last few times, I have deducted the tax from my fee, but this time, the fee was such that I’d be losing an amount that would represent quite a few hours of hard work being done, basically, for free. The client and I had a great phone call about the project (he’s very creative and supportive) and he said he’d take care of my contract concerns–no problem. Such a relief! The new contract was in my inbox within a couple of hours.

It has definitely been a special week. I hope that you find moments in the weeks to come that “make your day,” too.

 

Friday Wrap-Up (on Saturday)

BlossomsClearly it’s been one of those weeks. I seemed to have been playing catch up every day. I’m hoping that the weekend is just what I need to get organized for the projects ahead with some time, too, for family and a little work on one of my ongoing fiction projects.

One of the toughest things this week was negotiating a price for a large project with a local editor. It worked out well, but it was stressful, nonetheless. I said ‘no’ to the first price and the second, and then he called and a third price was chosen that I was happy with. I never expected the phone call after the second ‘no thanks,’ but it was a real morale boost when it happened. My work was valued, and he was willing to pay a price I was happy with to keep my skills in his writers’ stable.

That’s the mystery of freelancing. You never really know whether what you have done has made an impression on the person who has commissioned your work, or whether it’s just another project they can tick off on their list and move on. Have you been contacted because you’re at the bottom of their writers’ list (and everyone ahead of you can’t take the job,) or are you the first person contacted because the editor thinks you are the best match s/he knows for the project? Um, did I mention that a bit of insecurity comes with being a freelancer?

I also believe that work attracts work. As soon as I committed to this large project, I got a call about another job for someone I worked with last year. It was a much shorter project, but still, it’s a cheque, and it was a fun creative piece that I enjoyed working on. I’ll find out how his client liked it next week.

So the weekend will be spent with my calendar, blocking out work times for the several things I’m juggling over the next few weeks, including freelancing, wrestling with the new intranet program at the college to set up my fall courses, prepping said courses, and, I hope, carving out time for the fun, creative writing that’s just for me. I love calendars, and coloured markers, and getting organized. I know I’ll feel a lot better going into Monday, once I get it done.

How do you organize your writing, work time, and family time to make sure that there is room for all in your life? Love to hear some tips on the balancing act.

 

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