These are the slides for my talk at the National Press Club bootcamp on freelance journalism success, in June 2014. You can view the talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK_7aqEUNzk&index=4&list=UUCzZgBJNene1BKBCBiHoXNA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5SyGptQki8&list=UUCzZgBJNene1BKBCBiHoXNA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wMkVBltNYs&index=2&list=UUCzZgBJNene1BKBCBiHoXNA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOrqAFZRHQQ&list=UUCzZgBJNene1BKBCBiHoXNA&index=1

1. 6/13/14
1
Is
Freelancing
Right
for
You?
Prepared
for
the
Na2onal
Press
Club
Journalism
Ins2tute
Who
am
I?
• Katherine
Reynolds
Lewis
• 20
years
of
journalism
experience
• Was
on
staff
of
Bond
Buyer,
Bloomberg,
Newhouse
• Full-­‐2me
independent
journalist
Nov
2008-­‐present
• Steady
wri2ng
clients:
About.com,
Federal
Computer
Week,
Fortune,
USA
Today's
magazine
group,
Working
Mother
• Other
freelance
bylines
in
Bankrate.com,
Bloomberg
Businessweek,
Consumer
Digest,
Money,
Msn.com,
New
York
Times,
Parade,
Slate,
Washington
Post
• Edit
and
ghostwrite
for
nonprofits,
small
businesses
Who
are
you?
• Employment
status?
(Full-­‐2me
employed
–
part-­‐2me
employed
–
looking
for
work)
• Freelance
experience?
(Freelanced
in
past
–
Freelancing
now)
• Freelance
hopes?
(Part-­‐2me
/
on
the
side
–
goal
to
freelance
full
2me)
Secret
to
Freelance
Success
Clarity
• Understand
why
you're
taking
on
any
given
project
or
client
• Pay
-­‐
Pres2ge
-­‐
Personal
fulfillment
• Keep
that
mo2ve
in
forefront
of
your
mind
• It’s
business,
not
personal

2. 6/13/14
2
Common
Questions
• How
to
find
clients?
• How
much
to
charge?
• How
to
protect
yourself?
The
Anchor
Client
• Wri2ng
a
newslecer
or
column.
• Part-­‐2me
edi2ng
or
produc2on
work.
• Part-­‐2me
non-­‐journalism
work
(recep2onist,
security
guard,
bartender).
• A
regular
blogging
gig.
• Contribu2ng
editor
posi2on
or
wri2ng
contract
that
guarantees
a
certain
monthly
income.
• A
book
contract
with
a
generous
advance.
• To
get
you
started:
a
spouse
with
a
steady
job,
a
severance
package
or
a
savings
cushion.
• A
grant,
fellowship
or
Kickstarter
campaign.
Setting
Your
Rate
• Calculate
and
s2ck
to
your
hourly
rate
or
range
• Can
shid
for
project’s
pres2ge/personal
fulfillment
• Es2mate
the
hours
needed
and
track
your
work
on
• Use
the
new
client
checklist
for
an
accurate
es2mate
• Stop
working
when
you’ve
hit
the
budgeted
2me
• The
first
rate
is
usually
the
final
rate
• Don’t
be
distracted
by
the
per
word
rate
• Never
name
a
rate
over
the
phone
–
give
a
proposal
How
to
Calculate
Your
Rate
• 48
work
weeks
in
a
year
• 40
work
hours
in
a
week
• 1920
work
hours
in
a
year
• Assume
30%
on
marke2ng,
networking,
professional
development,
keeping
records
• 1344
hours
remaining
• 112
hours
in
a
month
• 28
hours
a
week
for
revenue
genera2ng
work
• For
a
gross
income
of
$50,000,
bill
at
least
$37.20
/hr
• For
a
gross
income
of
$75,000,
bill
at
least
$55.80
/hr
• For
a
gross
income
of
$100,000,
bill
at
least
$74.40
/
hr
• For
a
gross
income
of
$150,000,
bill
at
least
$111.60
/
hr

3. 6/13/14
3
Looks
Good?
Remember:
• Assump2ons:
• no
down
2me
during
your
work
week
• marke2ng
consumes
the
assumed
amount
of
2me
• your
clients
pay
on
2me
and
in
full
• Taxes,
overhead,
health
insurance,
re2rement!
• That
gross
income
must
stretch
farther
than
a
salary
you
would
earn
as
an
employee.
Turning
Down
Work
• Oden
the
best
move
for
freelance
success
• Stay
off
the
slow
hamster
wheel!
Spend
your
2me
pitching
and
marke2ng
• Bad
clients
=
low
pay,
high
maintenance,
unreliable,
unfavorable
contract
terms.
Everything
Is
Negotiable
• Ask
for
more
money
• Ask
for
more
2me
• Ask
for
more
rights
• Ask
for
more
work
• Ask
nicely!
Protecting
Yourself
• Get
it
in
wri2ng
• Work
through
referrals
• Understand
basic
copyright
terms,
libel
risks

4. 6/13/14
4
A
Word
About
Rights
• I’m
not
a
lawyer
–
this
isn’t
legal
advice
• Red
flag
1:
work
for
hire
• Red
flag
2:
indemnify
• Dream
big!
Could
this
be
your
Argo?
Managing
Yourself
• This
is
the
hardest
part
of
freelancing.
• Find
networks
of
support.
Be
generous
• Get
out
of
your
home
office.
• Con2nually
seek
more
work
from
best
clients.
• Take
two
hours
each
week
to
career
plan.
Any
Questions?
• 301-­‐767-­‐9830
• Katherine@KatherineRLewis.com
• @KatherineLewis
• www.facebook.com/KatherineRLewis