To succeed as a freelance journalist requires: 1) Securing a steady income source such as a regular column to cover basic living expenses. 2) Establishing an appropriate hourly rate and refusing work that pays below this rate. 3) Carefully tracking income, expenses, and marketing efforts to evaluate strategies and ensure financial stability, as clients may come and go.

1. How to Make a Living as a Freelance Journalist
1) Land a steady anchor client
A set weekly or monthly income you can count on to cover the bare minimum expenses.
Writing a newsletter or column.
Part-time editing or production work.
Part-time non-journalism work (receptionist, security guard, bartender).
A regular blogging gig.
Contributing editor position that guarantees a certain monthly income.
A book contract with a generous advance.
A spouse with a steady job, a grant or fellowship, a severance package or a
savings cushion can fill this role for the first six months to year.
2) Understand your rate -- and stick to it
Calculate your required monthly, daily and hourly income. Make sure to account
for time you'll need for marketing, record keeping, vacation and illness.
This can be a range. i.e. your monthly goal is $10,000 but your minimum is $5k
Refuse any assignments that fall under your minimum rate. Your time is better
spent pitching and marketing.
The exception: when an assignment is high prestige, fulfills a career goal or could
lead to better paying work. (Be skeptical - your first rate is usually the final rate.)
Focus on the hourly revenue you'll generate, not the per-word or other rate.
Resist spending more time on an assignment than would earn your hourly rate.
3) Follow the money: track and refine your revenue and marketing strategies
Track your pending assignments and completed work each week and month.
Track cash flow weekly and monthly - can be a simple Excel spreadsheet.
Get out of the office to meet with clients and other freelancers.
Network generously and with long-term goals. Build relationships.
Continually seek to land better paying and more desirable clients.
Fire bad clients: low pay, high maintenance, unreliable, bad contract terms.
Take several hours each week for long-range career planning and development.
Think outside the box when looking for clients: local businesses, high school
friends, the guy sitting next to you on the plane.
Accept that you're an entrepreneur -- you're steering the ship!
Prepared for UNITY 2012 by Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine@KatherineRLewis.com * www.KatherineRLewis.com * @KatherineLewis
Writing on money, work and family for Fortune, NY Times, USA Today, Washington Post, others

2. How to Calculate Your Freelance Rate
48 work weeks in a year (You'll need the vacation and sick days)
40 work hours in a week (Do you want to work more than this?)
1920 work hours in a year
Assume 30% on marketing, networking, professional development, keeping records
1344 hours remaining
112 hours in a month
28 hours a week for revenue generating work
To make a gross income of $50,000, you'll need to bill at least $37.20 an hour
To make a gross income of $75,000, you'll need to bill at least $55.80 an hour
To make a gross income of $100,000, you'll need to bill at least $74.40 an hour
To make a gross income of $150,000, you'll need to bill at least $111.60 an hour
etc.
Assumptions:
no downtime during your work week
marketing consumes the assumed amount of time
your clients pay on time and in full
Don't forget about taxes, overhead, health insurance, retirement!
That gross income must stretch further than a salary you would earn as an employee.
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3Surprising Tips for Freelance Success
1. Network with other freelancers; nobody can take on every assignment and you'll
benefit from comparing marketing and negotiation strategies & problem clients.
2. Turning down poor-paying gigs is your quickest path to financial success. Become
ruthlessly efficient. Your time is your most valuable resource.
3. Don't count on your stable of clients remaining the same. Always be seeking new
clients and planning for the possibility of losing an anchor client.
Prepared for UNITY 2012 by Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine@KatherineRLewis.com * www.KatherineRLewis.com * @KatherineLewis
Writing on money, work and family for Fortune, NY Times, USA Today, Washington Post, others

3. Checklist for a New Freelance Client
Signed contract containing:
 The scope of assignment (word count, topic)
 Deadline
 Rate
 Copyright and contract terms acceptable to you. Red flags: "work for hire" or indemnity.
 Payment terms
Will you be paid on delivery, acceptance or publication?
If the piece isn’t used, will you be paid the full amount or a kill fee?
Written documentation of:
 Agreed upon editorial timeline and expected number of revisions/edits.
 Any items above that aren't in the publication's standard contract.
Verbal understanding of:
 The style and approach of the story; any sidebars you'll need.
 Whether you'll be asked to help to create artwork. For instance, find subjects for photos
or provide data for graphics.
 How much reporting the editor expects, such as number and types of sources. How
much material (if any) you will need to provide for the publication to fact check.
 Whether you should check in during the reporting process for reshaping the piece.
 The best way and times to communicate: email or phone. It's good to know whether the
editor has an anticipated busy time of day/day of the week/week of the month.
 Any times when YOU will be unavailable, especially if the deadline is close to a planned
vacation or other big project.
Prepared for UNITY 2012 by Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine@KatherineRLewis.com * www.KatherineRLewis.com * @KatherineLewis
Writing on money, work and family for Fortune, NY Times, USA Today, Washington Post, others