Archive for January, 2007
How do I love Bust magazine? Let me count the ways. Those damn fine women have made The Anti 9-to-5 Guide their LitPick in the hot-off-the-presses February/March issue. Here’s a bit from the review:
Ever fantasized about life sans hellish boss and boring staff meetings? Michelle Goodman’s book can help you make the great escape. Whether you want to break into your dream industry as a freelancer or start your own business, The Anti 9-to-5 Guide is a handy desk resource for women whose ambitions run the gamut from becoming a forest ranger to starting a non-profit. Goodman makes an excellent teacher, having ditched the cube herself.
Awwww. Thanks, Bust.
January 18th, 2007
Evidently Amazon’s Explore Similar Items bot is linking my book page with every stripper and sex-worker book that’s ever been written. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I certainly support my empowered stripping and sex-working sisters. You’ll even find a dominatrix featured in my book. But you’ll also find the book loaded with tips, anecdotes, and quotes from anti-nine-to-fivers who work in construction, illustration, technology, education, engineering, health care, pet care, ghost tours, the theater, the media, fashion, finance, retail, e-tail, and just about any other field you can think of. Except proctology. That field kind of stinks.
Update: OK, this was funnier (at least to me) when Amazon was actually linking to all those “my year in the life as a call girl” books from mine. Now the Explore Similar Items bot is all about cross-training books, though I suppose you could draw parallels between transitioning into a new career and training for a marathon. Only with career change, you don’t have to choke down that liquid-y carb goo (think PowerBars in a tube) that everyone says is so gross.
January 17th, 2007
In honor of freelance tax day, here’s one more Q&A with my friend the CPA:
Me: Say, Friend the CPA, I’ve been meaning to ask you this last question for a while. On the rare instance that I forget to make one of my freelance quarterly tax payments, what will Uncle Sam do to me? I mean, not that I would ever forget to pay my taxes, but I’ve heard of (ahem) people doing this.
CPA pal: If you don’t have an employer who takes taxes out of your paycheck, the IRS requires you pay your estimated taxes quarterly. In other words, “forgetting” isn’t an option. If you fail to pay your estimated taxes one particular quarter, all-knowing Uncle Sam will swiftly charge you interest on any late payments (though he likes to use the term “penalty”).
Happily, if your income during a particular quarter is nil, you don’t have to make an estimated tax payment for that quarter. However, you would have to fill out a form to prove that you had a dip in income and attach said form to your tax return. Otherwise, the IRS will simply go ahead and charge you the interest/penalty anyway. I do these forms for clients from time to time. But be warned: This is one nasty-ass form, and without impeccable financial records, it’s tough to fill out. Capiche?
Me: Thank you, Friend the CPA. You are wise beyond your years.
January 16th, 2007
According to IRS Form 1040-ES, which is glaring at me from the pile of papers on my desk, the fourth and final of my 2006 tax payments is due on Tuesday, January 16. If you don’t know about quarterly tax payments for freelancers and sole proprietors, this IRS page will get you up to speed. As will this one. And this page from my archives may also shed some light on the situation.
Uncle Sam does offer instructions on how to estimate your quarterly tax payments, but because I have not been mathematically inclined since college calculus, I rely on my friend the accountant to keep me in check. My income last year was a bit different than it’s been in past years (and not in a positive way), so I checked in with my friend the CPA recently to see if I was estimating my tax payments correctly.
I get a lot of Google hits from people looking for info on how to estimate their quarterly taxes, so I thought I’d summarize our conversation. (Know that I am not a legal or financial pro, and you are not my CPA pal’s client, so we take no responsibility for what you do with your taxes. If you have questions, see a tax pro. Seriously.)
OK, now that I’ve covered my hide, let’s get on with the quarterly tax recap.
Me: Is there some magic formula for figuring out how much of a quarterly tax payment I should make?
CPA pal: There’s no precise formula because taxes owed will vary with annual business expenses as well as state income tax. [Anti 9-to-5 note: Income tax varies from state to state. For example, Washington state, where I reside, has none. However, California, where I used to reside, does have a state income tax.] However, here’s a rough way you can estimate:
If your freelance income for the year (minus any major business expenses) is less than $50,000, you would pay approximately 25 percent to the IRS — “approximately” being the operative word here. $50,000 to $100,000, you would pay about 30 percent. And more than $100,000, you would pay about 33 percent.
Me: If I did the work in 2006 but the check doesn’t come till 2007, I pay taxes on that amount in 2007, right?
CPA pal: Bingo.
Me: If I want to hire a subcontractor to help me when times are busy this year, the only tax forms I need to send them are a W-9 to fill out before we start working together and a 1099 come January 2008, yes?
CPA pal: Oh, wise freelance friend of mine, I have taught you well. You are correct again. And for a small fee, I will even send out that 1099 form for you.
January 15th, 2007
While we’re still in new year territory, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to do a little myth busting. If you long to give your job or career a facelift but find yourself riddled with more excuses than the Bush administration, this list — modified from a 2006 Seattle Times article by yours truly — is for you.
Myth: I should do something practical that comes with a fancy title and fat paycheck.
Okay, and I should wear makeup and skirts and try to not swear so much because that’s what “ladies” do. Not. Whose life are you living — yours or your parents’?
Myth: By the time I pay my dues in a new career, I’ll be well over 30, 40, even 50, and too old to start at the bottom.
But you’ll be happy.
Myth: I can’t start a new career now. I’ve already invested so much in getting where I am.
See above. Otherwise, vow to never whine about how you hate your current career again — for the next 20, 30, 40, or however many years you have till retirement.
Myth: I need to succeed before I breed. Once I’m raising kids, it will be too hard to zoom up the ladder or change fields.
Harder, yes, but not impossible. I’ve interviewed plenty of moms who changed careers and/or went solo after having kids, a number of them without a spouse or money in the bank as a cushion. In fact, mompreneurship may be the way to go, given all the workplace bias against mothers out there. (I’m not a mom, so I welcome the moms reading this to weigh in with their two cents.)
Myth: I can’t afford to live on less money.
Life is about choices. Your choices: premium cable TV/new shoes/$15 lunches with coworkers, or a lower-paying but infinitely more rewarding job. (Hint: I don’t miss HBO, that extra pair of black boots that could be collecting dust in my closet, or those greasy, overpriced lunches.) Besides, a starting salary isn’t forever.
January 11th, 2007
Ah, the dreaded check-in call with a potential client you’re trying to woo. Unfortunately, like your annual pap, cold and follow-up calls are integral to a healthy self-employed life.
Entrepreneur magazine has this to say about checking in with old clients and new prospects:
The more you’re in front of prospects, the better chance you have of creating good timing. Many executives agree that most sales happen after the fifth call. Yet most salespeople give up after the first.
I admit to not always staying on top of freelance leads for the full five “at your service!” check-in calls or emails, usually because I’ve already found other work to keep me busy. But it’s food for thought for anyone who fires off an introductory email to a potential editor or client and never bothers to follow up. You might as well hit Delete before you even write the dang message.
As the article mentions, the time is ripe for jogging those potential editors and clients. A new year means a built-in excuse to contact them: wishing them well and saying you look forward to possibly working together in 2007. And for some publications, a new year means a fresh freelance budget — perfect timing for reminding them you’re still ready, willing, and able.
Real life example: Just last night I got an email from this kayak company, which I took a three-day paddle with two summers ago. I haven’t been in touch with the company since 2005, but the message got me thinking, hmmmm, maybe I do want to do that trip again this summer. Then I proceeded to devour the website, looking for new photos and trip dates and info about last summer’s whale sightings. On my to-do list for next week: Call the friend I took the trip with and see if she wants to go again this summer.
January 10th, 2007
Gawker recently ran some fun yet illuminating posts about publications that neglect to pay their freelancers and what you can do should you find yourself working for one of these spineless outfits.
My cyberstudents and talked about this in an online class I taught last month through the Editorial Freelancers Association. My top tips for not getting stiffed:
1. Sniff out publications, editors, and clients. That is, before you get into bed with them. If you don’t know what your local newspaper, BBB, and fellow freelancers have to say about them, find out.
2. Get it in writing. Of course a contract isn’t a guarantee you’ll get paid. But it makes your case that much stronger should have you have to call a collection agency, an attorney, or the evening news.
3. Do a trial run. When you go on a blind date, you don’t give up the goods in the first five minutes, right? You meet the other party in a public venue that affords you an easy out should your new companion suddenly sprout antennae. Same with newbie clients. If you can’t find anyone to vouch for them, start with a couple small assignments from them. That way, if they turn out to be the Bride of Enron, you haven’t invested as much time.
4. Ask for half the cash up front. OK, this doesn’t work for article assignments, but it can for ghostwriting and corporate assignments. Many clients won’t bat an eye at this request; some will even offer to cut you a check for 50 percent from the get-go. Note to Pollyannas: If a client can’t afford the first half, they won’t be able to cough up the second either.
5. Charge a late penalty. Though I’ve never done this, I know that some freelancers charge a 2 percent penalty for late payments and adorn their invoices with this little advisory. Some who’ve tried this tactic tell me they’ve never collected their 2 percent fee, but the threat of it has scared several foot-dragging accounting departments into paying up quickly.
6. Trust your gut. As anyone will tell you, if a project sounds fishy or perhaps too good to be true, it probably is. So don’t be a dumbass. And if a client owes you money, don’t take another project from them until they FedEx you the check and a box of chocolates, dig?
January 9th, 2007
Did anyone see the piece about Betty Ford on 60 Minutes Sunday night? I didn’t realize she was such a badass. Besides founding her infamous clinic, she was a leader in the push for the Equal Rights Amendment, outspoken on abortion rights, and frank with the media on everything from battling breast cancer to sleeping in the same bedroom as her husband (pause a moment to imagine a time when mentioning either of these topics was taboo). Betty, had I been old enough to have a clue in the seventies, I woulda had your back.
January 8th, 2007
Since the blogosphere probably won’t crumble under the weight of one more tipster-ish new year’s post, here’s what I’d like to propose all the entrepreneurs, creative types, and hopeful cubicle expats reading this site do in preparation for the remaining 357 days of the new year:
Write an informal business plan. Really. Even if you’re artistically inclined, gainfully employed, or doing pretty dang well in your current business. Even if you’re just fantasizing about changing careers or starting your own business.
Why? As Rhonda Abrams, a business plan guru I interviewed for an article a couple weeks ago, says, putting your M.O. in writing frees you from feeling like you have to leap at every thrilling opportunity that comes your way. Sure, volunteering to help put on a high-profile fundraiser for the symphony may sound sweet, but if there’s no way the gig will benefit that fledgling clothing line you’re trying to get off the ground in your spare ten hours a week, is it really worth your time?
Besides, everyone knows putting your goals in writing and breaking them into digestible nuggets is the first step toward moving from this fuzzy mindset:
Someday I will write an award-winning novel / get a job I like / start my own business on the side…
to this one:
Well, I ain’t getting any younger, so it’s time I started meeting that infamous “someday” head on. And here are the steps I’m going to take to get there…
I used to be a serious “someday” kind of gal. Then I turned thirty and realized I suddenly had a lot less somedays left than I used to. If I kept drifting along at my current state of aimlessness, I’d be forty before I knew it, and still not writing or published to my satisfaction, then fifty, sixty, seventy, and then quite possibly, dead. That scary realization catapulted me straight into goal world, where I made my master plan for world domination, which I revisit and refine each new year.*
A business plan doesn’t have to be a formal thirty-page tome (unless you’re looking for bank or investor financing). It can just be a page that says what you want to accomplish and what steps you’ll take to get there. The wise women at The Renegade Writer offer this priceless advice on creating a writer’s business plan, which I think will serve any creative, alterna-career type well. And if you get hives just saying the words “business plan,” call it a Reality Check Plan, as I do in my book.
*Lest you think I never share anything with you, I’ll give you one hit off my 2007 Reality Check Plan, which by the way, is all of 300 words long:
Goal #4: Apply for more writing residencies like this one.
Steps: By March, pinpoint three to five 2008 residencies I can apply to. Start working on applications in spring/summer, so that they’re ready to submit by summer/fall.
January 8th, 2007
I know it’s been the week of shameless Michelle promotion, so I hope you’ll forgive one more of these posts. Scintillating start-of-the-year career suggestions to come any day now. Promise.
My book launch party and first few readings are right around the corner. (!) Western Washington locals, mark your calendars:
Saturday, February 17, 2 p.m.
Book Release Party and author reading
Elliott Bay Books, Seattle
Co-hosted by Hedgebrook
Thursday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Author reading
University Bookstore, Seattle
Tuesday, March 20, 7:30 p.m.
Author reading
Village Books, Bellingham, WA
Thursday, April 12, 7 p.m.
Author reading
Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park (North Seattle)
I will be traveling to other cities, so stay tuned. I’ll list more upcoming events here as the crackerjack publicity team at Seal Press continues to book ‘em. And if you want to be added to my digital mailing list, click this here link to fill out the form.
January 5th, 2007
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