Archive for February, 2008
Following are excerpts from my latest “How’d you land that great job?” column for the Seattle Times and NWjobs.com, the paper’s online career center. I love Laura’s job and wanted to share with the class. Plus, we couldn’t run the photo at the left in the paper, and I didn’t want to let it go to waste…
The job: Between 1994 and 2005, Laura Michalek owned and operated four vintage furniture shops in Seattle, most notably Standard Home on Capitol Hill, which she opened in 2000. A self-professed “junker,” she’d put 60,000 miles on her car every year just trolling for antique treasure at estate sales and auctions. Somewhere along the way, she became sold on the idea of grabbing a microphone and working as a full-time auctioneer herself. Today she takes the stage at dozens of local fund-raising auctions each year, helping community and arts organizations such as Home Alive and the Center on Contemporary Art drum up hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Q. How did you make the leap from selling antiques to auctioneering?
A. I went to the Missouri Auction School in 2001 because I was inspired by auctioneers who I had seen while buying furniture for my vintage furniture shops.
Within a few months of finishing school, I was asked to help out at an antique auction house in Edmonds, which turned into a once- or twice-a-month gig, without pay. I did that for two years and developed my chant. That experience was priceless, because it’s not easy to get the actual “calling” experience that you need to develop as an auctioneer.
From there, I built my business on the side, until I decided to go full-tilt boogie — full time — in 2005. Thus, the closing of Standard Home.
Q. What exactly did auctioneer school teach you?
A. The school is actually only nine days long. It teaches you business skills, selling, chanting and ethics. Your instructors are world champions. The school I went to has a particularly strong focus on the chant, and you spend half your time there developing your chant through various exercises.
During the week, they sent us out to small auction houses in rural Missouri, in the evening, to sell. The whole town would come and watch and cheer us on. It was like free theater for the locals.
Q. What types of auctions do you do?
A. Contrary to popular belief, most auctions in this town are not black-tie galas. The average auction I do is a $100,000 fundraiser. But I do everything from a $2,000 auction to a $500,000 auction — from public schools, private schools, nonprofits, art organizations and environmental groups to big galas at downtown hotels. All of my clients have a financial need that a successful fund-raising auction alleviates. There is no posturing or fancy money sitting in the room.
Q. What advice can you give budding auctioneers?
A. Start working or volunteering at any kind of auction, just to be around them. Work the ring at an antique auction, or volunteer to check guests in at a fund-raiser. Sitting on an auction event committee, reading business books, learning how to speak in public via Toastmasters — these are all very helpful.
Learning how to ask for money is also important. Working retail is a great way to get a glimpse into the mind of the buyer. Getting nonprofit experience and understanding how the fund-raising world works is helpful too.
I also believe a formal education in auctioneering is essential. I recommend attending the Missouri Auction School and reading books such as Growing a Business by Paul Hawken and To Be of Use: The Seven Seeds of Meaningful Work by Dave Smith.
Q. What skills are essential for making a living as an auctioneer?
A. Being able to handle a tremendous amount of pressure and decision-making in a small amount of time and having a reservoir of patience are great virtues, and of course being able to shoot from the hip. I went to auction school with a small business background, a comfort speaking in front of people and a suitable personality, but it’s all for naught if you can’t actually auctioneer and sell.
Once you get the schooling, practice all the time and start selling anywhere you can, even for free. You really have to create your own opportunities. Early on in my auction career, I not only had to convince folks to have an auctioneer but an auction. At the first auction I called, each item was worth $2, but at least I was selling something.
There is no auction too big or small. I still stand in backyards selling baked goods today. And I still go and watch other auctioneers to see what I can learn from them.
Want more? Read this Q&A in its entirety on NWjobs.com. Or you can read past installments of “How’d you land that great job?”
February 28th, 2008
I subscribe to a lot of self-employment and freelance writing discussion lists. Not surprisingly, this month everyone’s been buzzing about how to file their freelance taxes. Here are a few recurring questions I’ve seen.
(Note: These answers are geared toward sole proprietors like me, not LLCs or corporations, which are subject to different tax laws, about which I know diddly. Double note: I’m a freelance writer, not a financial professional. If you want solid tax advice you can bank on, you’d best check with your friendly neighborhood accountant. Okay, now that we’ve got the requisite ass-covering out of the way, let’s talk taxes…)
Q. Help! I earned more than $600 in 2007 from a client, but they didn’t send me a 1099 form. Do I still have to pay taxes on that money? Do I need that form?
A. You do still have to pay taxes on that money. But no, you don’t need the form to do so. Also, in case you were wondering, if your client tries to claim the money they paid you as a business expense, they could get into trouble with the IRS for not sending you a 1099 form. But that’s their problem, not yours.
Q. Help! I billed Client XYZ for $3,000 in December of 2007 but wasn’t paid for it until January of 2008. Do I have to pay taxes on this money with my 2007 fed tax return or should I pay those taxes with my 2008 estimated tax payments?
A. Since the client paid you this amount in 2008, you will owe taxes on it for 2008, not 2007. You go by the year paid, not invoiced. If the client tries to put this amount on your 2007 1099 form, you need to talk to their accounting department about correcting this mistake. Otherwise, you’ll be paying taxes on money you technically didn’t earn in 2007.
Q. Help! I just measured my home office and it’s 20 percent bigger than I’ve been reporting to the IRS for the past three years. Can I tell them my office is actually bigger? Will this trigger an audit?
A. Congrats! You get a bigger write-off. It’s perfectly reasonable that your home office size would increase as your freelance business blossoms, so just tell the IRS that your office space has grown. (Actually tell your accountant, and s/he will know how to indicate this on your fed tax return.)
This minor change in office size alone should not trigger an audit, unless of course you’re unfortunate enough to be randomly selected for an audit (like jury duty, only more painful). As I understand it, if the IRS intentionally audits you, it’s because you have some serious red flags on your tax return — for example, an inordinate amount of expenses claimed. Your accountant is there to ensure this doesn’t happen. Yet another reason you should not solely rely on random internet advice when doing your taxes.
Final notes: There is a limit to what percent of your home you can write off as office space. Because I’m too lazy to Google it, you’ll have to ask your accountant about this. Also, the IRS wants your home office space to be solely dedicated to your business, so be careful that you don’t blur lines here.
You can find more of my freelance tax FAQs here and here. And you can find an accountant by asking your freelance friends who they use.
February 27th, 2008
If you’ve visited this blog before, you know I have a love-hate relationship with the web. In the interest of attempting to overcome some of my Luddite fears, I recently put these web productivity questions to Anne Zelenka, web technologist, former editor of Web Worker Daily, and author of Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working.
Q. Some days, I feel like email is the bane of my existence, tempting me away from deadlines and productivity. How do you recommend self-employed types stay on top of email without letting it rule their life?
A. There are numerous schemes for managing your inbox, but what’s worked best for me is a post-email era approach. I don’t get all my information through email. For example, I use Twitter to stay in touch with my online professional network, instant messaging for quick discussions with colleagues or clients, del.icio.us bookmarks to share things I find interesting, and blogging to think out loud with feedback. That lightens the load on my email inbox and it makes me feel more hooked in throughout my workday. Email on its own can feel a bit disconnected, I’ve found.
Q. At the expense of sounding like I’m writing a white paper for one of my software clients, I have to ask: What are three things even a Luddite like me can do to use the web more effectively and boost productivity?
A. You’re a great example of the most effective way to use the web to succeed in your work life: get yourself a professional presence online with a blog or other website. Don’t focus on making advertising dollars from it — use it to make connections and promote your work. Most of all, be authentic online so that when opportunities come to you because of your online profile they will be opportunities you’re really excited about pursuing.
Q. What are some of your favorite online tools for freelancers?
A. The tool I rely on most for managing my work life is Google Docs. I use spreadsheets to track income and expenses and documents to plan projects and collaboratively edit papers. Gmail, Adium (an instant messaging aggregator), and Twitter keep me hooked in with my professional network — and I couldn’t succeed without that.
Q. You have an entire chapter on online money management, including tips for freelancers. Can you share one or two of those web banking tips for freelancers?
A. If you’d like a good and secure way to manage your various financial accounts, check out Wesabe. It offers a downloadable tool into which you input your login and password information, then you can regularly update your transaction information and see where you’re spending your money and what your balances are. It includes a social network where you can swap tips and share financial goals — so it’s like the Web 2.0 version of Quicken.
If you have a lot of clients and need to manage a bunch of invoices, check out FreshBooks. That site makes it really easy to create and send invoices then track payments.
Q. Despite the fact that this will be outdated next month, what are your favorite social networks for freelancers who want to mingle and market online? Or do you think social networks are one big fat timesuck?
A. Three sites I like for freelancers and in particular freelance writers are Freelance Switch, Freelance Writing Jobs, and mediabistro. These aren’t specifically social networking sites, but Freelance Switch and mediabistro include forums and Freelance Writing Jobs gets good discussions going in the comments.
I tend to network with other web technology geeks, since that’s my main area of expertise. For that, I like Twitter and also networking via blogging. I’ve tried Facebook and it hasn’t been all that useful to me professionally.
Q. As a freelance writer, when I’m in the thick of trying to bang out a draft, email and an open browser is the kiss of death. Do you work on deadline with your inbox and browser open? Just wondering.
A. When I was working on the book, I regularly closed my browser, including my inbox (I use Gmail), and set my instant messaging status to “writing.” I write blog posts on deadline with my browser open because I need it to do research and I’ve trained myself to work while I’m connected. This kind of group-oriented productivity is something you can learn to do, and it’s a mode that we see teenagers of today often using. They stay in constant contact with their friends and use multiple electronic tools, switching back and forth as necessary.
Q. You mention a preference for pen and paper when it comes to writing to-do lists. Why is this? Any other parts of the workday we should be reserving for paper?
A. I personally love the physical experience of writing and rewriting my to-do list, then crossing off items when I’ve finished a task. I also like to be able to take my to-do list away from the computer to work on it, where I feel like I gain some perspective on my priorities. Paper is generally useful for you want to slow yourself down and take a broader perspective. If I want to really think about something — a blog post I’ve written in draft, a project plan, a list of goals — I do it on paper.
Q. In the book, you talk about this brave new way of working called “bursty work.” Can you explain what that is and why we should be doing it?
A. I came up with the idea of bursty work when I realized that many career achievements arrive in discontinuous leaps rather than through step-by-step action.
I observed that many people working online had different habits than [those in] the typical 9-to-5 gig. Instead of working standard hours, they would work when they felt like it, according to their energy, sometimes in bursts. Instead of shutting themselves off from other people in order to get solo work done, they would stay connected via instant messaging or social networking or other electronic tools and get information and inspiration from colleagues and associates throughout the work day. Instead of building things totally from scratch (or just on top of what their coworkers built), they would use what they found online — whether open source software or research that someone had already done or photos that someone else took — to get where they needed to in leaps and bounds rather than step by step.
The reason the web promotes a bursty style of work is because of the network of people and ideas it makes available to us. Instead of just having ourselves and our office coworkers available to us, we have a whole wide world of resources just a hyperlink away. This means you can navigate shortcuts instead of always working step by step.
In practice, bursty work often builds on busy work — there will always be projects where you have to spend lots of dedicated, focused time working step by step towards a goal. Building a network of professional connections, for example, takes effort over time. But once you’ve done a lot of the busy work, bursts of innovation or achievement may happen almost as though by magic. It’s not magic, though; it’s navigating a network.
You can read more about busy vs. bursty in the Web Worker Daily article I wrote on the topic.
Want more web tips? Visit Web Worker Daily and get your copy of Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working.
February 25th, 2008
And while I’m on the subject of this new book I’m working on (for some reason, I’m too superstitious to even put the title here, but you can probably Google it somewhere), I have a question for you:
What do you want to know about freelancing as a creative professional more than anything else? In other words, what topic do you absolutely positively want to see covered in this book? How to make a webfolio? How to negotiate your rate like nobody’s business? How to stop procrastinating? Email me specifics and generalities alike.
Because I’m being all secretive-like, I’d rather you email me your suggestions than put them in the comments. But you’re of course welcome to tell me to get back to work in the comments. Thanks again.
February 21st, 2008
You may have caught me alluding to the new book I’m working on last week. It’s essentially a follow-up to The Anti 9-to-5 Guide, on what to do once you’ve fled the cube for freelance pastures. It covers things like how to hustle, haggle, and basically have enough money to eat. Seal Press will be publishing it at the end of the year, and I’m currently putting the finishing touches on it.
Since my deadline’s looming fast and I really need to focus (read: catch up) during the next few weeks, you’re going to see less posts from me until early April. More like two a week. In fact, if you see me posting, say, four times a week between now and April, you have my permission to type in all caps, “Michelle, WTF are you doing blogging again? You still have chapters to finish!”
Yeah, just like that. Only in ALL CAPS. Thanks.
February 21st, 2008
Student X writes: I was in your class last summer on “Everything you Wanted to Know About Getting Published.” I am in the process of starting a proposal for a non-fiction work, but I want to start a little buzz about it and start a blog. How do you suggest blogging regarding this so that the publisher has something to look at? I’m not sure how to start. I’m not much of a blogger anyway, but I write reviews of books on goodreads.com all the time.
I answer: Congrats on working on that book proposal. Cool! Here are my recommendations for starting a blog. I’m sure others will chime in with their suggestions too.
- Sign up for a free blog account with Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress.
- Pick a template for your blog. These are also free.
- If I’ve already lost you, read a book on blogging. Or take a class. Or have a blog-savvy friend walk you through the setup.
- Pick a topic for your blog, a niche you’ll stick with. Don’t be a generalist. Since you’re trying to build what’s known as a “platform” for your nonfiction book, your blog topic should be the same as that of your book: wrench-wielding women, mimes who love too much, recovering Republicans, etc.
- Pick a relevant, catchy name for your blog.
- If you need inspiration, check out some other blogs by authors to see how their blog complements their book topic, or at least showcases their crafty writing. Some blogs by authors I know: Offbeat Bride, Single State of the Union, Bad Advice, Totally Wired, Watercooler Wisdom, The Renegade Writer, Lusty Lady, Felicia Sullivan, Marci Alboher, Boss Lady.
- Also check out blogs by people who went from blogging to book deal: Escape from Cubicle Nation, Breakup Babe, Happily Even After, Lifehacker, and Web Worker Daily are a few examples. Here are some more — these “blookers” were even nominated for an award.
- Read Galley Cat to learn more about who’s getting book deals from blogs these days. Sign up for Publishers Lunch. Skim Publishers Weekly. And google “blog to book.”
- Make sure your About Me page gives your real name, your email address, and your writing/subject matter credentials. Be sure to include a photo of yourself, and make sure you brush your hair and teeth.
- Start blogging! Preferably posts that are 300 to 600 words (give or take) in length.
- Use photos whenever you can. And links. Especially to other blogs.
- Proofread your posts and check your links.
- Send out a blanket email to everyone you’ve ever met in your life telling them about your blog. Do this after you’ve made a few posts you’re proud of. Only do this once.
- Add your blog URL to the signature of your email address.
- Join some writing listservs or online communities and contribute to the conversation, keeping that signature in all your posts. Ditto for online communities revolving around the topic of your book.
- Post to your blog at least three times a week. Stay on topic, and don’t be afraid to be opinionated, funny, and/or controversial.
- Never apologize for not posting for the past two weeks. No one cares. If you have a lot of readers, a better idea is to do a post like this in advance.
- If you feel compelled to blog about your cat, try to find the tie-in to your overall blog’s topic. Otherwise, maybe skip the cute pet posts.
- Read and comment on other people’s blogs. It’s the best way to get new readers to come to your blog — and to raise your Google rank.
- Read articles on how to blog. Here’s one that people seem to like, though I tend to shy away from all those Best/Richest/Smartest Blogger Ever types. Here’s an even better tip list by my friend Amanda; it includes some suggestions for books on blogging too.
- Get a free tool to measure your site traffic so you can see what posts people like the best and how many readers you have. Here are a few: Site Meter, Google Analytics, MyBlogLog. This is not my forte, so I’m sure others will chime in.
- Speaking of, know that blogging means putting yourself out there. Sometimes rude, nasty people with nothing better to do make obnoxious comments on your site, often anonymously. That’s the way of the web unfortunately. You have the option to hit Delete. More often than not, though, the comments will be supportive, encouraging, helpful. You may even make a new friend or two. Maybe even a book agent friend. And wouldn’t that be nice?
- Above all, have fun. If blogging sounds like a chore, maybe you’re better off publishing a couple of well-placed articles on your pet topic instead (think Huffington Post, Salon, Slate).
February 19th, 2008
Who would answer this (sadly, quite real) Craiglist ad? WHO?
I need a ghost writer, someone to help me finish some stories and make them presentable to be published, I can’t pay for the time and effort, but an willing to give credit where credit is due. I currently have 5 stories, and you can choose which one(s) you want to work on. These are typed out COPIES, I have the originals and will keep them, looking for someone that will not tamper with the original idea, but add to the story to make publishable. I have all the ideas, just no time or patients for details, but it’s all in my head. Please let me know if your interested.
In other words, “Hi, I want to be a published writer, but I don’t want to write. Or learn how to spell. But trust me, I have the chops. It’s all in my head. I just don’t have time to type, or use my brain, or open a dictionary. And you should help me. For free. Because I said so.”
What this person doesn’t realize is that if a writer needs to do a couple freebies to beef up her skimpy portfolio, she’s going to write and publish her own dang articles (say for a cool indie women’s mag, or the newsletter of the women’s shelter down the street), not waste her time with this nonsense. Ads like this do a huge disservice to paid ghostwriting gigs offered by credible authors, business executives, and book publishers.
Promise me you will never answer such an ad. I’d sooner advise you to answer a listing on Craig’s like this.
(This rant made possible by my dear friend Diane, who sent me the CL ad in question.)
February 17th, 2008
I admit it. I hate to cook. I eat out of boxes and cans and to-go containers more than I should, even though I prefer a healthy, homemade meal 10 to 1. That’s why I was excited when Ann Martin Rolke sent me a copy of her book, Hands-Off Cooking: Low Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People, which clearly was written for lazy and/or no-time-in-the-kitchen sorts like me. Yummy, healthy recipes (Tandoorish Chicken! Fridge Cleaning Frittata! Nutty Pumpkin Lasagna!) that I can’t burn if I have to dash off to my computer and get down one more sentence? What could be better!
As an extra treat, Ann answered a few questions for the blog. Read, drool, buy.
Q. What prompted you to write the book?
A. I was actually approached by an agent who I had spoken to previously about ghostwriting a book with a chef. She used to be a cookbook editor and thought this idea hadn’t been really explored yet in a cookbook.
Q. What 5 to 10 staple ingredients should busy self-employed people always have on hand in their cabinets and fridge so they can easily whip up dinner in 15 minutes or less?
A. Canned tomatoes, canned beans, rice, skinless chicken or fish, garlic.
Q. Any unexpected kitchen equipment hands-off cooks need to stock their cabinets with?
A. I don’t know if it’s unexpected, but a heavy-duty pot is a must for braising and soups (like Le Creuset) and I use my 9 x 13-inch casserole several times a week. I do think an oven thermometer and kitchen timer with multiple settings (so you can time more than one thing at once) are great to make sure everything goes well!
Q. What’s your favorite “I’m on a crunch deadline and need to burn the midnight oil” dinner or late-night snack recipe?
A. Baked pita chips and hummus.
Q. What’s your favorite comfort food recipe?
A. Indian food lately — something easy like my Aloo Cholay from the book or some naan that I buy frozen and reheat, smeared with some simple yellow split peas cooked with spices until they’re like refried beans. So comforting!
Q. How much cash do you think busy working women stand to save by making hands-off recipes instead of ordering take-out or buying a to-go meal at the local market?
A. Well, depending on where you grocery shop, you can really eat well for not much money. We don’t eat meat every night, for example, and that keeps the costs down and the vegetable intake up! So say you normally would spend $7 to 10 a person for to-go (not fast food); you can easily feed four people for $10 and make a great lasagna, soup, or vegetarian curry.
Q. Anything else you’d like to add?
A. The whole idea of this book was to make cooking flavorful, healthy meals less time-consuming and more accessible. We’re all so used to eating lots of different ethnic cuisines and constantly trying to balance health with convenience. So I really tried to make my recipes easy to put together but full of flavor, color, and texture, so that they’re really satisfying.
Want a taste? Order this fine cookbook now. Or visit Ann’s blog for recipes and other quick-cooking tips.
February 14th, 2008
Not everyone likes Suze Orman. But if she wanted to give you free financial advice, wouldn’t you take it? Considering she knows a hell of a lot more about money than I do, I would. So I downloaded her book Women & Money for free from Oprah’s website just now.
You can too. For free. Today, February 14 only. Until 5 pm PST. From this here link.
Happy VD!
February 14th, 2008
Sometimes people who read this blog or were kind enough to purchase my book email me to say nice things. That makes my day. Last month one such note arrived from a budding writer named Jackie Leventhal, who recently formed a kickass-sounding writing group in her hometown. Jackie asked a bunch of questions on behalf of her group, which I had a blast answering. In case any of it’s helpful to you, I thought I’d put the edited-down version of our exchange here.
Jackie writes: I just read your book and completely loved it. Thank you for writing such a robust and spot-on book about my ultimate goal, that being escaping the cubed lifestyle. I’m writing to you not only as a fan of your work, but as a 24-year-old aspiring writer who recently launched Mimosa Musings, a monthly writing group for women in DC who love to write and relish the support of female friendships. Meetings are on Sundays, and mimosas are served to usher in the warm feeling of a weekend brunch. As I try to continually better the substance of the group — meeting topics, writing exercises, partner activities — I’m reaching out to writers I admire for advice.
Q. What was your “Aha!” moment that made you feel like you were meant to be a writer?
A. In the third grade, Ms. Fitzsimons (she had excellent red hair and wore kelly green suits!) told me I was a “real writer” after reading one of my book reports. I loved that she used “Ms.” back in the 70s and I totally hung on to what she’d said.
Q. How do you discipline yourself as a writer?
A. By taking deadline projects. Otherwise, I’m the laziest slug around. I have a book now due in about 50 days. If I don’t finish it, I don’t get the second half of my advance and jeopardize getting to keep the first half. For non-deadline projects (say, an essay I’m writing that I hope to place somewhere big, like Salon), I try to tackle it in bite-size pieces throughout the week (that is, when I’m not staring down a big hairy book deadline).
I write best in the morning, so I’ll try to do an hour or two before my other work two to three times a week. I also have a soundtrack: Derek and the Dominos. I love that CD and wore it out on a writing retreat in 2006. Now when I pop it in, I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs. “Oh, Eric Clapton’s wailing about being in love with George Harrison’s wife again? Must be time to write…”
Q. What are your ideal writing conditions? Setting, beverage, time of day, journal v. laptop, pen (feather?) v. pencil (mechanical?)…
A. Good night’s sleep (I’m useless when tired, cranky), morning, desk, computer. Sometimes I walk first. Or rock out to music. I have an office in my house (spare bedroom), but I can write anywhere if need be. You need to be able to write anywhere, in blood if you must. When I’m blocked on something, I leave the office, grab a pen and paper, sit on my couch or in my backyard if it’s summer, and scribble until something comes. Or I’ll shower. Or walk. All of which help.
Q. What advice can you offer to aspiring writers about the journey to the bookshelf?
A. As my friend Angela Fountas says, “Sit down and write.” It’s that simple. You just have to start. And you have to do it often. Any writing teacher/book tells you so. Make it a habit, just like yoga or running, so that if you miss a day, you feel antsy and can’t wait to get back in the chair.
You gals already have the community thing down, meeting with like-minded creative types, which is so important. Writing is such a solitary business that you NEED to have creative friends to bounce ideas/fears/successes/editor woes/finished stories off of.
Q. Finally, please suggest a writing exercise that myself and fellow Musers can do at a monthly meeting.
A. Think of a scene, a story you’ve been wanting to tell, whether it’s how you’re pissed at your landlord for not fixing your toilet or how you met some sweet young thing at the Barack Obama rally last month. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Now write it from the perspective of your archest enemy. Or the writer currently seated to your left. Or your grandmother. Or Hillary Clinton. Or John McCain. Or your favorite third grade teacher. Your favorite writer. Your dog.
(Also, Natalie Goldberg’s books Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones are loaded with inspiration and writing exercises.)
February 13th, 2008
Previous Posts
Following are excerpts from my latest “How’d you land that great job?” column for the Seattle Times and NWjobs.com, the paper’s online career center. I love Laura’s job and wanted to share with the class. Plus, we couldn’t run the photo at the left in the paper, and I didn’t want to let it go to waste… 
Q. How did you make the leap from selling antiques to auctioneering?
