Recession ethics for freelancers
Times is tough. Even if you’re drowning in work, chances are you’ve had at least one steady client cut your rates this year, or worse, cut you off altogether. Yeah, clients come and go during even the most financially prosperous of times. But in a year when work is harder to come by and the competition stiffer, each little setback can feel like a full-on body blow. Last week, the Associated Press reported that an Illinois man pocketed more than $470,000 in paychecks from a company he never worked for over the course of four-and-a-half years. Th

Online class: Dealing with Nightmare Clients
Just in time for Halloween, I’m offering a new online class for rookie and veteran freelance writers on how to handle clients from hell.  “Dealing with Nightmare Clients” is a four-week online course — starting this Wednesday, October 21! – sponsored by the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). Although I’ll be delivering the lessons right to your inbox, you can follow along from anywhere, at your own pace, even if your own pace means working through the lessons at 3 a.m. on a weekend. In this class, I’ll discuss how to tame those beastly client

My Pacific Northwest book readings this month
Hey, Seattle and Portland! There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you: I’m doing a couple of book readings in the coming week for a nifty new Seal Press anthology called P.S. What I Didn’t Say: Unsent Letters to Our Female Friends. My contribution to the book? A story that manages to incorporate first love, family dysfunction, bigtime betrayal, and really, really bad hair.

Freelance writing tips — live and in person this Monday!
Seattle area folks, want to learn the ins and outs of the freelance writing life, and soon? I thought so. Join me this Monday, October 5 for a little talk with a big name, Learn Your Way Around the Business End of Freelancing and Become a Pitch-Slapping Success, which I’ll be giving with my pal Diane Mapes. In this 2009 SPJ Fall Continuing Ed Series class, we’ll give freelancers of all stages our best tips on making your writing business legit and drumming up a steady stream of print and web assignments. Stuff I’ll be tal

Open thread: Where do you find your best story fodder?
Newer nonfiction writers often ask their grizzled peers where we get our ideas for all the articles, blog posts*, columns, personal essays, and pitches we’re endlessly cranking out – often on deadline. In an era where computers and phones are exploding with content, links, and commentary galore, this may seem like an odd question to ask. But I thought it would be fun to answer anyway. On any given week, I’m responsible for turning in at least one career column and three