Freelance Hivemind: We Are Not Amused

/voice of bitter experience

At what point do you go "fuck it" and jettison an article? I spoke to my editor about it a month ago, had been working in my day job a lot, he said he thought it was a good idea and to give it a go, fairly non commital but he was interested.

Down the line I'm not sure it's actually going to work, but I really want to do it and deliver on the idea I had. Am I stupid for thinking it might look bad to just hit him with my other ideas now, which I do think are better. I just bit off a bit more than I could chew with idea 1, and now find myself unable to say what the piece is really about. I probably could finish a 1000 word draft of it but my gut feeling is that it's not really good enough.

So the boss has been falling a little farther behind in paying me with each issue. She's paying me now for work done in March/April. I think it's time for The Talk.

good luck with The Talk, WmC.

one of my main clients has changed the schedule on me five times in the last two weeks. but I've put up with it because I'm terrified of not being able to pay the bills this month (and also because I'm a spineless weasel).

freelancing is terrifying. nice knowing I'm not helping my creepy old racist boss at my last job buy another Lamborghini, though.

She got caught up in a big way without having to have The Talk! Paid me for the most recent issue months ahead of expectation.

Freelancers and small business owners who have business credit cards, or anybody who has a credit card that they actually like, I need recommendations: my business card is going to expire in May, and since I declined their most recent Change in Terms (a hike from 9.9% to 20+ on purchases), I expect they'll cancel the card. I think I want to get a card that has a points/miles/rewards program. Anybody have any recommendations?

No recommendations?

(doh! more appropriate to post here)

I fired a client today! There's so much weight off my shoulders, I actually am floating in space

The client is really good at timing paychecks to arrive on Fridays before Monday holidays, knowing that it'll be Tuesday before I can get to the bank.

Advertiser, who knows the price for a full page full color ad, asks "what's the price for a full page B&W ad if only the photos are in color?"

double, for having to mix black and white and color in the same ad

good answer

I've been working for the same client for 17 years now and thought I couldn't be surprised by anything in this particular industry, but today I'm mindboggled by a feed supplement for show cattle called "Fresh & Feminine."

Getting a dozen photos through email but rather than attaching them all to the same mail, each photo has been sent through it's own individual email. I noted in the future to try using zip or multiple attachments.

Also every time I get sent something, I get an email and then a few hours later I get a text and then a I get a phone call all asking if I got the email. Yes I got it. It didn't get lost in the mail.

I don't envy the life of the livestock show photographer. They sell a web-resolution image one time and suddenly everybody has it, including people who haven't paid for it and people who want to use it for print even though it's not big enough. Still puts me in a tough spot between the photographer and the advertiser.

Can we talk about the Paycheck Protection Program? I got email from my bank this morning that included this:

On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, the Treasury Department issued much-anticipated guidance for the Paycheck Protection Program, which starting this week will provide up to $350 billion in fully forgivable loans to help small businesses maintain payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic.

Small businesses and sole proprietorships—generally, those with 500 or fewer employees—may apply for PPP loans with their bank starting on Friday, April 3; independent contractors and self-employed workers can apply starting April 10. PPP loans will be fully forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities, with at least three quarters of the forgiven amount being used for payroll; forgiveness is based on employers maintaining headcount or quickly rehiring and maintaining salary levels.

The phrase "fully forgivable loan" is throwing me. If I wind up qualifying and use the money under their constraints, does that mean it becomes just a free-money grant? I think I read on the Treasury website that I'd have to apply for loan forgiveness and that it's not automatic. But still, this sounds like a lifeline for me (independent contractor).

moving from the 'working from home' thread

I've worked from home for almost 19 years. I expect it to all come crashing down around my ears any day now.

― Miami weisse (WmC), Thursday, March 12, 2020 8:14 AM (two years ago)

lol it kinda did. My client held on through the end of '21 before shuttering, and I billed another client $310 in '22. My tax guy says I can claim to be self employed and claim a loss for four years before I have to start calling myself a bartender instead of a graphic designer and quit claiming internet/phone/WFMU donations as business expenses.