Freelance Writer

I have been an amateur photographer for many years now and there are alot of great events I can take photos at near me. I would like to possibly obtain a freelance press pass and try and sell photos to various sources. Can anyone tell me where to start ? Thank you.

If you are good at what you do, make an appointment to see the editor at your local paper. Tell him that you are good and can shoot photos of various local events. Tell him, if this is true, that you are intelligent and motivated. Show him examples of your work, when you see him. They don’t have to be in any polished presentation, although some sort of order would be nice. Talent speaks for itself.
You might consider beginning at your local community college.

I have a 12 year old freelance web programming business that generates about $40k per year in my spare time. Most importantly, I have about 35 satisfied clients, many for a very long time, that contact me to do work regularly. The business could really be built up with these clients as a starting point if someone were inclined (I have a day job). How could I price and/or sell this business as one entity?

While your client list might be worth something to a prospective buyer, you have little to offer in the way of assets. Unfortunately that translates into a low figure (a fraction of your yearly projected take, what that percentage is would be up to the person making the offer).

Also since your programming experience doesn’t come along for the ride both your current clients and your prospective buyer should not expect a seamless transition, which will further diminish what someone would be willing to pay. On the other hand, if your clients have little or no expectations and your prospect has great ambition, then what you had to offer wouldn’t matter much anyway.

Not to sound harsh, but what boils down to a speculative client list just isn’t worth a great deal. In a hot market you’d be lucky to get $10K, right now you’d be lucky to get a bid in the hundreds (and you know and we know that you are not going to bring in $40k again off those clients any time soon in this economy…).

I’ve been asked to create a specific craft project for a small magazine published in NY. They have told me exactly what they want and I am to provide the item for a photo shoot along with written instructions. I have an idea of what to charge for the project but would like to know what freelance writers are charging for magazine work on a per word basis.

it is different for every magazine. check a copy of a current writers market book & check for new york. hope that helps!

I am asking on behalf of a friend who does not have internet access at present. She has only just thought of this as a career move so still has a lot of research to do, but I thought I’d help her out by asking on this site first!

Ideally what she wants to know is, can you just get up and declare yourself a freelance journalist or do you need a license or to register somewhere? Is there some sort of official organisation you can join?

Thanks!

Not sure about the UK, I know in France the main requirement is the ability to drive a moped at high speed and cause fatal, and high profile, loss of life.

I want to know what is the real difference between providing consulting services and just being a freelance?
What is the difference if any in terms of skills, salary, responsabilities?
Does any one knows where to look for consultant jobs?

Freelancing is one way of being a consultant.
The other way is to be employed with a consulting company.
For eg, you may be employed full time by Accenture or Deloitte or any other consulting firm. You are paid like any other employee, so you get vacation, benefits and all the other normal perks The one major difference is that you have to travel extensively.

Freelancing is more like self employment. You can form your own company, usually S corp (if only husband and wife are the employees) and provide services to companies just like any other consulting company and but you get paid directly the client.

Freelancing is usually done by people who have more experience and/ or contacts. Its pretty hard to get gigs with less experience. You make more money freelancing simply because you are eliminating the middle man ( the consulting company). Also, there is more flexibility when you are a freelancer.

What kind of consultant job are you looking for, there are many areas in consulting like IT services, Financial services, Supply chain management to name a few.

So I’ve been working a regular 9-5 since I’ve finished my degree, but I’ve been asked on several occasions if I would do some freelance work.

I’d be happy to do the work, but I’m not sure what to charge. It would be for web-related software engineering work (PHP, CSS, XHTML, etc.). What would be a reasonable hourly rate to charge?
This is for a relatively small client (a web development firm).

I have extensive experience with web development, but I am also just out of college.

Depends on your location, your skill level, and the size of your client. Generally, if you’re straight out of college, you’re not going to have a lot of references or much in your portfolio–outside of school work–to show a potential client, so you may have trouble getting top dollar.

I’d shoot for around $50/hr starting out. Most people will ask you to make an estimate for a job instead of taking you on hourly. Take the amount of time you think it will require, double it, and multiply times $50–with luck, you’ll break even in the end.

As demand for your services grows, you can raise your rates.

I am a writer and looking to start a freelance career. I have been published before, but I am trying to make writing a full time job. Any suggestions?

It really depends on WHAT you want to write, but here’s one strategy that generates a lot of interest in my work. I write non-fiction, health-related material based on my background as a former wellness manager and nurse. I participate in an online professional discussion group of wellness professionals. You just never know who monitors such groups. It’s not unusual for people looking for knowledge experts to be among the recipients. You won’t support yourself JUST doing this, but it is one way to get noticed.

I try to contribute often, but I always make a point of being very clear, informative, and interesting in my answers. I always sign my input with my name, the title "Freelance health/wellness writer and consultant," my address and phone number. Of course, the email is in the response line of the email.

So my suggestion to you is to find discussion groups/forums where your topics are likely to come up and pitch in whenever there is a thread that you can expand on.

I have a friend who works for a local news station and does freelance work on the side. One of my church friends asked if he could film the Christmas play and how much to offer him. I have no idea how much to pay him! Any freelancers out there who can help? Anyone ever hired a freelance photographer (videographer) before? Thanks!

MOST FREELANCES HAVE THERE OWN PRICE SCHEDULE AND WILL TELL YOU WHAT THEY EXPECT .

After messing around in thw world of digital SLR’s for about a year , I really like the idea of working either as a freelance photographer or a phorojournalist … Does anyone know the best way of breaking into the industry or starting out?

There are three things I could recommend. First, try buying a copy of "Photographers’ Market." It’s probably going to cost you $25 to $30, but it’s amazing. It lists more than 1,400 markets – magazines, greeting cards, etc… including their criterion, readership and what not.

Second, build your portfolio like it were the Empire State Building. Really. I knew a guy who was the photo editor at a regional magazine, and he said when he was looking for photographers, it didn’t matter where they came from, where their degree was obtained or that they even had a degree. He said what he looked at most was their portfolio. So in most cases, you don’t need to show you have a degree. You need to show you have the ability to do it.

Third, I’ve learned that most photojouralists need to be people persons. Though more a writer myself, photojournalism is nothing without people. (Think about all the Pulitzer Prize winning photos… they all have people in them.) Even "National Geographic," a magazine renowned for its photography, has people in most of its photos.

That said, it wouldn’t hurt to learn a thing or two about style and technique when it come to photojournalism. Rule of thirds, No sh*t cutlines, etc.

Bottom line: Whatever your niche is, refine it, but keep yourself well rounded. Get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot. Don’t be afraid of rejection, and be professional.

There are many sites for Freelance. But didn’t get any idea to get a project. That is I didn’t know the mean of Bid.

Bid means your rate for that project.

Select a project to undertake and quote your competite rate for completing the project. If your bid is accepted, you get the order. That’s it.