The end of the year is approaching, which means it’s time to start thinking about planning for the new one—including whether to attend conferences of SPJ and other organizations that can help our freelancing efforts, so we can budget for the time and money to participate in such events.

That raises the obvious question of why – why go to an SPJ regional or national conference? Why go to the conferences of other organizations?

That’s easy: Because it’s good business for a freelancer. It’s a smart use of your time and money.

As freelancers, we can often feel isolated and cut off from our colleagues. One way to reduce that lonely feeling is to get out of the house and … go to a conference. Attending a conference is a great way to get reconnected to colleagues.

Conferences are learning experiences almost by definition. They offer a consolidated, in-depth and often intense opportunity to plug into the current trends of our profession (or the professions and industries of the people we write about) and to pick up on tools, techniques and other topics important to those of us who practice and care about journalism, no matter what role we play in the profession. You never know what you might learn by attending a conference.

The SPJ’s national conference will include a number of sessions specifically for freelancers, as well as plenty of opportunities. Regional meetings are likely to include freelance topics as well. (If not – be the one to offer something about freelancing at your regional meeting!) Whether you’re thinking about freelancing, starting out or have been doing freelance journalism for years, you can always learn more from colleagues and presenters.

Conference attendance is also a great way to meet colleagues in person and interact on levels well beyond the impersonal one of e-mail. Why do that? Well, it’s always nice to make new friends, but it also helps to remember that we’re more likely to want to work with people we know. Meeting in person enhances your network of people who might refer or recommend you for projects or even hire/subcontract with you. You become more than an e-mail address; you become a real person, and that makes you stand out from all those other e-mail messages in someone’s inbox, especially when that someone needs to hand off work they don’t usually do or are too swamped to take on.

Conferences bring us together not just with our peers, but with people who might hire us. That’s an opportunity we shouldn’t miss. Again, meeting prospective clients in person makes us stand out from the throng when there’s a reason to get in touch later on.

Yes, conferences cost money, and freelancers don’t have the luxury of being sponsored or reimbursed by their employers to attend professional meetings. However, those expenses are tax-deductible – not just registration, but travel, accommodations, meals, supplies, resources, etc. If you put some money aside starting in January, you can build up a sizable conference budget for the year.

You can even make money from attending conferences. SPJ may not pay most of its conference speakers, but some organizations either pay honoraria or cover the costs of travel and accommodations for their speakers, along with giving speakers free conference registration. Think about what you might have to offer to colleagues or clients, and start looking for opportunities to be a speaker somewhere in the new year!

Even attending a conference can be a freelance assignment. I have clients that pay my travel, accommodation and meal expenses, plus a daily fee, for me to attend their annual conferences and write up daily events for an onsite newsletter or post-conference report. Being there also lets me mingle with other attendees whom I wouldn’t meet otherwise and who might have a use for my freelance services, or might be good story subjects for the future.

As I said in a recent assignment (for an organization that has nothing to do with journalism), conferences are for us – designed with our professional and personal needs in mind, and intended to serve those needs by giving us what we need to stay up to date in our profession, make our work better, and enhance the skills and service that we provide to our clients.

When you go to an SPJ conference, a conference for freelancers or one for members of an industry that you cover, you’re not just among colleagues; you’re among friends. So sit down with a calendar and your budget for the new year, and plan now to plug yourself into the adventure of at least an SPJ conference. See you there!

Long-time freelancer Ruth E. Thaler-Carter (www.writerruth.com) is a veteran of “too many conferences to count” in various aspects of communications, as well as on behalf of clients in several professions and industries. She is the owner of Communication Central (www.communication-central.com), which presents an annual fall conference for freelance writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, etc.

Look around. No matter where our eyes land, we see words.

It may be just one small word, such as “off” or “on,” but the process that led to printing the word required someone to come along and write it. Decisions were made, assignments were given and the words we see around us were formed.

If prospective and novice freelancers keep that in mind, the emotional challenge of finding writing and editing assignments will become little easier to take. Understand that the world needs writers of all kinds, and that one of those particular needs is bound to fit a freelancer’s special talent.

Of course, nobody will know that until it’s made obvious to everyone. Thus, self-promotion and marketing are as important as the actual creative actions of writing and editing.

This is tough for most freelancers just starting out. The very notion of having to sell themselves and do it daily takes them out of their writing and editing comfort zones and plops them in front of risk, challenge, uncertainty, frustration — things certain to make even average people squirm and sweat. Worse still, shopping for clients takes time away from the writing and editing processes.

Thus, marketing is where a freelancer’s ego runs up against reality. And repeatedly banging into reality this way can be bruising.
There is, however, one element of reality working in a freelancer’s favor that can cushion the psychological blow and act similarly as a sales tool.

You see, people who know how to use words effectively are, above all else, problem-solvers. They bring to bear talent and wisdom nobody else has or can use in precise ways, and that precision helps answer questions, surmount obstacles and open doors for other people.

Whereas managers organize a given situation and technicians wrestle with the fine details of it, writers and editors are responsible for communicating initial needs, communicating the problem-solving processes, communicating the analysis and conclusions of the final result. And let’s face it, nothing gets accomplished without strong, effective communication at multiple levels.

Thus, freelancers are instrumental. They find and write the words that help address important issues. They are, in essence, problem-solvers. And if prospective freelancers think carefully about this before tackling the onerous task of self-promotion, that task may start to seem less onerous. By pitching themselves as problem-solvers, freelancers expand the definitions of who they are and what they can accomplish. Clients will see them as more than just communicators, too.

It’s a psychological game, certainly, but it’s one all freelancers can win. And once they start to play, it can become much easier to switch their careers from “off” to “on.”

David Sheets is a sports content editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and STLtoday.com, and president of SPJ’s St. Louis Pro chapter. Reach him by e-mail at dsheets@post-dispatch.com, on Twitter at @DKSheets, or on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Ask, says David Volk in the most recent issue of Quill. He tells when to say “Is that rate negotiable?”

I just spent 30 minutes on a conference call learning about the various ways journalists can use LinkedIn. The walkthrough included:

Synching your Twitter account with your LinkedIn profile (and advice on what kind of posts are appropriate);
how to use Advanced Search features to find the most appropriate sources for stories;
how to find editors in your zip code, or in hot publishing zip codes like New York or Washington;
how to use the Reference search tab;
how reporters use the Companies tab to get stories and scoops;
how to add skills to your profile, which can help editors find you;
how to post questions on LinkedIn, without giving away your story topics;
How to use the Answers button.

It was a great guided tour, run by LinkedIn’s Krista Canfield (PR people can be our friends). She gave us a bonus at the end: a way to get an Upgraded account on LinkedIn, without paying (see?).
Here’s a tipsheet for press.

Go to LinkedIn’s journalism group for details on the next conference call.

Thanks to our readers for giving us feedback on our wide variety of posts on the Independent Journalist blog. Please note that we get a fair amount of spam, so we do moderate comments. If you feel your post has been inadvertently deleted, please contact freelance chair Dana Neuts.  Thanks for your understanding.

This is a cross-post, with permission, from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Speaking solely for myself, I shudder at the idea of having to do the kind of paperwork the rules change requires.

Michael Fitzgerald, Vice chair, SPJ Freelance committee

Dear ASJA member:

You may have already heard about a change in 1099 reporting that was part of the National Health Care Reform Act. As written, the new law requires that starting in Spring 2012 one will have to report via 1099 form not only transactions with individuals of more than $600 for services, but they will also have to file 1099s for any good/products they purchased over the threshhold, or for services provided by corporations. Essentially, any vendor with whom you spend more than $600 in a year will have to provide you with their tax identification number, and you will have to issue a 1009 form at the end of the year.

For example, if you spend more than $600 in a year at Best Buy–get a new computer, say–the proposed change would mean that you would have to get Best Buy’s tax ID number. Then, when you do your taxes, you would have to fill out a 1099 and give it to Best Buy! Now, if you were employed by a corporation and needed a new laptop to do your work, their accounting office would be doing the paperwork. Since we run our own businesses-of-one, the paperwork burden falls on us!

This sweeping rule is already being modified. The IRS has now said that any transaction done with a business debit card or business credit card will not have to be “1099ed,” but many self-employed people and small businesses don’t use business-specific credit cards. The practical effect of this is that any vendor–individual or corporate, it doesn’t matter–to whom you write checks will also have to receive a 1099 from you at the end of the year.

More changes are critically needed. Fortunately, citizens get to comment on proposed regulations. We ASJA members each need to write a few sentences telling the IRS this is just too much to ask of self-employed citizens like us. It will not take much of your time, and it’s important.

The IRS is accepting comments now, and it’s imperative that the self-employed community speak out about the disproportionate burden imposed by the new tax law. Comments are due by September 29, 2010. We’re told the IRS will be moving on this issue sooner than the comment deadline and so we urge comments be submitted much sooner than the deadline.

PLEASE BE AWARE ANYTHING YOU SUBMIT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC–so be careful with any info you do not want public.

Sample submission to get you started:

As a self-employed freelance journalist and member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) I am responding to the IRS’s request for comments: The requirement to file a 1099 for all goods or services purchased imposes an unacceptable burden on me. Running a one-person business is difficult enough without adding these onerous reporting requirements. While this may not be too burdensome for a business with an office staff, it will be a large job for me that will detract from my ability to earn enough money to support myself. Please reconsider these requirements for self-employed persons.

There are three ways to submit comments. E-mail to:

* Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Notice 2010-51″ in the subject line.
* Mail to: Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR ( Notice 2010-51), Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044.
* Hand deliver to: CC:PA:LPD:PR ( Notice 2010-51), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Background on the new law from two CNN articles:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/21/smallbusiness/1099_deluge/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/09/smallbusiness/irs_1099_flood/index.htm

How to submit written comments to the IRS:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=225029,00.html

Please feel free to contact the ASJA office with any questions.

Best,
Tina Tessina, Chair, ASJA Advocacy Committee
Alexandra Owens, ASJA Executive Director

On September 24th, in celebration of International Freelancers Day, you can attend a series of free online seminars about various aspects of freelancing. Actually, International Freelancers Day happens on the 24th and the 25th, though you don’t get the full agenda unless you register.

On some level, International Freelancers Day is about marketing for its speakers. But the seminars appear to have no upfront costs, and some of those featured include topics like building a brand, writing a book or how to work alone. You can decide for yourself if the events feel worth your email.

Richard Morgan has this great post on his freelance life, Seven Years as a Freelance Writer, or, How to Make Vitamin Soup. Wise, warm and witty, it offers a cautionary look at the ups, downs and maddening misbehavior by editors and supposed friends that freelancers face.

Morgan is interviewed by Nieman Storyboard editor Andrea Pitzer. One salient exercpt:

There’s a part of The Awl piece where I describe it as “choosy begging.” People emphasize the choosy part when they fantasize about being a freelancer, and not the begging part. But there’s so much freelancing you have to do that’s just 300-word stories.

Current freelancers will get knowing grimaces — and grins — while reading Morgan. Aspiring freelancers should read him closely — he’s telling it like it is.

MediaShift interviews several writers who freelance for word mills like Demand Studios and Seed. The premise of Writers explain what it’s like toiling on the content farm is that we’ll all be working for them someday, so why not show you how the sausage is made. In fact, if there comes a time when we’re all working for them, they’ll probably be much different than they are today. Several writers ask not to be named, which MediaShift allows even while letting them spit on the hand that feeds them. The comments on the piece contain some sharpening of those in the story.

By Carrie Madren

As freelance journalists we offer our services to businesses as independent contractors. Typically, we sign contracts with publications, clearly establishing the client/contractor relationship. Other publications operate on a less formal basis, and, as professionals, we know what’s expected of us. As independent contractors, we don’t expect to receive benefits such as health insurance or paid vacation. We know our tax obligations, and our clients are not responsible for deducting Social Security and income taxes. We choose to be independent for a plethora of reasons.

The Senate held a hearing last week focused on a bill that will create excessive paperwork requirements for businesses that use the services of independent contractors. The bill also will mandate inordinate penalties for failing to file the correct documents.

This bill, S.3254: Employee Misclassification Prevention Act , is intended to prevent businesses from intentionally misclassifying workers as contractors, rather than employees, for the purpose of skirting the responsibilities of an employer. However, its result will actually create an environment in which businesses will be deterred from using the services of an independent contractor, such as us.

If all publications are required to jump through the hoops of this legislation, some may be unwilling to use freelance services. Additionally, such high penalties could scare away clients — particularly those clients who are already teetering on the brink of using in-house work over freelance work.

Contact your Senators by phone, email or letter to let them know that this bill will stifle your freelance business.

Carrie Madren is an award-winning freelance journalist and storyteller based in Maryland and published in regional, national and international publications including Maryland Life magazine, E Magazine, The Ecologist, Grist.org, Mother Nature Network, Bay Weekly newspaper, Bay Journal News Service and more.