So when I saw this post by Jessie Haynes over on All Freelance Writing, I just had to share it.

Even small, simple projects require at least some outlining and proofreading…it will only take a few more minutes and you’ll be sending a more professional piece of work in, rather than something sloppy. Yes, as professionals, we can “get away” with rushing some things or taking a few short cuts, but if we held ourselves accountable, would we? I think that when someone pays you to perform the core competencies of your business for them, you should provide your best work possible. After all, you should be asking for fair compensation for your work, so how about doing the work you’re being paid for!

Jesse includes a few free templates to help you map each writing job from beginning to end. Research, outline, and a checklist for ideas. Go grab them!

In Ali Hale’s The Bloggers’ Guide to Effective Writing, she stresses the importance of all articles having a beginning, middle and end. It seems straightforward and obvious, but many freelance writers struggle to put their ideas in order with a strong opening, an informative middle and a coherent end. If you have ever stared at one of your articles, lost as to why it just doesn’t seem to be gelling the way you need it to, check out Hale’s book.

But thanks to the wonders of the BlackBerry, I’ve been able to stay on top of things with my Google Reader.

Here are some articles I put stars next to, knowing they’d be helpful:

10 most common writing mistakes – we all make ‘em, let’s try to avoid them, at least in the rewrite.

Nobody’s reading my blog – you’ve got to get over this hit to your self-esteem, especially if you are a new blogger.

Flash is dead – and it’s about bloody time!

Demand Studios is now hiring in the UK and Canada

If you want to be a freelancer, you need to know about business – essential link!

Alright, I have 7 articles I need to pump out today. So the coffee maker is percolating, my brain is buzzing, and I’ll leave you to your day. Good luck and happy writing!

So now I’m in a place where I’m feeling a little better, a little stronger, ready to work – and I have to apologize to my clients for dropping the ball. It’s awful. I feel terrible for letting people down – in some cases with time-sensitive work.

In addition to having to apologize, I need to implement a backup to make sure something like this can never happen again. A telephone tree, a Virtual Assistant – something to ensure that my clients will always have their work completed or at least regular updates as to my return.

I’m not sure how to implement this, but I’m certainly open to suggestions. Do I make a copy of my clients’ numbers for a friend? Do I get a MedicAlert bracelet made with “In case of unconsciousness, call clients!” written on it?

This is where I’d love to hear from other freealncers who work alone – whether it be in writing or some other medium. What do you have in place in case of emergency?

Sometimes just being yourself is enough to make people trust you.

I thought I’d share a few here with you:

• Office Hours Blog, which I write for, has great tips and tricks for social media, adding podcasts to your website and more
• Blogging Without a Blog has a post up about The Legal Side of Blogging – this’ll keep you honest
• AKA A Writer has a series on Entrepreneurial Marketing that is well worth a read
• Mary Jaksch has outdone herself in the list-making department with 176 Tips for Writers
• And last but never least, the brilliant Leo Balbuta is giving away FREE STUFF

So, what have you been doing with your summer vacation?

From a declarative and constitutional standpoint, America declared her independence from the British Crown on July 4, 1776.

Have you declared yours yet?

From what, you ask? From the cube. From the boss you hate and the hours in traffic that kill your car and weaken your arteries as your blood pressure rises a little more every day. From the fast food lunches and the $7 lattes that get you through the mind-numbing day. From the undependable daycare and the dry cleaning bills.

Have you?

That decision was made for me last year, when I lost my legal job. Yes, I looked for another one, but I didn’t really put my heart into it. I just didn’t want to go back to the cube. I began writing for business, not just for pleasure. Built up a few regular clients. Expanded. And never looked back.

Oh, I don’t pretend that it happened overnight, that I went from miserable paralegal to successful freelancer writer. Bah! In fact, I still haven’t hit my regular income goal yet. But I’m sticking with it. I simply don’t ever want to have to depend on someone else for my income and financial well-being ever again. Being a professional freelance writer means I call the shots, I choose the work, I set the wages. I’m independent.

Will you be declaring your independence this year?

One of the ways I have declared my independence is to take the thing I love most – blogging – and turn it into a career. I strongly recommend Ali Hale’s Staff Blogging Course for anyone who wants to make their love of blogging into a career. At just $19, it’s a bargain, and the lessons learned could earn you thousands of times the cost of the course.

Don’t act like you’re hiring a full-time employee. - I’m shocked by how many people request formal resumes and such from potential freelancers. What’s worse though is that today I saw a company asking for things like cumulative GPAs. Folks, these traditional requests are fine if you’re hiring an employee. They’re often completely overboard when hiring someone for short-term per-project gigs. Instead look at their portfolios. Their work will speak for itself. (And frankly, there’s no reason you need someone’s GPA to hire them as a part-time, freelance blogger. That’s just silly and makes a bad impression – this particular advertiser came across as absurdly demanding for example with their list of requirements.)

I’ve seen ads like this. They’re so frustrating, because obviously some automaton in HR drafted the ad according to company hiring policy for employees, and no one has a clue how to hire a contractor. Ads for freelance writing gigs that ask you for transcripts or a list of every job you’ve ever had since McDonald’s when you were 15 are completely out of line (the exception being anything that requires a government security clearance, of course). You want to hire me as a writer, but want to know about when I mowed lawns in college? How does that apply in any way, shape or form to me writing your marketing copy?

And you want free custom samples? Are you on crack? Tell ya what: I’ll do for you what my tailor does for me. If I want something bespoke, I place a deposit that covers the cost of materials. Then if I return and hate the piece my tailor made for me, I lose the deposit. No hard feelings – we’re both covered. I don’t have to buy the piece, and he’s not out of pocket (this happened once with a pair of leather pants when I was a dominatrix – we moved on and continued our professional relationship). Seriously, do you go to a restaurant, eat a meal, then tell the waiter it was “just a sample” and you shouldn’t have to pay for it since you didn’t like it all that much? If I were the waiter you tried that on, I’d punch you in the stomach repeatedly till you vomited, thereby breaking you of a very bad habit of ripping off restaurants.

I’m so glad Jennifer wrote that piece. I think it should be sent to every person who places an unrealistic and ludicrous ad on Craigslist, looking to exploit freelance writers.

1. First, remove your sweatpants, pajamas, and/or stained underwear — whatever’s your freelancing uniform of choice — and set them aside to be burned. If you’ve been freelancing longer than a year, believe us, the stink of your trade has set up permanent residence in those fibers. No one close to you will tell you this, but we will: Your clothes reek. They must be incinerated. If you burn them in the yard, why not multi-task and do a little rain dance for the gods? Can’t hurt. (Put new clothes on first — we’re sure your neighbors don’t want to see your dangly bits doing the funky chicken.)

You see, I subscribe to Topless Wednesdays and No Pants Fridays, and if I shower during the day I usually wind up working the afternoon wrapped in a towel. Back when I was a corporate cube whore, I would get up, shower, do my makeup, put on clean clothes, and make my insufferable commute downtown. All before my first cup of coffee – sacrilege!

Now however, I roll out of bed with unkempt hair, put on an old khaki skort and a very politically offensive t-shirt (I have a large collection of them – today it’s my 2nd Amendment Heller Kitty shirt, given to me by Beth), stumble to the living room, open my laptop. Shuffle to the kitchen, put on the coffee (I gave up Starbucks in favor of instant for Lent). Do the bathroom thing, wash my face (occasionally), then go pour my coffee. I can settle in with my up-and-running laptop for almost an hour before my cup needs to be refilled.

A shower is like, every other day most days, and a blow-dry is reserved for days when I have either a luncheon or a TV appearance. I usually remember to eat around dinner time, at which point I’ll make popcorn or a bowl of rice.

I am a stereotype of the freelance writer!!

However, like the project I linked, so many of these touchy-feeling social activism sites cloak themselves in the aura of the greater good that they simply don’t pay anyone anything at all. So while queer Asian culture in Vancouver definitely qualifies as niche, submitting to a site like this gives you zero money in the bank to hit the clubs on Friday night.

Please, for the love of good writing, see the previous post: Fuck you, Pay me! Queer writers want equality? They should get paid for their stories, just like the rest of us.

Dozens of ads are posted daily, seeking freelancers who will provide “samples” of their wares for free. To that request, freelance writer Erik Sherman says Fuck you, pay me!

Do free work for the possibility of maybe getting some work. Is this their idea of financial well-being, or even borderline intelligence?

Screw that. I’m absolutely sick of it. In the words of Goodfellas, “Fuck you, pay me.” You’re not sure that you’ll like what I do? Fuck you, pay me. Not sure what you really need, but figure you’ll know it when you see it? Fuck you, pay me. Want to be able to sample everything on a restaurant’s menu and then decide afterward what you’ll actually order? Fuck you, pay me.

I have fallen victim to this a couple of times – we all do. But some of my best clients who remain with me today are the ones who say “I’ll pay you xxx for a sample on this topic to see how you do.” That is a much more agreeable way to do business. After all, even if you go to a food fair in the town square, you’re still paying an entrance fee as well as a moderate price to sample the wares of your local restaurants. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, as they say!

So for those potential clients who would like me to provide a sample while they diddle and doddle about whether or not to grant me the job:

Fuck you, pay me!