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A guide to success and profit at the autumn freelance forum
By Therese Caherty
This autumn’s Freelance Forum (October 21st), “A guide to success and profit”, diverged from others that have come before. This seven-hour workshop had a single topic: instructing freelances on journalism and its business side. And it was very interactive – seating arrangements conspired to ensure this. Course tutor SA (Steven) Mathiesen provided
a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere, plenty of time for questions to share relevant personal experience, and sufficient role play to keep wandering minds on track. The forum also lent itself to catching up with old colleagues and networking with new ones. Ideal learning conditions.
His refrain was the need for utmost clarity and
organisation – calculate a daily rate on the cash you need to survive and thrive and the number of days you want to work per year. Confirm the bona fides of any potential employer. Be clear whether you actually want a job or not. Be informed about copyright and legal liability. Above all, keep tabs on current and finished jobs, what you owe the taxman, and catalogue your work for future reference. There was practical how-to guidance for all the above.
On pitching for the job, we learned how to sell
ourselves and our ideas more effectively. Work has value and there is a difference between gouging and a fair price. So we were advised to haggle and stand foursquare behind our get- out-of-bed rate with an argument handy to defend it. Helpful sites here are:
www.NUJ.org.uk, PayScale https://
www.payscale.com/research/IE/Job=Journalist/ Salary and the Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers
http://www.afepi.ie/ rates/. A former commissioning editor and forum participant said a well thought-out rate had generally helped to argue for a budget increase. Food for thought. Steven offered minutely detailed templates on
follow-up commission letters, or contracts, as he termed them. On submitting identical ideas to multiple employers, he urged to opt for “serial monogamy” to avoid confusion. Elsewhere the focus was on how to maintain
cordial relations with employers, upskilling and keeping track of new technology, GDPR,
From left, Dublin Freelance branch members Glenda Cimino; Therese Caherty, branch secretary; Kieran Fagan, branch finance officer; and Mike Roddy.
copyright, finding new clients – with lots to mull over on where to find new skills and ideas. The interactive element was refreshing, with 20-plus participants teasing out a variety of “problems”, some acting as commissioning editor, others as freelances, all gaining a rounder view of the tasks set. Responses were analysed collectively to spot things what worked and what didn’t – useful knowledge for the real world. The day’s compendium of tips for profit and success in the freelance world provided timely updates and reminders for old hands and an omni-resource for newcomers to the trade. Fair play to Freelance Branch chair Gerard Cunningham for organising another excellent way to start the week and to Steven Mathiesen for stimulating content and delivery. If he makes it back, be sure to attend. Finally, the day was not without its politics.
October 2019 marked the first anniversary of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian journalist and human rights activist, and the forum tweeted its support for an NUJ-Amnesty co-sponsored commemorative vigil outside the Saudi consulate later that day.
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