Legalities

Ask Me Anything: Errors & Omissions Insurance and Looking for Work

Ashley Festa asks, how to begin looking for work as a freelancer. Three words: marketing, marketing, marketing. Depending on the types of freelance projects you’re looking for, the shape of your marketing efforts can vary. There are plenty of options — in fact, there are at least 31 days worth of marketing projects you can [...]

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Straight From the CPA: Freelancers Need Credit Cards

I’ve recommended credit cards in the past as a simple way to manage freelancing expenses. I got the chance to interview the CPA who I send my taxes to, Travis Raml, for another article not too long ago and something he said stuck with me. Travis explained that you can actually minimize your taxes for [...]

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My Dad Meets Copyright Law

I know I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to copyright law. I’ve taken classes on the subject, kept up with the latest news and even sent out a DMCA takedown notice of my own. I have a vested interest in making sure that my own copyrights are enforced, and I get downright [...]

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Free Tax Advice for Journalists

I know I’ve mentioned that CCH offers a free tax guide for journalists in the past. But as tax season closes in on us, I think it’s worth bringing up again. The booklet covers a wide variety of topics, including income from prizes, copyright, libel insurance and even advice for foreign correspondents living abroad. Furthermore, [...]

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Protect Your Business Information From Identity Theft

If you’ve formalized your business by incorporating and obtaining an EIN — which I do thoroughly recommend for most writers — it is important to remember that this information is just as sensitive as your own Social Security number. Just as someone with access to your SSN can do all sorts of damage to your [...]

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Copyright Under A Pen Name

Odds are good that you’ve at least considered writing under a pen name at some point or another. One issue that might be holding you back is the question of copyright. Not to worry, though — even if you use a pen name, you enjoy the protections of copyright. Just like any other work, pseudonymous [...]

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Tax Season is Upon Us, Sort Of

If you’re self-employed full-time, don’t forget to mail your third quarter estimated tax payment. It’s due on September 15. While I agree with the principle of quarterly payments — unfortunately, a lot of us would forget to save for taxes entirely — I do wish the mechanics of the situation were a little simpler. For [...]

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SBA Pushes For Home Office Deduction Simplification

I am pretty fond of the home office tax deduction: because I work from home, I get to write off a percentage of my rent and utilities. But there is no question that there are some hoops you have to jump through if you want the deduction. The SBA has come to the conclusion that [...]

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Contractual Questions

I like contracts — they tend to simplify writing gigs because everyone knows expectations, payments and other details of the project. My rule is always get a contract. I break that rule regularly, though. I routinely write fairly short pieces — one offs for clients — that I don’t draw up a contract for. I [...]

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Website Copyright Scam

I found out about a bunch of scammers targeting website owners from Writer Beware. Essentially, a group of scam artists are looking up who owns a given website and then sending the owner an email from “the US Copyright Registry,” claiming that the website in question is not copyrighted.  For a measly $350, the scammers [...]

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