Magazines have folded by the dozen since the economy started its now infamous nose dive last fall. But most didn’t disappear overnight. Over the months, observant freelancers learned to read between the lines for signs a particular publication might be cutting back or, alas, shutting down completely.

Here are some indicators that all may not be well, based on my personal experience and with the help of some fellow freelancers on my favorite writers’ message board.

You know a magazine is in trouble when…

1. Emails to the editor you’ve been working with on an assignment suddenly bounce back, her voicemail is full and she’s not answering her phone.

2. They aren’t assigning anything new for the foreseeable future and are using up their backlog of already completed – and paid for – stories instead.

3. They’re using staffers – and editors – to write everything.

4. They’re using consultants, analysts and other industry experts to write columns instead of freelancers.

5. Instead of professionally written stories, they’re using message boards and other user-generated content to flesh out their Website.

6. They’ve switched to paying on publication instead of on acceptance.

7. They ask you to send a self-addressed stamped envelope along with your invoice.

8. Instead of sending your invoice to the lowly editorial assistant who’s handled the task forever you’ve been directed to send them straight to the assistant managing editor.

9. Invoices that used to be paid within 30 days or even less are now paid in 45 days – if you’re lucky.

10. They ask you to accept a smaller fee or lower per-word rate than what’s stipulated in your contract in order to get paid.

11. They love your story but hold it for a month for budget reasons and, despite the payment terms spelled out in your contract, demand that you to hold off sending an invoice for a month too.

12. They can’t find your invoice – again.

13. The latest issue comes in the mail and you mistake it for a promotional brochure.

What warning signs do you look for?

On Thursday when I got the Industry Standard’s weekly e-newsletter, which always runs 1 or 2 predictions at the very top of its other news stories, and read their guess that the Dow would fall below 9,000 this month I thought “No way.”

Then it happened. That very day. For the first time since 2003.

I am finally and officially worried.

And if I’m worried, I have to assume a lot of other self-employed writers are too.

So I put together the WordCount Bad Economy Emergency Survival Kit. In it you’ll find a hit parade of WordCount blog posts about what writers can do to ride out bad times. It includes some of the most popular posts I’ve written this year, based on the number of page views received.

Happy reading. Here’s hoping the market recovers next week.

Freelancers’ strategies for prospering in bad times - Suggestions from a variety of freelancers about steps they’re taking to strengthen their businesses this year.

Going freelance in a down economy – Susan Johnston’s choice to leave a full-time job to work for herself coincided with the start of the current down turn. Read how and why she did it in this guest post from the author of the popular Urban Muse blog.

Marketing your freelance business in bad times – Advice from a marketing expert and assistant professor of business at Oregon State University about what self-employed writers can do to promote their services.

Bad times are good for new media’s business news writers – While more newspapers are trimming their business sections, business news Websites are popping up all over the place, giving freelancers who cover business more places to pitch.

10 things freelancers can do to save money in a bad economy – Although I just wrote it this week, this post on simple things you can do to cut costs and save money is already proving popular – and has elicited some great comments.

10 things writers can do right now to feel better about the economy – More advice, this time on simple activities like updating your resume, joining social networks and calling editors, that could boost your sales.

Taking my own advice on beating bad times – How I’m practicing what I preach.

There’s nothing you can do about the Wall Street financial crisis or the $700 billion bail out package that Congress is debating as I write this. You can’t control the economy, or the price of gas or who’s going to win the presidential election in November.

In the face of so uncertainty, it’s easy to feel helpless. Especially when you’re an independently employed writer whose livelihood depends on the circumstances of others.

But between the choices of doing nothing and feeling helpless and doing something, I vote for doing something. So here are 10 things a freelance writer can do today to feel better about the economy and your place in it:

1. Update your resume. Ideally, it’s on your Website so the changes are easy and immediate.

2. Update your online presence. Make sure your latest clips are on your Website or blog. Revamp your profile on LinkedIn. Sign up with Facebook or Plaxo. Be sure to list any clients you’ve started writing for recently, writing groups or associations you’ve joined or classes you’ve taken to update your skills.

3. Submit expense receipts. Everybody’s got at least a few expenses that have been sitting around way too long. If you write for publications that reimburse expenses, that’s money in your pocket. What are you waiting for?

4. Send invoices. It’s easy to get consumed with the minutia of getting stories done and out the door. Just don’t forget to send an invoice along with them. And once those checks come in, bank them ASAP.

5. Send out a query. It doesn’t have to be the world’s best, or the world’s longest. The point is to send something and get the process going.

6. Go through your contacts. Look at your Rolodex, Outlook, LinkedIn connections or Facebook friends. Reach out to any who’ve taken a new job or moved to a different company to say hi or reconnect. Not every communication has to be specifically about work, but you never know when a simple “How’s it going?” could open the door to an opportunity.

7. Email every editor you’ve worked with in the past six months. Ask if they’ve got assignments that don’t have writers attached to them yet. Ask if they’re taking pitches. Ask if they know of other editors at their publication who are. In other words, ask for work.

8. Brainstorm. Read through old story notes or pitches from PR agencies for a nugget or conversation thread that you could turn into a query. Take a shower, go for a long walk or a bike ride – whatever activity you use to get the creative juices flowing. Bring a notepad along in case you’re inspired.

9. Clean your office. Go through files and throw away things you don’t use any more or don’t need to keep. Flipping through old papers might flip the old idea switch. Even if it doesn’t, a clean office is like a fresh start.

10. Commiserate. You might work alone, but you’re not going through this alone. There’s a world of freelancers out there in the same position. Talk to them. Share suggestions. Why reinvent the wheel when you can borrow great ideas from people just like you.

What suggestions do other writers have for things to do right now to feel better about the economy?