Michelle Rafter

The Future of Freelancing

Editors

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Top 13 warning signs a magazine is in trouble

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 […]

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Introducing RecessionWire.com, The Upside of the Downturn

What do two Internet savvy New York City business magazine editors and a long-time freelance writer do when their steady gigs go south? Start a Website of course. The site’s called RecessionWire.com, The Upside of the Downturn, and it’s just as smart as the three women behind it. Co-founders Laura Rich and Sara Clemence were […]

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Stalking the reluctant source – 10 secrets to getting anybody to talk

You had the idea, wrote the query, got the assignment, negotiated the contract, worked out a deadline and did the research. Now all that’s left is interviewing the source. What’s that, the source won’t answer your email or phone calls? Don’t they realize what you’ve had to do to get this far? Unfortunately, just because […]

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I love editors who…

* Leave a job and contact you from the next one – with assignments and higher per-word rate. * Tell you they’re reining in freelance budgets due to the economy but are keeping you on their freelance short list. * Reward one fast-turnaround assignment with two more – in as many weeks. * Freelance for […]

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Best of WordCount – Make editors fight over you

While I’m on vacation this week, I’ll be rerunning some of the best WordCount posts of the year. Look for new posts, including my predictions for the top digital media personalities to watch in 2009, starting January 5. Happy New Year! Today’s reruns: Make yourself so irresistible editors will fight over you. What editors want […]