Comments on: 10 Reasons Freelancing isn’t as Glamorous as it Looks on Paper

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:33:52 +0000

Me too! and as a result I over dress when I’m at a family dinner or out with the girls. I put on pearls for Applebees.

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:33:09 +0000

Hey no problem, Dave. Any questions, ask away…

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:31:58 +0000

Thanks Laura, I’m with you. I may not be able to wear heels every day, but I wouldn’t trade it for a high priced cube job ever.

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:31:17 +0000

It’s all good. We still appreciate the comments and input.

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:30:13 +0000

Hey Allena – Actually Mr. Ng is an accountant too and he agrees with you.

By: allena

allena — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:26:23 +0000

oops phil already covered this. sorry. scroll down allena.

By: allena

allena — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:25:12 +0000

ok, the disconnect between you two might have to do with the situation between married/unmarried? If you have a married spouse who is withholding high, you often can–in theory- without fees- skip that quarterly muck a muck. Even if you have an LLC you can file together as married. . . Hope that helps. Accountant/husband isn’t around to verify.

By: Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:28:54 +0000

Good job!

This post should be required reading for anyone who is considering full-time freelance writing.

It’s definitely not all glamour, but I personally I wouldn’t trade it for a corporate job.

By: Freelancedom » Blog Archive » Last Week’s Link Love: August 24

Freelancedom » Blog Archive » Last Week’s Link Love: August 24 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:00:50 +0000

[...] The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s 10 Reasons Freelancing Isn’t as Glamorous as It Looks on Paper [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:00:10 +0000

I’m just now testing the freelance writing waters, and I have a sense of the benefits, and really appreciate the potential con’s. Thanks!

By: Jennifer L

Jennifer L — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:37:43 +0000

Re: No. 4 I have to admit that I do miss getting dressed up. It’s nice when I do have a face-to-face meeting with a client or a source and I get to put on nice clothes and jewelry. But when working at home, I’m usually in shorts or jeans, depending on the weather.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:20:29 +0000

Phil,
Sure, if you have a W2 job (or your spouse does) it’s a different story.

I just think it’s a bad idea to let people go around saying “I’m a freelancer! I don’t owe estimated taxes!” Can only lead to pain.

By: Kathryn Lang

Kathryn Lang — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:53:01 +0000

Ah – the peaceful life of the freelance writer.

Most people would refuse for the hourly wages that we actually get paid – for most of us it’s worse than teachers.

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:16:00 +0000

It’s a plugin called “feed footer”. It allows you to put any text you want at the bottom of the RSS feed.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:04:26 +0000

Rachel.

Though I’m not a CPA, I’ve written for some CPA pubs. I’m fairly sure you do not need to pay quarterly taxes if you have enough additional withholding. (If you freelance on the side and have a job). You can also escape needing to pay quarterly taxes and you file jointly with your spouse, who has enough withheld to cover the quarterly taxes you would need to file.

However, that can be playing with fire if you guess wrong at the amount that needs to be withheld, or if the job goes away before year’s end (so no more withholdings).

Rules are different if you’re incorporated, as my business is (Full C, not Sub s)

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:05:34 +0000

Actually, when I say I’m a freelance writer I’m always asked “what do you write?” I think they’re envisioning the Great American Novel, or perhaps articles for Vogue?

My stock answer is “what is it you need to have written?”

Yup, if it pays… I’ll usually do it!

Lisa

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:08:09 +0000

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about freelancers and taxes.

If you paid taxes last year (whether or not you got a refund), you probably owe estimated taxes this year.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:36:53 +0000

I made over $400 last year, well over it and did not have to pay one single penny and did not file taxes every quarter! Even though I will be making more this year I was told to not worry about it since I didn’t have to pay last year and still got back money due to deductions.

By: Ami

Ami — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:13:54 +0000

I’m intending to be a full-time freelance in a little over a year and this reminded me that there are specific considerations I’ll want to make before I take the leap. Ultimately, I think freelancing will be exactly what I’m looking for, but I should seriously consider these (and other) reasons why it might not be a good fit. Thanks for spelling these out for me.

By: emsenn

emsenn — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:38:31 +0000

Good post. I have to ask though, what’s up with this on the end of the RSS feed:

“I am a content thief. If you’re not reading this blog post through an RSS Feed you can pretty much assume I’m a slimy spam blogger and stealing content from someone else’s blog.”

I like it, but how’s it work?

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:17:33 +0000

You’re right Rachel. However, many freelancers DONT pay quarterly taxes. Which is why I answered it the way I did.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:10:56 +0000

“Many freelancers also pay quarterly taxes so they’re not hit too hard on April 15th.”

AGH! This line gave me a heart attack.

If you are earning money as a freelancer and you expect to earn more than $400 in the year, you MUST pay quarterly taxes. It’s not a question of “not being hit too hard” come tax day, it’s a question of paying on time or getting hit with penalties and interest.

I know you’re not trying to spread misinformation, but this line does make it sound optional.

By: Dragon Blogger

Dragon Blogger — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:43:54 +0000

Great article and all of the points are spot on.