Legal Stuff

Top Tips to Ensure Your Freelance Contracts Secure Your Financial Freedom – UK Edition

October 28, 2019 by FWJ Leave a Comment

As of 2016, there are 2 million freelancers in the UK. With this in mind, we want to make sure that those living in the UK who have taken the self-employed route are making the best choices for their income and mental wellbeing, particularly when it comes to contracts between freelancer and client.

After all, you aren’t working as a freelancer because it’s easy. Most freelancers do what they do for: passion, a level of flexibility that can’t be experienced in an office or the possibility of great disposable income and financial freedom. [Read more…]

How to Create a Freelance Contract

August 20, 2018 by FWJ 1 Comment

If you’ve recently landed a new writing gig, your first thought may be “when do I get started?” Before you ever write that first word, however, you need to ensure that your future as a freelancer is secure with a legally-binding freelance contract that protects you and the income you’ve planned on receiving.

Contracts don’t need to be complicated or even very long. They do, however, need to be clear. Here are the basic steps to making a contract that your clients will be comfortable signing and that covers your interests. [Read more…]

What To Do When Clients Don’t Pay Their Invoices – 5 Common Scenarios

July 2, 2018 by FWJ 3 Comments

If you’ve clicked on this article, you probably either already have an unpaid invoice lingering around, or have had to deal with an unpaid invoice before.

No matter if you are a freelancer, small contractor, or large business owner, unpaid invoices are an aggravating inevitability. While the whole point of an invoice is to streamline the payment process and make it easier to get paid on time, clients always seem to find a way to miss the due date. [Read more…]

5 Tips for Dealing with Plagiarism Accusations

June 21, 2018 by FWJ 1 Comment

As freelance writers, we spend a great deal of time quickly researching topics we’re unfamiliar with and then producing articulate web content that makes it sound like you know what you’re talking about. A brief scan of several other informative websites often gives you background information and inspiration to write what your clients have asked for. You wind up putting together and submitting an article to your client and begin the process over again with a new topic and don’t think about it again. [Read more…]

3 Legal Issues Every Freelance Writer Should Know About

January 16, 2017 by FWJ Leave a Comment

Close to 54 million Americans are considered freelancers and that number is expected to grow 50% by 2020. While the freelance world can be alluring, there are many things you should consider before jumping in and applying for writing jobs.

The legal aspects of freelance writing are often overlooked, but they are nonetheless important to understand. Starting a successful freelance career is difficult enough. The last thing you need is added legal trouble. Avoiding the three following legal pitfalls will prevent you from receiving correspondence threatening legal action or a visit from the IRS. [Read more…]

Freelance Writers and Fraud

October 13, 2015 by Freelance Writing Jobs 7 Comments

We all know that freelance writers run the risk of falling victim to fraud. While there are a lot of legitimate freelance writing jobs with trustworthy companies and individual clients, there are also many scammers out there.

As freelance writers, it is part of our duty to practice due diligence in order to avoid being victims of fraud. However, there are times when, in spite of being careful, we still get scammed. Daniel A. Perlman, a criminal lawyer, advises that in these cases, freelance writers should seek redress in court. There are different factors which come into play in order to win such cases, so you may want to seek legal counsel to get the best results.

It is better to be ultra careful when taking on jobs. Before you reach the stage of having to file a lawsuit, why not identify red flags so that you can stay away from shady job ads?

Here are some tips to avoid freelance writing job frauds.

Watch out for clients who avoid contracts at all costs.

While there are certain situations when you may take on work without a contract (although this is really risky for you), when taking on new clients, make sure you have a written agreement. Essential elements to include in the contract:

Pay rate
Number of revisions
Scope of work

If a new client comes across as defensive when it comes to a contract, then it may be best to decline the job.

Here are more tips on writing freelance writing contracts.

Avoid paid job databases.

Aside from FWJ, there are other job databases where you can find freelance writing gigs. Companies also post their own job openings on their websites. There really is no reason to pay to look at a job board. The chances are that your money will just be wasted.

Be wary of clients who ask for unpaid samples.

Not all clients who ask for unpaid samples are scammers, but you’ve heard of horror stories about writers who don’t get hired after sending samples in and then seeing their content used elsewhere.

What you can do is tell the client that you have a lot of published samples and that you can send those as proof of the quality of your work. Alternatively, you can ask to be paid for the samples, even if it’s not the normal rate. If this doesn’t work out, you can also ask around freelance writing communities about the company or person.

Stay away from “unpaid for the first x articles, then get paid after that” setups.

This is similar to clients asking for unpaid samples. Usually, the reason given by the client is to have a trial period to determine if you are a fit. While that makes sense, the trial period should be paid, and you should ask for that. If the client does not agree, then you’re better off finding another gig.

Have you ever been scammed as a freelance writer? What happened? Did you go after them in court?

Share your stories with us so that we can learn from them.

5 Writers Who Have Been Imprisoned

February 27, 2015 by Freelance Writing Jobs Leave a Comment

There is no great genius without a mixture of madness. ~Aristotle

Some of the best writers – literary geniuses, even – have more than their fair share of mischief and periods of madness. While some were able to get off with nary a scratch (figuratively and literally speaking) – thanks to either their criminal lawyer or their specific circumstances, others have had to serve time in jail.

Here are some of the most popular writers who have been imprisoned. You might be surprised – or not. [Read more…]

Legal Obligations of Freelance Writers

July 29, 2014 by Noemi Leave a Comment

The life of a freelance writer is relatively easy compared to others. While some of you may argue this point, I honestly think that we have a lot of freedom, and as long as we have the necessary self-discipline (and then some), we’re really in a sweet position.

Source

One thing that we may overlook, however, is that we have legal obligations as freelance writers. Just like any professional doing his job, a freelance writer has to take the legal matters into consideration. Legal counsel Daniel Perlman highly recommends every freelancer to pay attention to legal obligations, which may vary depending on the setup of your business. There are, however, three major things that you have to consider. [Read more…]

What Freelancers Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act

September 23, 2013 by FWJ 2 Comments

While many salaried workers envy their freelancing counterparts, being an independent contractor has unique downsides. One of the most difficult parts of being a freelancer is procuring healthcare at an affordable rate. Unlike people who are working for a company that offers health care, independent contractors are unable to procure group rates when buying insurance.

The goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to provide everyone with insurance for a fair price. On October 1^st the marketplaces will be opened up, providing new options for Americans. If you have yet to sit down and really learn what is going on with this piece of legislation, now is the time. Below you will find some of the essential knowledge that you need to understand the ACA.

1. The Basics Of The Marketplace

The marketplace is built to accommodate people with all different levels of income. The premiums for the plans offered will have a cap based on a percentage of the insured party’s income. The income itself will be seen in relationship to the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), falling between 138% to 400% of the FPL.

The plans will be categorized by a straightforward tier system, with the lowest amount of coverage being offered at the more affordable bronze level. For consumers willing to pay a higher premium for more coverage, they can choose from the silver, gold or platinum levels .

2. Medicaid: An Option Beyond The Marketplace

In the past Medicaid‘s availability was limited, only covering those with an income 100% of the Federal Poverty Line and below. However, the federal government has expanded eligibility for Medicare by allowing people with an income up to 138% of the FPL to take advantage of the program. Another big change is that single childless adults are now able to be covered by Medicaid.

You should know that it is ultimately up to each state to decide what they will do about Medicaid. States have accepted the federal Medicaid expansions in varying amounts, however, some have rejected it entirely.

3. The Penalty For The Uninsured

The ACA has mandated that all individuals need to have insurance. Those without insurance will face a fine. While the fine will start out at the reasonable sum of $95, it will be raised over the next several years. By 2016, the fine will be tied to inflation.

As the sole-proprietor of your business you will be seen as an individual, in turn making you subject to the individual mandate.

4. What You Are Guaranteed

The government has created a list of essential health benefits which every plan sold at the marketplace is required to cover. You can get a full list of the essential health benefits by visiting the entry on the glossary of healthcare.gov here.

The ACA has also made sure that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be turned down for that reason. People who need healthcare the most can rest assured that they be covered.

5. Tax Credits Keep It Affordable

To make health insurance more affordable for Americans the government is offering tax credits to individuals with a lower income. It is possible to receive multiple tax credits as well based on a number of factors, including marital status and the number of your dependents. If you are younger than 65 and make between 100% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, you will receive a tax credit.

For those looking to get an idea of what their tax credit will be, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Subsidy Calculator Site here can help you out.

Preparing For Change

The ACA gives freelancers, who live with the risk of being without work at anytime, the guarantee that they will have medical care. Similarly, every American can rest assured that they will have access to affordable care.

Michael Cahill is the Editor of the Vista Health Solutions Blog. He writes about the health care system, health insurance industry and the Affordable Care Act. For more information and examples of how the ACA may impact you, visit the Vista Health Solutions health insurance marketplace page. Follow him on Twitter at @VistaHealth.

Images via DonkeyHotey and Medicaid Expansion

The 7 Most Important Facts About Copyright You Need to Know

September 24, 2010 by Jonathan Bailey 8 Comments

As a freelance writer, copyright is your business. Your works are protected by copyright and it is that protection that enables you to sell your work, prevent unauthorized use and generally control how your creations are used.

However, many freelance writers, much like the rest of the Web, either doesn’t understand copyright law or has serious misconceptions about it. But given how important it is to our profession, it makes sense to sit down and work to really understand what copyright law is about, at least some of the key points, and try to make sense of an admittedly confusing code.

With that in mind, here is a quick breakdown of seven key copyright facts that you need to know. Bear in mind that this is barely scratching the surface of the law and a lot of the nuance of these facts as well as many other important pieces of information will be missing.

Still, it’s a good place to start and, hopefully, will help at least some understand copyright law a little bit better. [Read more…]