Recession And The Freelance Writer
Posted on 31 October 2008 by Sharon
How is recession affecting your writing income?
For months now, all the talk has been of recession. Everyone’s wondering how it will affect their business and freelance writers are not exempt. Some clients might have to cut back on the amount of work they outsource because their business is in bad shape. (I haven’t had any business from the financial sector this month.) However, others may take the chance to avoid paying tax and benefits for in-house writers and outsource more of their work. There’s a 50-50 chance that this equation might go your way.
Keeping A Balance
I haven’t seen any slowdown in the amount of work I’m getting. For the most part, my clients are pretty solid and there’s been no indication of any plans to cut back. I’ve also managed to get a couple of new contracts. However, I am not taking this for granted. Especially at this time, it’s important to keep chasing work so that you have plenty in hand if a major source of income suddenly goes belly-up.
A 25% Pay Cut
Where I have seen an effect is in the exchange rate. Many of us work for clients in different countries and may be paid in different currencies. If you do, you might find that recession and devaluation have taken a toll on your earnings. A job that I get paid for in British pounds was worth 25% less at the end of the month than at the start of the month because of sterling’s fall in value. Luckily for me, I have clients in different countries, so that’s only a part of my writing income.
Protecting Your Writing Business
So how do you protect yourself against this kind of event? For me, it’s a question of paying more attention to managing my writing business. I can’t do anything about the economy, but I can make sure that I keep my personal economy ticking over. That means spending more time on self-promotion, seeking to get work from a diverse portfolio of clients, invoicing promptly and chasing late payment even more promptly.
How is your writing business faring at the moment? I’d love to hear your strategies for maintaining a steady income during an economic downturn.
(Photo: Dani Simmonds)
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Tags | writing business
October 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Hi Sharon,
income from American clients has gone up a little with the dollar being up a little on the pound - on the other hand I have 2 UK clients where the rate stays the same - translates into about two and a quarter cents a word, but quite a bit of work from them.
sue
sue Jeffels’s last blog post..Nanowrimo Time
October 31st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
The recession has had a minimal effect on my freelance writing income. If anything, it’s helped me, because October 2008 is my best month to date. Part of this has to do with the exchange rate (I’m Canadian), because the USD-CAD exchange was at 1.05 at the beginning of October, but it’s closer to 1.22 now. My current clients are keeping up with the same amount of work and I picked up a couple of extra projects too.
Michael Kwan’s last blog post..NFL Week 7 Predictions
October 31st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I’ve noticed a difference in the work available - there’s more of it out there because the companies are outsourcing! Excellent post.
Katherine’s last blog post..Back Up Your Files NOW! Back Up Your Files Day Begins
November 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I concur with what the other comments here are saying about the level of work that’s available but what I found particularly insightful is your comment towards the end of the post about how you can control your own personal economy. The media coverage of the economy has people (rightfully) paranoid about what’s going on and it can make us all feel really out of control but the reality is that there are things that we can do to feel at least a little bit more in control of our work and our money. As a freelancer, I think keeping that in mind is of the utmost importance. Great post!
Kathryn’s last blog post..What is Success?
November 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
The fluctuation in the currency exchange rates, both positive and negative, have really added an air of unpredictability to the global market. I don’t have too many international dealings, but it still influences advertising rates on sites such as Google. People start to fear making purchases, because they don’t know what their money will be worth the next day.
John Hewitt’s last blog post..How Setting Influences Story
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I had a really good month in Oct and it was partially because of about 20% extra from my US clients because of the Canadian/US exchange rate. The last week alone brought me $300 in pure profit from the exchange rate. Mind you, 2 years ago the US/Cdn exchange worked more in my favour as it was $1.40 instead of $1.22 or so but because it has been so long of getting par or losing money on the exchange this was a nice surprise.
I see a bit of a dip in volume from a few regular clients so I’m definitely trying to make sure I don’t get too reliant on one client. Because I sub out a bit of my overflow as well, I know that if things really slow down I have a bit of a safety net because I can just sub out less. It is definitely true that this could work in our favour in terms of more people wanting web writing work but like you say, it is best to be prepared. If I see things dip below a certain amount I’ll definitely be more aggressively searching for gigs instead of relying on the regular stream of business from my existing clients.
Dana’s last blog post..A Freelancer Writer’s Income Report
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 am
@ Sue and Katherine: Glad it’s working in your favour
@ Michael: Yes, I’ve been thinking about asking to get paid in Canadian dollars, or maybe euros
@Kathryn: thanks. I always feel that it’s a mistake to give all the power to others; I have to do something to fix things too.
@ John: good point; it might also affect advertising income on our sites.
@ Dana: yes, that’s a good position to be in. Let’s hope that those writers also have multiple income sources.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 am
There’s only so much that’s within our control… and world economics is not, of course, one of them. To some extent, we’re at the mercy of larger forces. But listening to the news/current affairs programs, it sounds like a lot of the grassroots problems come from so many people living beyond their means, and therein (along with Aesop’s fables) lies a message for freelancers: to prepare in good times for the lean years (to be the ant, not the grasshopper). And, to mix fables, not to have all your eggs in one basket!
rjleaman’s last blog post..Crazy Quilting Revisited
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 am
Financial upheaval seems to be universal at the moment.
I’ve cut back on my US Dollar expenses (outsourcing, supplies, subscriptions, etc.) because the exchange rate is terrible at the moment. I have to be very aware of that fact when I see anything in US Dollars because what used to be almost dollar for dollar is going to hit my AUD bank balance a lot harder than it used to.
I’ve also found it easier to lock down on contract work closer to home. Especially when it comes to smaller, local jobs. I offer home delivered tech support and these short term, simple, immediate jobs have helped boost my income when competition and funding for larger projects and regular gigs have diminished.
The trick to situations like this is to diversify. Learn to do more with less. You can do that from a financial aspect but you can also do that from a business aspect.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Hi Sharon,
I think your last paragraph says it all. I can’t do anything about the economy so I’m going to make what changes I can in my own little world.
I guess it won’t hurt me to work harder AND work smarter.
Cheers
George
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November 6th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I have one client in San Diego that is now only working with in-house writers right now, however a couple of other clients are showing no signs of slowing down - in fact, one local client recently invited me to lunch to discuss their impending expansion.
I agree with your post - especially the point about continuously marketing your services. This is no time to start taking anything for granted.
I’m also a big advocate of diversifying income. Creating some passive streams of income through productization and leveraging your skills to include other valuable services - like providing consultation services - is important. I believe as long as writers have a diversified client base and income structure they will weather the storm just fine.
Kimberly’s last blog post..Enough is Enough: Taking Control of Your Business
November 20th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for your comments. As you can see, I’ve been busy, which is great news.
I am continuing to diversify, not taking it for granted that today’s client will still be there tomorrow.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I’m in Australia - but the vast majority of my writing is sold in the US, Canada or the UK. Because of the low value of the Australian dollar I tend to fare very well on the currency exchange.
I allow clients to pay me in their own currency. Many are more comfortable with this. It also allows me the freedom to watch the exchange rates and only convert the currency in my account when it’s in my favor.
Thanks for a great post!
Bianca Raven’s last blog post..Increase Freelance Writing Income With One Email
December 1st, 2008 at 8:10 am
That’s a good idea, Bianca. I tend to take payments in pounds, dollars and euros. It just so happens that I have a major client paying in pounds at the moment.
December 13th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hi Sharon,
This is a good post and very insightful. All we can really do is focus on our own work and keep writing.
Cheers,
Jeremy