Is freelancing still alive and well, as far as the economy goes?

In theory, I'm still doing good making sales to magazines.

In practice, it's like pulling teeth to get some of them to pay these days.

Only in the past few months have I noticed a little less work from some of my regular gigs. That said, I've been very busy overall--even with the holidays.

I found 2008 to be a really tough year. I wrote more than I ever have and I ended up making a little less money than I did in either 2007 or 2006. The problem is that many of my higher-paying publications specialized in real estate, and that industry fell apart last year. The replacements didn't pay as much.

I also find that I'm doing more blogging and online writing. That work is far easier than the work I do for print trade magazines and newspapers, but it pays far less, too.

Here's hoping for better things in 2009.

Dan
http://workfromhomecouple.today.com
http://careersearch.contenquake.com

In my case, 2008 is a good year for me because I receive different writing stints and earn more than I expect.

I did really well in 2008. Some of my clients did cut down in the amount of work they gave out and a couple went under, but I had no problem whatsoever replacing them.

I view any increase in writing income each year as a huge accomplishment. My 08 income was better than 07, not a great amount, but better.

So far this year, I'm still getting assignments from the pubs. I've been working with. Fingers crossed, etc., cuz it's going to be a challenging year on all fronts.

There are two sides to this coin. On one hand, with companies less able to fund full-time employees, they will be more likely to turn to freelancers, who cost less overall.

But on the other hand, with profits down overall, they may not be able to afford even freelancers. And with more people unemployed, the competition is fiercer. I know from some editors that magazines and newspapers are taking a hit and many are less likely to hire freelancers right now. But it's not impossible.

I just started a few months ago. I was able to pull a nice amount in that few months since I started. Hopefully, I can make more in 2009.

I haven't noticed a slow down from any of my customers nor my wife's so all is good so far - it is early though...

I've noticed a bit of pull back from the local papers -- consolidating pages so there is less content and reducing pay rates in a way (changing to a flat rate that ends up being less than the prior rate). That said, I primarily write online material and that end of the freelance market is positively booming. It's all about balancing what you write and whom you write for, keeping your options open and your queries fluid. I made just a smidge more in 2008 than I did in 2007, but bear in mind that I also took two months completely off in 2008 that impacted the bottom line (no time off in 2007). We'll just see where 2009 goes.

I work for a different market (Scandinavian, not US), so it's a bit different. Our economy hasn't been hit as hard as you guys, so it has less effect all over. Still, this is a global crisis, and so like rings in the water, some drift over to us anyway.

About once every year, I ask my clients to raise their fees. Some say yes, some say no. It was the same last year, when I contacted my clients in November. One client - not relying on advertisement - raised my fee by 20% (it's a small gig, so it doesn't amount to all that much.) Another client - a web-site with heavy ad contents -couldn't afford to because of the situation.

Here's the interesting part: instead of letting me remain on the same level for the same job, the client suggested he could lower my work load, yet keep the fee at the same level. In 2008, I did the equivalent of one small article a day for them = 5 articles a week. This year, we've agreed I'll do 4 articles a week (I write two a day two days a week, leaving me three days for other stuff). In other words: a 20% reduction in the work load and no change in the fee. This could in turn free up time to work for other paying customers (or writing on my novel as I have chosen), thus increasing my salary that way.

2008 was much better than 2007 and I expect 2009 to be better yet. This is mainly due to the learning curve that I am experiencing as a newbee rather than any reflection on the job market. However, my intuition tells me that freelancers will get through the economic slowdown without having to slowdown very much (unless of course it is by choice).

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