Archives for September 2013

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

Meditation and Writing: How to Open Your Mind and Enhance Your Creativity

September 18, 2013 by FWJ 6 Comments

Writing is a unique career choice. There can be many peaks and valleys in terms of levels of creativity, work flow, and the number of projects that you are working on. This is why it is important to take advantage of productive times. This helps to mitigate the impact of the lulls in your productivity and the times when it is seemingly impossible to put a sentence together. There is nothing more frustrating than staring at the computer screen and trying piece a sentence together when you just can’t seem to find the right words.

Consistency, Focus, and Creative Flow

A common thing that most writers are always looking to achieve is consistency: consistency in their level of production, creativity, and the ability to maintain a high standard in terms of the quality of writing they provide for their clients. But, when you get busy with client projects, have to worry about when to pick up the kids from soccer practice, and everything else that is part of your daily life, it is easy for your mind to be preoccupied with other things. This makes it extremely difficult to focus on the task at hand – writing. While some writers find that they are at their best in the morning, and others have a particular coffee shop that tends to get their creative juices flowing, I have personally found that meditation has helped me clear my mind and think more creatively when working on writing projects.

Writing and Creativity are Interconnected

Writing and creativity go hand in hand. When your mind is full of busy thoughts it can be hard to create high quality content, let alone string together more than a few cohesive sentences. When your mind is cluttered with other thoughts, it is hard to focus and keep your creativity dialed in. This is why it is important for you to calm your mind and eliminate the background noise and thoughts that interrupt your creative flow. All writers want to avoid writers block at all costs. But, on occasion it happens to the best of us. I use meditation as a tool to do this. Okay, I know what you are thinking – “I don’t know how to meditate”. The truth is that meditation is actually really easy. All you have to do is:

Find a quiet spot
Close your eyes
Focus on your breathing

Take a series of deep breaths and slowing as you let your breath out. This will provide you with a calming effect. It is okay if your mind takes your thoughts someone else. Just refocus and continue to concentrate on your breathing. Do this for 5 minutes per day to start. You may find that 5 minutes is all that you need. How long you meditate depends on how quickly you will be able to calm your mind. There is no wrong way to do this, so don’t worry about if you are doing it correctly or not. Just focus on your breathing and calming down your mind. I personally find that if I am having trouble concentrating at any point during the day, I do a 5-minute meditation session. This usually calms my mind and helps me focus on the task at hand.

How Does Meditation Improve my Writing?

Being able to calm your mind and eliminate the thoughts that are constantly running through your mind will help you be a more focused writer. I have seen a significant increase in both my focus and level of production since I started using meditation. Meditation will help you:

Have greater focus
Be more efficient
Be more creative
Be more present
Think critically and solve problems more easily
More clearly put your thoughts into writing
Experience fewer cases of writers block
Communicate your thoughts more clearly
Uncover new insights
Make more detailed connections between concepts

Meditation will make you a better writer. Give it try! You won’t be disappointed. Nolan Wilson is a freelance writer who specializes in content marketing, blogging, and SEO. He helps companies develop high quality content marketing campaigns for their internet properties. He Has a Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science. Connect with him on Google + and LinkedIn.

Copywriter Tips for Strengthening Your Writing

September 13, 2013 by Sarah Rivkind 10 Comments

I have hired dozens of freelance writers in my role as an in-house copywriter for a content conversion firm, and it never ceases to amaze me how many writers lack basic writing skills. Whether you’ve been a freelance writer for two months or ten years, there are always ways to improve your craft. Here are some specifics things writers can do to strengthen their writing:

Use “is” Sparingly

The most valuable lesson I took away from my upper graduate English coursework involves use of the word “is.” Here’s how it goes: if you can rework a sentence to remove use of the word “is,” you will create a stronger sentence. Consider the following examples:

The violin is brown.
The brown violin sounds beautiful.

Placing the adjective before the noun creates a clause, making the sentence more complex and descriptive.

The reader is given new information from the text.
The reader gets new information from the text.

The first example above uses the dreaded passive voice. By removing “is given” and changing the verb to the present tense, we remove passive voice and get a clearer sentence.

Just Say no to “due to” and “because of”

Removing these two weak phrases will vastly improve your writing. Take the noun or phrase that follows “due to” or “because of” and make it the subject of your sentence.

Weak Sentence: Due to the economy, he foreclosed on his house.
Better Sentence: The economy made him foreclose on his house.
Even Better Sentence: The economy ruined his credit rating.
Best Sentence: Being upside down in his mortgage caused John to foreclose on his home, which ruined his credit rating.

The last example is the best sentence because it answers the reason why John had to foreclose on his house.

Be Clear and Concise

Clearly communicating ideas is a key goal for every writer. We live in a fast-paced, information packed world. As writers, we have to quickly convert people to read our content. If readers have to work to figure out what you’re trying to say, you’ve lost them. If people won’t read our words, they won’t click where we want them to, like our latest article, or buy our work.

Tip: If a sentences doesn’t flow naturally when you read it aloud, odds are it won’t make sense to your reader.

Avoid Wordiness

Have you ever had an editor write “fluff” or “too wordy” in the margin of your writing? I have. While it is difficult criticism to take, your editor isn’t saying you’re too wordy to criticize your writing – she’s trying to help you improve.

One quick way to reduce wordiness is to use adverbs (words ending in ly) sparingly. Most of the time these qualifiers aren’t necessary. If you are going to use them, make sure they have a purpose. When you eliminate adverbs, your point comes across stronger and more direct. Take a look at this short list of fluffy words to avoid:

Very
Hopefully
Really
Mostly
Actually
Basically
Practically

Too Many Prepositions

Prepositions have their place in writing, but frequent use forces the reader to struggle to figure out your point. Examples of prepositions include:

In
Of
For
At
On
Over

Combat overuse of prepositions by circling each one. Once you have identified and circled the offenders, ask yourself what the point of the sentence is and reword with fewer prepositions identify the sentence’s point and reword.

What tips have you received from an editor that helped you improve your writing?

Sarah is the Content Manager and a Writer at Virtual Vocations, the one-stop shop for telecommuters looking for legit jobs. With several years of marketing and writing experience, Sarah managed a group of freelance writers for a marketing firm before venturing out into the telecommute world. Follow Sarah on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

5 Side Gigs for Freelance Writers

September 9, 2013 by FWJ 1 Comment

As a freelance writer, you probably have a particular subject area and style of writing to focus on. But because freelancing is inherently uncertain, it can be helpful to have a side gig or two to help stretch you through lean times. Here are five part-time side gigs that showcase the variety of opportunities available for writers seeking extra work.

Social Media Content Editor. If you have experience with social media and enjoy writing for particular audiences, small businesses often hire part-time and freelance writers to assist with social media management. Writing and communication skills are absolutely necessary in this role, which is responsible for interacting with current and potential customers through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

Content Curator. Like reading others’ stories as much as writing your own? Blogs, websites, and organizations hire content curators to research the latest content in their particular subject area, then compile the content into one place for easy reading. The work includes writing headlines, synopses, and copy. If you’re a subject matter expert who enjoys research, this part-time job would make a great side gig.

Editorial Assistant. If you enjoy writing, but also like the organizational side of publishing, consider a part-time job as an editorial assistant. Depending on the publication, you’ll help with page layout, article editing, and editorial calendar management. Language Translator. Writers who speak and write in more than one language should consider a part-time job as a website translator. The main work of this side gig is to translate website content from one language to another, and to proofread and edit translations that have already been made.

Captionist: Speedy typists who have solid listening and writing skills can find part-time work providing captions for a variety of multimedia. Colleges, production companies, and other organizations regularly hire captionists or transcribers, and the hours are typically flexible with alternative schedules available.

The key to choosing side gigs is to decide ahead of time what you’re looking for. The number of hours you want to work, when you’re available, what type of work you’d like to do, how involved you want the work to be — decide these questions before you start searching. Writers who have a good idea of what they’re looking for in terms of side gigs will find no shortage of options.

Brie Weiler Reynolds is the Director of Content and Community at FlexJobs, the award-winning site for telecommuting and flexible job listings. FlexJobs lists thousands of pre-screened, legitimate, and professional-level work-from-home jobs and other types of flexibility like part-time positions, freelancing, and flexible schedules. Brie provides career and job search advice through the FlexJobs Blog and social media. Learn more at www.FlexJobs.com.

Images via Ferd and Angela

How You Know it’s Time to Move On from a Freelancing Gig

September 3, 2013 by Sarah Rivkind 1 Comment

While freelancers appear to be living the dream to anyone who hasn’t worked for himself, shrewd freelancers know how shark infested the outsourcing waters can be. From managing unrealistic client demands to performing their own collections work, freelancers take on many different roles. And that’s where we get into trouble.

Because we invest so much time and energy into growing our business, it can be difficult to know when it’s in our own best interest to leave a client. If you’re a freelancer, here’s something to help you decide if it’s time to leave a client. Why not add your comments to the discussion below, too?

Inconsistent Pay

Budgets are tight these days and many companies have shallow pockets. We’ve all faced the client who waits until the very last moment to pay an invoice. When do you say “enough”? If a client frequently gives excuses for late payments or doesn’t return communication regarding unpaid invoices, it’s probably time to move on. Don’t work for free, you are worth more than that.

Tip: To keep payment issues from getting sticky, ensure you always have a contract signed so you have recourse if you don’t get paid.

Lowering Your Pay

Has a client asked you to take less pay for the same work you’ve been performing for months? A lot of freelancers are tempted to suck it up and take less pay. Before agreeing to take a smaller paycheck, find out if you can renegotiate the work involved to make up the loss in income. You still have bills to pay, so if a client is suggesting they lower your pay, it could be time to look for a job elsewhere.

Expecting More Hours Than What They Pay

Freelancers typically don’t have the luxury of billing for other services like meeting attendance, commuting, administrative, and research hours, but we can build those items into a bid or our hourly rate. If you have a client who wants to conference call every day for an hour and will not allow you to bill for that time, you may need to say goodbye.

Lack of Communication

Because we may not have the benefit of face-to-face meetings, freelancers depend on clear and consistent communication from their clients. When a client fails to share what they need, it’s nearly impossible to deliver a good product. If you find yourself re-doing assignments because of lack of communication, you are performing twice the work and wasting your precious time. If this is the case, it’s probably time to seek out other clients and leave the poor communicator.

No Respect

Respect requires mutual appreciation and consideration. If you have a client who is not respecting you and your time, it could be time to look for another gig. Clients who lose your work, communicate rudely or not at all, or miss set conference calls aren’t clients you should work for long term.

Don’t overlook the fact that you have to earn a client’s respect by meeting deadlines, being consistent, and providing a quality product or services. But, if you are fulfilling all of your obligations and the client still doesn’t show you the respect you deserve, get out of the arrangement.

Don’t Make a Snap Decision

The main thing to remember when managing your client list is to accept and reject clients based on your best interest. As tempting as it may be to drop a client who is making your life miserable, cover your bases and make sure you’re not going to lose money. Just like traditional employment, don’t leave one client until you have another client lined up to cover that loss of income.

What reasons have caused you to leave a client?

Sarah is the Content Manager and a Writer at Virtual Vocations, the one-stop shop for telecommuters looking for legit jobs. With several years of marketing and writing experience, Sarah also manages a group of freelance writers for a marketing firm. Follow Sarah on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.