A post of writing-related content!

Well, sort of. More business-of-writing than the actual writing. Occasionally I get the urge to talk about things polite folk don't mention. Like, oh, money. But for anyone who is wanting or planning or being a freelancer, money takes up a considerable amount of thought, enjoyable or not. My advice, from observation and experience, is as follows.

LAG's Basic [and Updated] Rules for Going Freelance, specific to novelists:

1. Be under contract for at least two books in the next 18 months, for more than $10,000 a book. Twice that, if you have no other source of income (other freelancing skills, an income-producing partner, rental properties etc).
2. Have no continuing debt beyond your mortgage, and get that sucker as paid-down as possible (trebly true, these days).
3. Have four-six months of rent/utilities set aside at all times, so you don't have to panic about the day after tomorrow.
4. Maintain a year's worth of living expenses in your security/emergency account. And by that I mean money that is earmarked for NOTHING except all your contracts being canceled and your not being able to find another job for six months or more.
5. Be willing and able to cheerfully pick up another job on the side (my personal rule is, if my predicted monies fall below a specific yearly amount, it's time for a part-time job. End of discussion and start looking.)
6. Live reasonably. Note I don't say cheaply, but reasonably. Don't try to keep up with the Joneses -- pick and choose what is important to you, and let the rest go without bitterness -- nobody forced you into this life. For me, living out somewhere else would mean a larger place, and more disposable income. But emotionally and mentally I would suffer. So what's the money worth, then? Likewise, someone who needs sunshine and warmth should not go live somewhere with 8 months of winter, just to save a few thousand dollars a year. And if you NEED the latest tech gadgets, expensive cars, and Big Nights out? You're probably not going to be happy as a freelancer anywhere, unless you land the dream gig for life.

But most of all, really truly and seriously, you should not be a freelancer if you can't a) make and stick to a financial plan and b) be prepared for the plan to go pear-shaped.

Case in point to illustrate, and show why this is on my mind: I'd estimated $15,000 in contract money (as opposed to freelance money, which is tougher to pinpoint) for 2Q earnings. Only $3,000 of that actually ended up in my hands in a timely fashion, due to a series of events that were...frustrating, and totally beyond my ability to influence (aka "shite happens"). $3000, over a three month period.*

That's why, boys and girls and writers of all sizes, when the wise old voices tell you not to quit your day job, you should stare long and hard at the list above (or your own iteration of same) and think long and hard and then think long and hard again. Because unless you've got a) a fiscal safety cushion, b) a tolerance for uncertainty and c) the ability to put off or forgo indulgences...

And no, going into debt on your credit cards is *bzzzzt* not the answer, unless the question is "how to make the situation even worse."

Fortunately, the payments have come through, and 3Q is a kinder, more affluent quarter, so I can now pay back the monies I took out of the safety account. But it was a tight six weeks there that I did NOT enjoy.

Feel free to discuss, or add your own thoughts/experiences to this, in comments. It's about adding to the general knowledge, not hoarding it....


*thankfully, freelance came in to ease the pain a bit. But you can never count on that...