Network Like a Nerd!

Emerald City Comic Con is the start of convention season in our house so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about how you can use conventions to improve your negotiations and expand your career.  Conventions provide a ridiculously wonderful opportunity to gather information about your industry and make important connections. That’s right: networking!

If you aren’t a cartoonist or even mildly interested in … Read More

How to Write A Nasty Letter

There comes a time in every freelancer’s career when one has to write a very particular type of letter.  A Cease & Desist letter; an Eff You letter; a Pay Me Now letter; a Stop Selling My Art on the Internet You Lousy Bum letter.

A nasty letter.

Here’s how.… Read More

Good Advice #6: Dealing With Bullies

This week’s question is a tough one.  Dealing with bullies is frustrating, emotionally draining, and when you work for yourself, sadly common.  But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it.… Read More

How To Save a Negotiation

You’re negotiating.

You’ve prepared, thought about your interests, studied up on the other side, and asked open ended questions to elicit helpful information.

And it is sucking. Hard.

The other side is being jerkish, and every time you try to steer the conversation to problem solving, they drive right back to arguing over details.

You are now trapped in a back and forth about shaving … Read More

Get paid!

Not all negotiation work happens in the midst of fleshing out the details of a job, with the sweat of contract terms glistening on your brow and the fire of fee arrangements in your belly.

Some of the most helpful negotiation work you can do is when you aren’t negotiating.  And one of the best opportunities you have is when you bill your clients.  You … Read More

Good Advice #5: Jerked Around

This week’s Good Advice question comes from that murky period of time before you start hashing out details of a job — the “Are you available?” time period. Your availability, or lack thereof, is just as valuable as the cash you can make from the job, but is often a lot harder to negotiate.… Read More

Surprise! You’re Negotiating!

Negotiations aren’t neat and tidy events that happen at the beginning of an engagement and stop as soon as the contract is signed. Negotiations happen all the time and in all sorts of situations, but if you don’t realize you are negotiating, things can get messy pretty quickly.

Here’s how to recognize negotiations that don’t announce themselves with neon signs and some advice for handling … Read More

Negotiation Tips!

I’m away this week on a vacation (can you guess where?).  But my flitting around the country is no reason you shouldn’t have a new post on exercising your negotiation chops.… Read More