All posts with the ‘ Freelance ’ Tag

Every day, freelancers and independent artists negotiate deals and make sure they’re treated fairly by clients and collaborators alike. I want to share those stories with you because I think they’re inspiring and important to hear.

This week I talk to author Jodi McIsaac about her experience negotiating her first publishing contract.… Read More

Hello friendly reader! If you came here looking for your weekly dose of negotiation tips and freelance tricks, we’re doing things a little differently.… Read More

Want to know that One Thing you can do to make your contracts better? Then Contract Hacks is for you!

It’s a new semi-regular set of posts on the blog that will highlight different things you can do to make your contracts better.

First up: how to make sure you’re getting paid what you’re owed under a royalty contract.… Read More

If I came to you and said, “I like the cut of your jib, kid, what say I give you $1000 and you let me take something, anything, out of your house? Whadayasay? It’s a good deal; you might not get such a good offer ever again. ”

Would you take me up on it? $1000 for any single personal possession of yours that I … Read More

Many a freelancer has slaved over a proposal trying to make it perfect. Figuring and guessing and measuring, trying to find the right balance of WOW and profit.

After hours of penciling out the budget six ways from Sunday, the freelancer presents her proposal. The client reviews it, smiles and says, “This looks great! How about a 20% discount?”

The freelancer is deflated; hurt. A … Read More

If you want to be a better negotiator, you need to train.

You need to exercise your negotiation muscles regularly, executing each exercise with proper form and control. When you first start you can improve very quickly, but you shouldn’t expect mind-blowing results overnight.

Here’s one exercise you can try at home to build muscle and fight the dreaded anxiety of conflict.… Read More

Your goal for this week: complain.

You must bitch and moan and highlight the injustice of your plight.

You must be sincere. You must be honest. You must provide details, including dates and names.

You must release this negativity into the world intentionally, preparing yourself for positive returns.

There’s just one catch.

You can’t complain about anyone else. You have to complain about yourself, and … Read More

You can’t control a number of things in a negotiation. You can’t control if a negotiation will happen. You can’t control what the other side will want from you. And you can’t control how you’ll feel about a negotiation.

But there is a lot you can control and influence in the negotiation.

If you only focus on what you can’t control you will have frustrating … Read More