All posts with the ‘ practical advice ’ Tag

One of the great virtues of having a contract is that it tells you what to do when things don’t work out the way you hoped they would.

Tucked away at the end of the contract are all sorts of helpful instructions on how much interest late payments will incur, where you can sue each other, and who is responsible for what.

One of those … Read More

I talk to a lot of freelancers about how to handle their prices, particularly how to raise their prices.

They tell me that  they want to be able to charge what they’re worth without having to worry that they’ll lose business as a result, can I help them do that?… Read More

It’s not enough to say that women need to “lean in” and ask for what they want.

It’s not enough to say that people react negatively when women “lean in” and ask for what they want.

Neither approach actually helps someone accomplish anything. It just encourages, or discourages, behavior.

Women can negotiate just as well as men, but no one negotiates well if they don’t … Read More

Contract Hacks: making freelance contracts better, one hack at a time.… Read More

Two very exciting things happened on the internet this last week!

One: Getty Images announced it would start licensing a portion of its massive image collection for no cost.

And, two: Amtrak embraced the fervor of the hashtag and established a for-real writer’s residency hosted on its long-distance trains.

Both things are ridiculously cool.

And both things came with fine print.

Why does fine print … Read More

I hate hearing stories about attorneys who don’t listen to their clients and write them indecipherable contracts that the client can’t understand.

That’s ridiculous! How can you use something in your business if you can’t understand it?

So today, gather round, my freelance ninjas, because I’m going to teach you how to talk back to lawyers.… Read More

I am a big believer that many people, particularly artists, already have a lot of the skills they need to negotiate. They just don’t know how they can use those skills in a negotiation.

That’s why when I teach negotiation I like using every day examples of situations where people can use those skills to get what they need out of a negotiation.

One of … Read More

Improving your negotiation skills doesn’t take super human strength or mythic amounts of talent.

Improving your negotiation skills requires changing the way you approach conflicts – seeing them as puzzles to solve, instead of insurmountable mountains of emotion and fear.… Read More