| Insight and Inspiration from
The Accidental Medical Writer |
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Departments
- Welcome!
- [Not] Just for Newbies
- On the Radar
- Dollars & Sense
- TAMW Calendar
- The Savvy Marketer
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More! More! More!
Beauty. Popularity. Fame. Fortune. Who doesn't want more than they currently have? Sure, some people are more content than others. But freelances are entrepreneurs. By our very nature we want more, we expect more--we demand more--from ourselves and what we can achieve.
Not that we were fans of disco, but for this particular issue of Pencil Points, the Andrea True Connection may have said it best. We want to help you get more, more, more! That means helping you make more, and more meaningful, contacts when you attend networking events, which you can learn all about in The Savvy Marketer. We want to help you make more money by giving yourself a raise, and tell you how to go about it in Dollars and Sense. Want your home to do more for you at tax time? Read all about it in [Not] Just for Newbies.
There are plenty of other treats in store for you in this month's issue of Pencil Points including a new way to get more done when your Adobe Acrobat is being, shall we say, less than cooperative, which we discuss in On The Radar, plus information on how you can connect and get more information from us live at the AMWA Annual Conference in Columbus, OH, November 6-9, 2013, in Where In the World are Brian and Cyndy. We hope to see you there!
Wishing you writing success, Cyndy and Brian |
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 [NOT] JUST FOR NEWBIES
Information and Inspiration for New and Experienced Writers | | |
To Deduct, or Not to Deduct, and HOW is the Question
One question that is often on freelances' minds is, "Should I deduct for a home office?" We get this question particularly from those who are new to, or contemplating getting into, freelancing. But freelances who have been in the business for years also wonder about what to do as they seek to lighten their annual personal tax burden.
While it's not necessarily a bad idea to claim a portion of your home as a business expense, we don't do it. Why? Because we don't believe it's worth the hassle or the risk.
What hassle? Freelances who write off a home office have to file a Form 8829--a 49-line form that requires you to keep track of many details including expenses such as mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, utilities, and insurance, plus depreciation of the office's value at a rate of 1/39th per year, which ultimately gets taxed to your business when you sell your home. These deductions are then split between your business tax return and Schedule A of your personal tax return. If you do your taxes yourself, which we don't recommend, this adds up to a lot of additional time and record keeping. If your accountant does your taxes, it can add up to additional accounting costs.
What risk? We've long preached about the importance of defining your freelance business as a recognized business entity (eg, an LLC or S-Corp). A big part of the reason for this is that being a recognized business entity can prevent a lawsuit against your business from attaching to your personal assets such as your personal bank accounts, investments, and your home. When you claim a home office deduction as a business expense, you have effectively given your business a part of your home, which means that a lawsuit against your business could force the sale of your home to recoup the value of your office. We're not lawyers, and we don't even play lawyers on TV, so we recommend you speak with your attorney before you make any decisions. Everyone's circumstance is different, and different laws apply in different states.
If you already write off your home office or are gung-ho to do so, we may have some good news for you. Effective this year, the IRS has made available to small business owners a new, simplified system for claiming the home office deduction. It allows you to deduct $5 per square foot of space devoted to your home office up to a maximum of 300 square feet, or $1,500 total. That's it, clean and neat. No complicated expenses to track. With the new simplified system there's no depreciation to claim, but that means there's also no tax liability against that depreciation when you sell your home. All expenses related to your home are fully deductible on your personal tax return using Schedule A.
The IRS will allow small business owners who claim a home office expense to switch between the old and new ways to claim the deduction from year to year. That means you can run the numbers both ways each year and decide which way gives you the bigger tax benefit. Of course, that means even more record keeping and number crunching at the end of the year, and that's where the hassle part comes in for us.
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ON THE RADAR
Resources for Medical Writers | |
Free PDF Converter That Works!
We create PDFs all the time, from Word documents, Web pages, scanned documents. You name it, we PDF it! That's why we hate it when gremlins get into our computers and mess with our Adobe Acrobat so that we can't create PDFs anymore. We don't understand why it happens, but it always seems to happen when we're struggling to meet a deadline. Sound familiar?
You can imagine how excited we were when we found this free PDF converter for Windows--Do PDF. Even better, it works for our purposes! We've downloaded it and used it and we've had no problems. Plus we like the security of having a secondary program whenever the Adobe Acrobat gremlins attack. Give it a try.
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DOLLARS & SENSE
Advice on the Business of Freelancing
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It's Time for a Raise!
Costs go up every year--your mortgage, property taxes, utilities, inflation, the list goes on. Everything you pay for goes up, so why not your prices, too? Raising freelance prices can be a challenging feat. On one hand, if you charge by the hour it's easier to raise your prices--you simply tell your clients the "Effective [Date], my hourly rate will increase from $100 to $110. A 10% raise, not bad in this economy, right? But what if your client says "I'm sorry, we can't afford to pay more than $100, take it or leave it." What do you do now?
In Issue #47 of Pencil Points we wrote yet another article defending project pricing vs charging by the hour. Brian, and our good friend and Past AMWA President, Elizabeth Smith, will be presenting a rousing debate on hourly versus project pricing at AMWA's annual conference in Columbus, OH on Friday, November 8. Be sure to check it out!
One big challenge that can really hurt you when you want to raise your rates is there is only so high an hourly rate companies will pay. If you're charging $125 per hour today, we bet you'll have a tough time charging $137.50 next year. Charging by the project enables you to charge for value, and it's easier to raise a project rate by 10% than it is to raise an hourly rate by 10%. As long as the project price remains within your client's budget, they won't likely care whether it takes you 5 hours or 25 hours to get it done.
In the consumer package-goods arena, companies that can't raise prices typically cut back on quality. They'll add more cheap fillers to their high-end ingredients, or cut back on the package size. Freelances don't have that luxury, nor should we ever think we do. We're only as good as the last project we delivered, and we cannot afford to skimp.
So when you raise your prices, remember to keep it reasonable to the level of quality and consistency you deliver. Don't gouge, but don't apologize, either. Chances are you'll find your clients won't even notice. If your pricing is getting toward the top end of their budget, they'll let you know. And if you're over budget, you can negotiate the deliverable. A little cut back here can enable you to reduce your price there. If you truly deliver consistent value to your client, once you give them options you'll find they often come back to the original price, feeling much better about what they're getting in return.
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| WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE BRIAN AND CYNDY?
The Accidental Medical Writer Calendar
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The AMWA Annual Conference is the ultimate resource for medical communicators around the world, offering educational and networking opportunities beyond compare in the field. Registration is still discounted until this coming Monday, September 16, but you can register anytime--even on site.
Here's our line-up for the 2013 AMWA Annual Conference. We hope you'll join us for one of our sessions, roundtables, or workshops.
- Mining the Internet: Online Resources for Medical Communicators. Cyndy will be presenting this roundtable on Thursday and repeating it on Friday.
- Fundamentals of Freelance Business Marketing. Brian is teaching this workshop on Thursday November 7, from 9:00 to 12:00 pm.
- How to Write a Manuscript from a CSR. Brian and Cyndy will be presenting this open session on Thursday November 7, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm.
- The Great Freelance Rate Debate. Don't miss this panel discussion with Brian and our colleague Elizabeth Smith on Friday November 8, from 11:00 to 12:00 pm.
- Use a SWOT Analysis to Rejuvenate Your Freelance Career and Better Market Your Business. Cyndy and Brian are presenting this open session on Friday November 8, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.
If you'd like us to come and speak at an event you're organizing, don't wait too long to contact us. Our schedule is filling fast!
Be sure to check out Brian's interview in Breaking Into Medical Writing and Editing by Kristen Fischer that was published online on January 6 by mediabistro.com, a top site for communication professionals who create or work with content. If you're a member of AvantGuild you can access the article for free. If not, there's a $55 annual subscription fee, which gives you access to all the exclusive content the site offers. If you recall, Kristen interviewed Cyndy last year for the Freelance Switch blog, which you can read here. Thanks, Kristen.
For all our upcoming activities and appearances, keep an eye on The Accidental Medical Writer In Person.
We frequently speak and teach at medical writing conferences and seminars; we've also been interviewed online. Check out our Webcasts. Brian's interview with Danielle Hampson of The Business Authors Show is also available right on our website!
We would love to present at your next upcoming meeting or event, so invite us!
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| THE SAVVY MARKETER
Marketing Tips to Build Your Business
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Are You Pitching All Balls and No Strikes at Networking Events? There was a time, in a galaxy far, far away, when small business owners like us used to get together in person with like-minded individuals on a regular basis to talk about our businesses, meet new people, and, hopefully, generate new work from new clients. We'd shake lots of hands, have interesting conversations, pass around our business cards, and come home feeling as though we'd accomplished something worthwhile. Remember doing that? We're guessing too few of you do.
Years ago it was standard procedure for entrepreneurs to join the local Chamber of Commerce or other business groups to network regularly across multiple industries. Nowadays, however, it seems as though most of us do our networking online, with little of it done face to face, except perhaps once a year at the AMWA Annual Conference. If you've been a Pencil Points subscriber for a while, you know we advocate joining online social networks such as LinkedIn and becoming part of the conversation. But nevertheless we are also firm believers that face-to-face networking needs to be an important part of your marketing plan, too, even for those of you who consider yourselves introverts.
Face-to-face networking is harder than online networking, don't you agree? If you're a bit rusty with in-person networking, or you come away from face-to-face interactions feeling as though you're pitching all balls and no strikes, these tips may help you make real connections with people at the next networking event you attend. - Set a goal for what you want to accomplish at the event. For example, to meet 3 new people (rather than 6 or 12 or 15). Make it a goal that's achievable and realistic so you don't feel overwhelmed.
- Shore up your handshake. The first impression people get of you is from your handshake and the way you introduce yourself. Strive for a firm grip, direct eye contact, and a smile. No limp fish hands or grumpy faces, please!
- Prepare your elevator speech. We've talked before about the importance of having a 30-second explanation of what you do and the value you provide in Issue #26 of Pencil Points. If you haven't done it yet, come up with a succinct way to describe your work and how you make your clients' lives easier.
- Don't be a wallflower and linger at the edges of the room. Hang out by the bar or the food. That's a great place to meet people coming and going. You can even open the conversation with a remark about the food.
- Be present when you're interacting with new people. We go absolutely bonkers when we're talking with someone and he or she is looking around the room scoping out other people. And don't you hate it when someone asks you a question and then leaves you for someone else before you've had a chance to answer? That's just rude. Make the people you're conversing with feel as though you want to hear what they have to say. And listen to them. After you've disengaged from the conversation is the time to look for the next person to meet not while you're engaged.
- And speaking of disengaging, what's the polite way to move out of one conversation and on to another? At networking events you never want to monopolize one person's time, nor do you want your time to be monopolized. To get out of an interaction that's gone on a bit too long, end with a handshake (a firm one, right?) and a simple, "It's been a pleasure meeting you, but I won't take up any more of your time." Or how about, "I know you're anxious to meet other people, so I'll be moving on."
- Strive for authentic connections with the people you meet. In our opinion, it's better to have 1 or 2 genuine conversations with people than it is to flit from person to person dispensing business cards along the way.
- Consider an interaction a success if you leave it feeling as though you could call or email the person a day or a week after the meeting and get a response.
Your networking muscles deteriorate if you don't flex them on a regular basis. Make sure to attend live events occasionally so you can practice!
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