Hello Freelance Writers,

Between the words, _free kick_ and _freeloader_ in the dictionary, comes
_freelance_. This is not what I'd call an auspicious position! Whereas
we will likely never change this, there are other things about being a
freelance writer that may need some examination. Hence this discussion
list.

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone. You don't have to
be a member of Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) (but it's nice
if you are) so please tell your writing buddies about us. And thanks to
the CAJ for setting up this list.

Doug Henderson and I are coordinating the Freelance Caucus through the
CAJ. I can be reached at either shannon@slmannion.com
or ottawavalleylandrovers@sympatico.ca . Doug can be reached at
dougdhenderson@hotmail.com . Yes, there's a "d" in there.

Why not start off with some anecdotes, good and bad, on how everyone's
doing in this freelance biz.

Has anyone had an editor chop a couple hundred words from one's article
and then "adjust" their cheque accordingly?

Or conversely, in negotiations, you're thinking, "Wonder if I can get
$200 for this gig? " And then the editor says, "Is $500 all right."

After you pick yourself up off the floor, please drop us a line.

Best wishes, Shannon
www.slmannion.com

How to join:

1) send e-mail to caj-freelance-subscribe@topica.com

2) go to http://www.caj.ca/services/list-serves.html#freelance, put your
e-mail in the form and click "Join"

In both cases, just reply to the e-mail (i.e. just send back the e-mail)
sent you from Topica.com or click on the registration URL in that e-mail.
That will take you to the one-time Topica.com sign-up page. (If you are
already signed up with Topica, it will take you to the caj-freelance new
user configuration page.)

When filing in the registration page info, remember that Topica has no way
of verifying that information (other than your e-mail address), so if you
have privacy concerns, you may create an "alias" personality for
registration purposes.

On the page after the registration info page, the one with all the "free"
offers, just go to the bottom of that page and click on the button that
takes you to the final, sign-up complete page.