Re: Making the Switch from Full Time to Freelance/Contract - Looking for Advice

[quills -at- airmail -dot- net]

In the Dallas area they don't want to deal with 1099, they prefer to 
have W2 employees, so as to avoid an possibility of claims on them 
for benefits. Also 6 month contracts are the norm, with 3 months 
being used more frequently.

Use the agencies! They spend more time, and have the relationships in 
many cases, that you don't have, and can't expect to build in a short 
period.

Scott

At 11:33 AM -0700 5/6/08, Louise Kasemeier wrote:
>I've finally decided to take the plunge and make the switch from 
>full time writing posiitons to freelance or contract positions and 
>I'm looking for any advice or wisdom from people who have already 
>done it. I've been a full time technical writer for ten years, here 
>in the Atlanta area and previously in th UK. I've worked in the 
>software industry for most of that time writing user documentation 
>and internal/systems stuff, API references etc. In the past 2 years 
>or so I've also been doing a lot of work with DITA and XML, both as 
>a content writer and on the technical implementation side of things.
>
>I'm really looking for advice on the best way to find contracts and 
>to get my name out there. Should I use an agency or contact 
>potential employers myself? Are there any good web sites or other 
>resources out there that I should be looking at? Anything really 
>that you think a newbie freelancer should be aware of.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Louise
>
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