Work From Home Couple

One of the publishers whom I write for came to me with an opportunity. The publisher wanted to know if I’d be interested in editing a new quarterly publication they’d just agreed to produce for the National Association of Realtors.

Problem is, the price they were offering was fairly low, and there was no room for negotiation. I had a decision to make.

On the one hand, the offer was not terrible. It would be fairly steady work as the publisher would need me to tackle the work four times a year. Also, this has been a rough year. I’ve already taken several jobs that normally I would not have added to my schedule just to make up for the high number of my writing clients who have either gone out of business or stopped using freelancers.

In the end, I negotiated just a bit, earned a very small increase to the initial offer and accepted this new offer.

Two years ago? Even one year ago? I probably would have passed. But this is one tough economy. As a freelancer, I need a constant stream of work to pay the bills. So I’m working harder than I ever have just to stay above water.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this. But until the economy turns around, and until magazines stop losing advertisers, I’ll probably keep accepting work I normally would pass up. Of course, it could be worse, far worse, so I’m still counting my blessings.

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