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Archive for August, 2009

Spelling & Grammar Sunday – “Couldn’t” vs “Could” Care Less

Ooh, okay, I’ll be honest – this one gets up my nose a bit every time I hear/read it. You’ve probably heard people say they “couldn’t care less” about something, but you’ve probably also heard them say they “could care less” about something. So which one is right?

The correct way to say it is “couldn’t care less.”

Saying you could care less implies you have a little bit of caring left in you. Saying you couldn’t care less means you’ve hit bottom – there is absolutely no more room for you to care. A good way to remember it is to think of it using a different word in place of “care.” Think of saying, “I could drive less” or “I could work less.”

August 30, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

The most important part of a freelancer’s invoice

Let me preface this post by making an unsurprising statement: I am not an accountant or fancy contract/invoice lawyer. So this is my subjective opinion on the most important part of a freelancer’s invoice: a statement about charging interest on overdue payments.

Why is it important to charge interest on overdue payments?

As a freelancer, you may not have a steady stream of income like in a traditional 9-5 job. You rely on the prompt payments of your clients to pay your own bills. Aside from the time frame in which to pay (30 days, 60 days, etc), charging interest on overdue payments is critical to include in your invoice. If an invoice is late, you can then issue another one for the interest rate. It gives you a bit of compensation for the time you were waiting for your payment.

How much interest should I charge?

Take a look at what others in your industry and region charge. Consult your local government agencies for business to make sure you’re doing everything above board (charging interest can actually be criminal in some places if you do it wrong). Personally, I’ve seen interest rates that range from 1.5% – 2% per month. Depending on the total of your invoice, that might not seem like much, but at least it’s something. Plus, it tends to prioritize invoices in harried Accounts Payable departments.

Things to keep in mind

For a freelancer, it can be especially frustrating to have overdue invoices, but don’t charge into it with guns blazing. Check the contract you and your client signed to ensure there’s nothing in there to preclude you charging interest on an overdue invoice. Consult an accountant or business lawyer to make sure you’re doing everything by the book, check what your rights are, and what to do next. And most of all – don’t burn any bridges. An overdue invoice doesn’t necessarily have to mean an irrevocably damaged relationship.

Further reading about charging interest on overdue invoices:

Collecting debts (Canada)

Charging interest on late payments (UK)

Late payment in commercial transactions (EU)

August 29, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

A good link for new freelance writers

Yes, I do often do “link love” posts, but I don’t usually link to only one article or blog post. However, I’m going to make an exception just this once. You’ll understand when you see the title of this link:

That’s right. SIXTY. That’s a lot considering the attention span of us internet denizens! This is a good one to bookmark for quick reference.

In Wordscience news, I’m working on a post about the most important thing to include in your invoices, and I’ve started a new Twitter account devoted solely to Wordscience, skgarner.com in general and freelancing. You can follow me here if you are so inclined!

August 26, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

Spelling & Grammar Sunday – “Regardless” vs “Irregardless”

Okay, so I know my last post was about spelling & grammar too. I’m not going to turn this into a blog dedicated to picking apart your words, but I’ve been thinking about starting a series of posts about the spelling & grammar mistakes that kind of drive me up the wall ever so slightly (in a totally non-combative way, of course – I make my grammatical gaffes too). And, as the last few words probably implied, I like alliteration – something seen in “spelling” and “Sunday.” So here we go!

“Regardless” vs “Irregardless”

In this case, the correct word is “regardless.” It’s an easily understood mistake – the English language is set up for us to identify the “ir-” prefix to indicate the opposite quality of something. “Irrational” means not rational; “irrelevant” means not relevant, etc.

The thing is, the “-less” suffix kinda does the same thing. It means “without.” So saying “irregardless” is a double negative. Technically, “irregardless” means “not without regard or concern” or “with regard or concern” – the exact opposite of why people use it.

Oh, and on another note: if you’re curious about how to properly use the word “comprise,” I’ve written a Suite 101 article about it here. I think that’s my number one grammar pet peeve, so that article’s kind of my baby!

August 23, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

Why spelling and grammar matters for freelancers

Those of you who know what a spelling nerd I am won’t be suprirsed when I say: using proper spelling and grammar is just as important as the client work you do as a freelancer.

Yes, I may be biased, but I believe it’s true that if you don’t consider your spelling and grammar, the rest of your work will suffer. There’s one simple reason for that.

You will appear unprofessional and careless if your spelling is bad

I don’t mean the occasional mistake here and there (“Occasional” is one word I personally always mess up). I mean emails littered with spelling errors and grammatical mixups. Imagine you are the client and you email your freelancer a question about the project you’re working on. The email you get back is full of so many spelling mistakes and poorly-constructed sentences that you have to read it twice to understand. How would your opinion of the freelancer change?

Take your time with every email

Emails and instant messages are immediate forms of communication, but take a couple of minutes to review every message before you hit Send. It’s been my experience that really badly-constructed emails and letters are a result of the writer rushing through it. Read over your email or message and make sure that all the client’s questions are answered and your relevant points have been made. Read it out loud to make sure it flows well. Look for obvious errors, but also watch out for spelling mistakes that spell checker programs might not catch because, technically, they’re not spelled wrong. These include they’re/their/there and you’re/your mixups – and my personal favourite: it’s/its. Someone I know reads each word backwards – she says that it helps misspellings jump out at her.

Nobody’s expecting perfection

Everyone makes spelling and grammar mistakes, and your client will understand that. The important thing is to just take care with the things you write. It’s one of the most important things you can do to improve your reputation and put forth an image that is just as professional as the work you do.

I wrote an article on Suite 101 called Communications Skills for the Self-Employed for anyone who might be interested to learn more.

Image courtesy of stock.xchng user dotlizard.

August 18, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

Long absences and things to read

Wow.

I’m sorry. I kind of let this blog get away from me, didn’t I? In my defense, this summer has been quite busy. I’ve been travelling to visit friends who live in other provinces, and found it difficult to blog during and in between. I’ve also been doing a lot of fiction writing (including in an idyllic setting of a train’s window seat going from Montreal to Toronto). But I promise I’ll be better! I’ve got a few post ideas so I won’t desert poor Wordscience again.

Here are some things you may be interested in reading in the meantime:

(Image courtesy of stock.xchng user rendo79)

August 12, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post