Re: Contracting and Flexibility

[Sandra Law <sandra -at- qmaster -dot- com>]

> Anonymous asks:
>
> Is contracting all it's cracked up to be in this regard?
>
> Tony Markatos responds:
>
> Yes - if you are in the drivers seat (i.e., have the proper contacts).
> No, if agencies are driving you.

I don't know about the technical writing field per say, but I found working on
other kinds of contracts that I didn't always take breaks, and worked through
lunch.  This did not always result in shorter work days.  It's necessary to
schedule breaks, to breath if nothing else.  Also, I have a friend who does
legal research on a contract basis, and she finds that the work cycle, at least
in the early part of her contracting career, is of the feast and famine kind.  A

current contract has been so intense (in terms of the amount of work required
and the timelines)  that she has had to hire a law student as a sub-contractor.
While she works in the legal field I think her complaint (of too little work and

then too much) is a common one among contractors.  She is developing a client
base, of firms that will consistently need her services, and further pay in a
timely fashion.  I think she hopes that this will be adequate to her needs,
which are admittedly, quite modest.  Her experience leads me to believe that you

have to stockpile resources in anticipation of slow times.

Sandra Law