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Re: What is Freelancing?

Subject: Re: What is Freelancing?
From: Sandy Nicholson <sandy -at- ambertext -dot- co -dot- uk>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 16:48:12 +0100

Richard wrote:

I often hear the term "freelancing" used in ref to TWing. What is the difference between temping (W2 or 1099) and freelancing?

For the benefit of those of us in the rest of the world, could someone perhaps explain to us roughly what the terms `W2' and `1099' mean?

I'm a freelance editor and technical writer in the UK (though here we usually call technical writers `technical _authors'_). From a UK perspective, anyway, the `freelance' bit simply means that I'm self- employed. Trading as Ambertext, I provide technical-writing and editorial services to various clients - but they don't _employ_ me. If I were temping, I would be doing short-term work for various employers as an employee, I believe. (However, I have never heard of anyone temping as a technical author in the UK.)

However, Al replied to Richard:

I think in this case...nothing; although, we tend to view "freelancing" as contract work. ...

I'd agree that the term `contractor' is roughly equivalent to `freelancer' (perhaps the only difference being that a contractor could be a partnership or company whereas a freelancer is always an individual). But it could be that there is a difference between US and UK terminology.

I'm interested to find out because my links with other copy-editors are almost exclusively in the UK, and we tend to say that we do `freelance' work, whereas my links with other technical writers/ authors are largely in the US (through mailing lists like this one), and it seems that people more often say that they do `contract' work. Is that because technical writers in the US are gaining short-term employment (temping in a sense)? Is it a US/UK difference? Or is it just a difference in marketing (due to historical accident perhaps) between the technical-writing and copy-editing worlds?

Any insights? (I'm keen to describe myself accurately to people on both sides of the great sea!)

Best wishes,
Sandy

Ambertext, 2/Gf Bruntsfield Crescent, Edinburgh EH10 4EZ, Scotland
+44 (0) 131 447 9257 http://www.ambertext.co.uk/ sandy -at- ambertext -dot- co -dot- uk
Sole proprietor: Alexander J Nicholson
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Follow-Ups:

References:
What is Freelancing?: From: Richard Lewis
Re: What is Freelancing?: From: Al Geist

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