Tip

1. Don't expect that everyone will immediately understand the label you choose. (Sadly, not all clients -- and potential clients -- read 1099.) If you encounter someone who has never heard of your title, explain yourself as patiently and clearly as you can.
2. It may be necessary to define yourself with different terms in different contexts. To your client you may be a freelancer, to your mother you might be self-employed, to the IRS you might be an independent contractor, but to Doug, your miserable wage-slave neighbor, you are one lucky son-of-a-bitch.
3. Ironically, though you may define yourself in different ways in conversation, your printed marketing materials (business cards, brochures, Web site, etc.) should need no label at all. Here your vocational title (skywriter, musician, programmer, etc.) will do.
4. If you get dizzy thinking about all the options, remember that our favorite -- IP -- pretty much covers them all. Feel free to use it often.