Independent Professionals
Invited To Tell Their Stories
 Reliable sources indicate that 1099 will be interviewing self-employed professionals who work in a wide variety of fields. Such bossfree workers often have strong opinions about the special issues they face, and many also have fascinating stories to tell about their lives and their interaction with clients.
If you're an independent professional, and you think you might have a story worth telling in our webzine, here are some typical questions you might have about the process:
Q: I think I have a great story but I'm not sure what the "point" of it is. It doesn't seem to fit into any of your categories (in the next column).
A: No problem! We're really good at figuring out things like what the "point" of a story is. The important thing is that your story be interesting, unusual, and specific -- that is, a fairly detailed account of a specific occurence that actually happened to you. It should not be just vague allusions to past events, or your general opinions about something, or the story of your whole career.
Q: I don't think I'm a great writer.
A: No problem! Our writers will interview you and write the story. You could, however, send us a rough version in email (see below) if you like, so we can evaluate the story's potential for our audience.
Q: I think I'm a great writer. Can I write it myself?
A: Well, um... probably not. But anything's possible. Send us some clips (writing samples, preferably published) and try to convince us.
Q: If I write it myself, will you pay me for it?
A: No. We pay our professional writers (most of whom are IPs themselves), but as a matter of policy we won't pay a subject (the person a story is about) or a source (a person quoted in a story). Sorry. It might, however, be good for your business to be featured here; or you might get a kick out of it; or you might get some useful advice from people responding to the story. If that's not enough motivation for you, well...
Q: How do I contact you?
A: Contact information is just below, at the bottom of this Web page.
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Secret List of 1099's Topic Subjects Revealed in Congressional Hearing
Rumor Surfaces That Magazine Itself Leaked The List; Other Publications Snicker at Such Ingenuous Openness
Listed below are some of the general subject areas we'll be writing stories about. However, this kind of list can be a little misleading. We're not really interested in the typical straight "how-to" stories. What we're really interested in are -- well, interesting stories: something that happened to you in the course of your work as an independent professional that you think other people might enjoy hearing about. We suggest you read the Q&A list (in the left column, right below the cartoon illustration) before you read our topic list below.
General Topic Subjects
(in alphabetical order):
Advocacy (political issues related to self-employment)
Bookkeeping, accounting, recordkeeping
Client Relations
Contact building
Financial issues involving business capital, insurance, consumer credit,
rentals, etc
Getting Paid
Getting Work (marketing yourself and making contacts)
Getting Work (RFPs, proposals, presentations)
Getting Work (sales & referrals)
Legal (business structure, contracts, lawsuits, general risks)
Online Resources
Pricing & Negotiating
Professional Organizations
Psychological and social issues related to working alone
Retirement planning
Strategy & Goals
Taxes
Technology
Time Management
Your private workspace (home office)
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