Aw, thanks, Ray! I enjoyed all your posts while scrolling through, too.

A cornerstone of professional journalism is the ability to avoid burning bridges. There is a stark difference between getting what you’re owed and truly burning bridges – and sometimes when you burn one bridge, it can singe the others in your network.

What I mean by that is it’s okay to be angry, and it’s okay to try to get your just due. However, it’s NOT okay to be unprofessional. When you act unprofessionally, especially in the freelance world, you can affect your career’s future in a horrible way. If I’m an editor, and you’ve submitted something to me, I’m likely going to try to verify your credentials and see some samples of your work which you haven’t provided to me through tearsheets or ‘Web links.

I’m going to google your name.

And then I’m going to find unprofessional rants against other writers, companies and all manner of other things. (If I find unemotional, clear and concise reviews, it’s one thing – but unprofessional rants are another animal.) I’m going to think, “Jeez – if this guy acts like this because he’s mad over a couple hundred bucks, what happens if I have to pay him a kill fee because I didn’t like his article?” Magazines work on much higher pay scales than does the Internet – a kill fee could be in the range of $500… so if you’re so angry and threatening legal action for something smaller, an editor will likely shy away from working with you at all.

You’ve got to be really careful what you put out there for the world – it’s great to get it off your chest, but do it in a professional manner. Exercise a little wisdom, forethought and above all, concern for your own future as a freelancer.

Just a tip from one freelancer to others… do with it what you will.

I’ve been participating on Helium for almost three years – it was just a baby when I got on board. I knew when I signed up that I wouldn’t make a million dollars, because I browsed the forums and did my own research first… so I didn’t have wild expectations.

Now, however, I do make a good deal of money from Helium. I am not paid to be a steward, nor do I enter contests any more; all I did was learn how to promote my own name and write with search engines in mind. Using Helium as an online portfolio, I can submit work to magazine publishers and in other online venues and give the editors something more to look at than the few magazines and other sites I’ve been published on.

The bonus? The money I get for having posted articles three years ago (and haven’t touched or even thought about since) takes my husband and I out to dinner a couple of times a month. It will continue to do so – and the articles I’ve sold to magazines and other online sources won’t.

When I first started out, Helium was exactly what I needed to bolster my confidence and get my name out in the wide, wide writing world. Now, if I have a piece that has been rejected by a magazine (too broad, too narrow or whatever else) I can sell it on Constant-Content for usage rights and post it on Helium to get that residual income. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s better than having it sit on my hard drive NOT making any money!

I think it’s wise to do a lot of research before you attach yourself to ANY online venue.

Stay away from Helium, unless you like spending your time for no profit except theirs.

J