The times are tough. The economy is looking bleak. But for writers who’ve quit jobs to pursue freelance dreams, write books, and be their own boss, financial uncertainty is no new thing.

In 2005, I wrote an article for Writing-World.com in which I listed 20 ways writers could save money. I’m reprinting it here. Tomorrow, I’ll add some more tips to the mix.

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Twenty Ways Writers Can Save Money
by Mridu Khullar

With today’s financial see-saw tipping from one end to the other, it’s no wonder that writers often find themselves in a cash crunch. But buying another writing book or springing for an expensive two-day writing conference doesn’t always have to pinch!

Instead of over-burdening yourself with deadlines you can’t possibly meet, think SAVING. Twenty bucks saved on a subscription could get you a favorite author’s new release. Another couple of twenties and you could be enrolling in a much-wanted e-course. A few smart choices and you could attend that conference you thought you’d never be able to afford. Cutting small expenses can add up to hundreds of dollars in savings.

Here are 20 ways to cut out small expenses that often go unnoticed.

1. Why pay hundreds of dollars for a fax machine, and then pay more each month when the phone bill arrives? I’ve opted for the free efax.com service, which lets you receive faxes right in your e-mail. If you want a local fax number or the ability to send faxes through your computer, the cost is $12.95 a month. This of course has the added benefit of no busy signals or clogged telephone lines.

2. In the market for a printer, a scanner and a fax machine? Buy them together in a convenient bundle. Many “all-in-ones” give you all three functions for the price of a good printer, and also save you a bunch of desktop real estate.

3. If you’re just starting out, don’t bother investing in fancy bond paper letterhead. These are nice to have when you’re established, but they won’t make or break your career. Similarly, don’t get caught up in such unimportant details as building a website before you have clips. This will only bring attention to the fact that you’re a newbie. Wait until you’re actually able to cover the annual expense of a website before exploring hosting options.

4. I always have at least 10 magazines on my want-to- get-published-in list. Since I can’t afford to subscribe to that many, I set up trades with friends. I send them back issues of my magazines, and they send me theirs, or perhaps I’ll trade a copy of my latest book for some issues. Trades don’t have to be limited to friends, though. I’ll often exchange services with professional designers or photographers too. As a writer, I know my strength lies in my words. And what photographer or designer wouldn’t appreciate a tightly written press release, copy for a website or even just a referral to other prospective clients?

5. There are several other ways to get free magazines, too. In her book “Starting Your Career As a Freelance Writer,” Moira Allen suggests the following methods:

* Search Writer’s Market for publications that offer a free sample copy.
* Read recent issues of magazines at the local library.
* Check the library’s giveaway or book sale section for back issues.
* Visit websites of the magazines you want to write for.
* Read back issues at your doctor’s or dentist’s office.
* Look for magazines at specialty stores.
* Respond to “free issue” offers, and keep an eye out for trial offers online.

(See also “Finding Sample Magazines - Without Breaking the Bank“)

6. I buy dozens of books each month — writing-related, novels, inspirational — and end up keeping only a select few in my bookcase. The rest are given away or donated. That’s money wasted. I don’t have a public library to fall back on (or the option of reselling used books on Half.com or Amazon.com), but if you’re in the U.S. or UK, you probably do. Instead of taking that weekly trip to the bookstore, try the library first; you can always buy the book later if you like it. For international writers, try trading with friends.

7. Think before swiping that credit card: Is there a more cost-effective alternative? When I wanted to design my personal website, I first considered hiring a designer, but didn’t want to give up control of the design to someone else or shell out $200 to $500 in the process. So I looked for web templates instead, and found a very nice one for $60. An hour of tweaking, and I was done. I’m also not a big fan of online courses, so instead of spending $100 to $150 for a class, I buy a book on the same topic for a tenth of the cost.

8. Each week, I make it a point to learn something new. A couple of summers ago, I took a free mini-course in web designing. Similarly, through free online materials, I’ve taught myself several Photoshop-related tasks, basic CGI programming and even magazine page layout and design. All these skills came in very handy when I was setting up a mailing list, hiring a book cover designer and convincing an editor how my article would be best presented. And they saved me money several times, including the time I gave my cover designer a basic layout to work with. He cut his fee in half, simply because I knew how to create a basic cover.

9. Try shifting the bulk of your communications from paper to e-mail. Almost 97% of my work is now done via e-mail. That saves me a lot in postage and paper. I also IM (instant message) with my clients more than I talk to them over the phone. This is especially useful if you’re an international writer. Let your editors know that you’re available on IM, and many will actually take you up on the offer.

10. Editors hate free e-mail, right? Wrong. Editors don’t hate free e-mail; what they hate are those mile-long ads that appear at the bottom, or situations when you can’t accept a particular attachment because it exceeds a file size limit. That’s why Hotmail is such a huge turn-off. But Hotmail isn’t your only option. There are many free e-mail services that won’t make you seem unprofessional. GMail is one of them. Not only are you able to send ad-free e-mails, but you also get a whopping 1,000 MB limit of storage space.

11. Speaking of free e-mail accounts, did you notice that I mentioned that GMail has 1,000 MB of storage space? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Backups! You know how valuable your data is, and how much work you’d have to re-do if even one day of that data went missing. If you produce work daily, you’ll want to back it up daily — but it’s not financially feasible to burn 356 CDs a year! Flash drives and back-up drives can also cost a pretty penny. So why not e-mail your work in progress to yourself each day and then use that free storage space to make a proper backup every week or every month?

[Editor's Note: Keep a folder on your desktop for a copy of any files you've created or altered during the day; this makes it easy to determine what you need to back up at the end of the day. You can zip the folder and e-mail it to yourself as an attachment, upload it to your online storage space, copy it onto a flash drive (and then transfer it to another computer), or copy it onto a rewritable CD-ROM.]

12. Like most writers, I like to print out my reference notes from websites and articles for future use. You never know if that information will be available online a month later when you really need it. To spare your ink cartridges, set your printer to “draft.” Also, save on ink by downloading/saving those articles as text files to avoid printing out all the graphics, ads, logos, etc.

13. If you’re promoting a book, split advertising and promotion costs with other writers. You could jointly create a newsletter or website, team up and do speaking engagements or just share the cost of advertisements in online and print media. If you’re a fiction author, find another author with the same publisher and go on a book tour, do book signings together and include flyers for each others’ books with your own promotions.

14. People who complain about expensive software obviously haven’t heard the term “open source”. This is software that you’re free to use as you wish. Even the source code files are available to you to modify (hence the term “open source”). So instead of buying the expensive MS-Office package, download the free Open Office Suite for free. Similarly, an alternative to the expensive Adobe Acrobat software is available at http://www.pdf995.com

15. If you must buy software, try the shareware version first to see that you’re actually getting what you’re paying for. Also, look for all-in-one packages or combo packages, which are much cheaper than all the software bought separately. Look for bundles and free giveaways. Many companies give you free software if you buy one of their products, so see if there’s something you can put together on the cheap.

16. As you start getting more and more work, you’ll need to hire people on a job-to-job basis. Many writers require transcription services, web designers or photographers. Instead of seeking someone from an expensive agency, look at the local colleges in your community. Could you find a student to do the work instead? Many college-goers or even high school students will be glad to help you for the chance to learn the ropes. [Editor's note: Some colleges and high schools also have intern programs, which means you may be able to get the work done for free!]

17. With the cost of gas skyrocketing, those trips to the post office, library, or stationery shop can add up quickly. So fix one day as “errand day” (and make a list of the things you need to buy or accomplish). You’ll save time as well.

18. Don’t wait to do everything at the last minute. If the contract needs to be in by Friday, don’t send it by priority mail on Wednesday. Send it a week in advance so that you only have to pay regular mail rates. Try to avoid overnight delivery services; think ahead.

19. Instead of sending a SASE and requesting your whole package back (which you’re probably not going to get anyway), send a postcard with a list of options for the editor to tick off. It’ll be easier for the editor to send back communication and you won’t have spent money on an envelope and stamps that will likely never make it back.

20. Credit cards are bad enough as it is, but they can be financial suicide for a writer who doesn’t know where her next paycheck is coming from. Unless you have a steady income of a couple of thousand dollars a month, or a steady job to fall back on, cut those babies up and throw them away. If you do use them, make sure you can pay them in full each month; otherwise, you’ll spend hundreds of dollars on interest. Remember, the more you save, the more you’ll have to spend at that annual conference you’ve been dying to go to.

I’ve ventured into the European marketplace this year, completely by accident. I came across a magazine for Asian women in England around February, sent the editor an LOI, and received an assignment pretty quickly.

A few months later, my editor at Elle India let me know that one of their European editions wanted to reprint one of my pieces. Easy enough.

Several weeks ago, an editor of a magazine in France found my website and have me a ready-made assignment. He was fabulous to work with, the pay was good, and I enjoyed the whole experience.

Then, about a week ago, I received note that Glamour had optioned one of my pieces (meaning they wanted to reprint it). The check is already on its way.

I’ve worked with European publications before, but this year is the first time when I’ve looked at them as a viable market. I know several people who work with the European media, and adding up their experiences and my own, I’ve found the following major differences between American and European publications.

1. European publications, typically, will not send you five-page contracts asking for all rights (in every media that exists today and that may be discovered in future), expect you to sign a contract saying that you’ll pay your own legal fees should some psycho choose to file a lawsuit, and come to think of it, pay theirs as well, and if they’ve forgotten to get a signed contract, send you an all-rights contract after it’s been published or hold your money hostage. In fact, in many parts of Europe, like in many parts of Asia, work is often done without a contract. E-mail is typically proof enough of the terms agreed upon.

2. As is common with publishers though, publications in Europe (and Asia and Africa) too will stall on payment. Without a contract, you might feel a little nervous about missing payments. I’ve never had an invoice go unpaid, but you’ll have to see if that’s something you can work with. Or you can send the editor an informal contract of your own laying out the terms of the deal. Payment on publication is common, and is usually non-negotiable.

3. The good news, however, is that a lot of European magazines do not have huge six-month lead times that most American publications do. Editors typically work only one month in advance.

4. The money? It can be very good. While popular publications can and do get away with paying pittance, mid-size newspapers and magazines pay much better than their American counterparts.

5. There are, of course, differences in the way things are done from country to country (and publication to publication), but if you’re going to break into this market, you need to know that things work very differently from the way they do in American publications.

I sent out a couple of feelers about my controversial doctor story. I’m also going to ask one of my Professors for advice on how to execute it. It’ll require some amount of travel, and a lot of sitting around with medical experts trying to figure out the true nature of the treatments. I’d like to be paid well for volunteering to wade through all that jargon!

I’m also hoping to get the timing of it right. I have a lot going on right now, and I don’t want any of my projects to fall through the cracks. I have at least two editors who I know would take this story immediately. But I’m beginning to realize that as writers, we’re a greedy bunch. What wouldn’t I have given for one of these editors to accept an idea, any idea, three years ago? And now I’m sitting here thinking of them as backup.

I’m becoming one of those writers who beg and plead with the Universe. “Just one,” they’ll say. “If just that one agent could be interested in my work, I’d be so happy.” Two years later, their book has been published, they’re getting favorable reviews, and they’re still on their knees begging to the Universe. “Just one,” they’ll be saying. “Just one week on the New York Times bestseller list and I’ll be so happy.”

I’m trying to remain ambitious without losing sight of what’s important. I like having goals; they inspire me to be better and move forward. But I’m slowly learning to disassociate my happiness from my achievements. Maybe some big name will pick up this story and pay for the thorough research. But if not, I think I’m cool with either one of my two backups taking it as well.