Tuesday night US/Israeli tax specialist Phil Stein www.pstein.com came out for café talk in Tel Aviv to give us freelance writers a few tips. Stein came to Israel 28 years ago, and since has started a firm which includes 10 people specializing in US tax, Israeli tax and the points where the two systems meet.
Read MoreWhew! Busy days these are so this will be brief. February's Tel Aviv Writer's Cafe held at Meshoogaat Cafe on the 13th was all about blogging and bloggers; Does it help a career? Is it worthwhile?
Veteran blogger Allison Kaplan Sommer of A Sealed Room addressed the group of over 20 attendees on everything from her personal career started at Columbia University and currently including editorial duties at Pajamas Media to the politics of blogging to how her blog has helped get her jobs.
On hand was Allison's personal friend Lisa Goldman of On the Face who also spoke about her trials and tribulations as a blogger - stalkers and political finger pointing in the comments section - and how her blog has helped launch her career and garner speaking appearances and publicity both in Israel and abroad.
Once again, lively and interesting and the numbers just seem to grow and grow.
Next up: Taxes and Filing. March 13th. Leading up to the IRS April 15 filing deadline, U.S./Israel tax expert Phil Stein will field questions on filing do's and don't's for dual U.S./Israel citizens.
Until Then!!!
This month's Tel Aviv Freelance Writers Cafe was animated and information-packed; Rick Teplitz walked us through the framework of pricing and billing projects from tech writing to marketing writing to editing to translation. Follow this link to Rick's presentation outline.
Again, a healthy numbered crowd - nearly 20 - gathered at the Press Cafe and questions posed during the meeting included: Can I ask for half up front? What constitutes a page? When I bill on an hourly basis does that also account for phone time, travel and meetings? Answers: You can but it's uncommon, 250 words, & yes, if you budget it in. Thanks to Rick for a well done, informative evening. If you missed him in Tel Aviv, you might want to check out his pricing presentation at the upcoming Techshoret Conference on January 18th.
Next month: How to Get Your Foot in the Door: Self Marketing for Success. February 13th at 19:00. Details to follow...
In the interim, enjoy the images and please message if you have questions. Thanks again to Svi Ben-Elya for hosting us here on Elephant and for coming all the way from Yokneam!...Stephanie
Jacob & Daniella
Janet, Svi, Tamar (background), Jacob and Daniella
Galia, Ilana, Mark and Rick
Galia, Ilana, Mark, Gayle and Joy
Tel Aviv Freelance Writers Meet
Read MoreSite for Israel's professional tech writing and marcom community. Originally based in what has become Israel's 2nd largest R&D center (Yokneam), Elephant brings together technical and marcom writers from all over Israel. Behind the scenes and between meetings, members stay in contact with job offers and leads, joint projects, and professional assistance.
Using the wrong technical writer is like using a wrench to open a door, it works, but a door knob is better and cheaper. Elephant was started to help match writers and copy editors with companies where their skills match company needs.
