Free tips on finding work; also, the dreaded kill fee

We know times are rough, and not everyone can afford the fees for pay-to-play freelance job web sites. So thank you to Slim Smith, who passed along this FREE site:

http://www.ed2010.com/jobs/whisperjobs

Also, Ann Videan found a helpful site with writing tips, editing services and contests:

WritingForMoney.com; contact John Clausen, editor:

editor@writingformoney.com

Some of us also use mediabistro.com, writersmarket.com and freelancesuccess.com, but those all have annual fees.

FYI, I'm reading on FLX (Freelance Success for short) that many of the big-name mags are folding and thus not paying for work filed. 

And: One area freelancer recently signed a contract with a local magazine that stipulated it would "pay on publication" and got burned because the upcoming annual issue was scrapped. She was told they'll use the articles the next year, but thinks other writers might not be so lucky. That's a couple grand that she won't collect for another several months or year.

Many of us sign or have signed "pay on publication" contracts and haven't had a problem. The Arizona Republic, for instance, pays on publication, and always does (though it can be a little slow sometimes, as previous blog posts have noted). 

Most contracts include a "kill fee," but it's only 20 or 30 percent -- what's the point? Thankfully, this only happened to me once so far (besides the time West Valley Magazine just stiffed me). I wrote a profile of a high-ranking person and before it published, she left the state for another job. It wasn't anyone's fault, but a contract is a contract, and I lost out. It wasn't a huge article and I wasn't crying in my beer (or wine, as the case is with me), but if you're doing a major article with a lot of research and sources, be careful out there!