Canadian Freelance survey

This survey is an initiative of the Canadian Freelance Union. It is anonymous. It takes 10 minutes to complete. Responses will help us campaign for better working conditions for all. It is being hosted by the Canadian Association of Labour Media to make use of their helpful survey builder. Responses will only be seen by CFU representatives.

If you have written paid content in the past three years, we want to hear from you.

If you have any questions, or if you’d like to stay up-to-date on the campaign, please email Nora Loreto at president@canadianfreelanceunion.ca.

– Step 1 of 5

Check what kind of freelancer you are

• Freelancing is less than 25% of my work
• Freelancing is about 25-50% of my work
• Freelancing is about 50%-75% of my work
• Freelancing is 100% of my work

What kind of pieces do you mostly write?

• Culture (arts, music, drama)
• Politics
• Sports
• Economics/finance
• Other (please list)

What kind of pieces do you mostly write?

I write …

• Mostly for Canadian publications
• Mostly for American publications
• Mostly for international publications
• A mix of Canadian/US
• A mix of Canadian/International
• A mix of International/US
• A complete mix of Canada/US/International

How long have you been a freelancer?

• Fewer than 2 years
• 2-5 years
• 5-10 years
• 10-20 years
• 20+ years

What best describes you?

• I have a steady relationship with one outlet and I write several pieces for other outlets per year
• I have a steady relationship with 2-3 outlets with several pieces and I write for other outlets per year
• I have a casual/informal relationship with 2-5 outlets
• I have no relationship with any outlets and publish in many different places

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Working conditions questions

Questions about your freelance practice

How often do you work without a contract

• Never
• Rarely but it has happened
• Often
• Always

Please describe the situations where you work without a contract

In the past three years, have you experienced the following?

• Paid more than 60 days after a piece was published
• Been ghosted by an editor
• Had a piece delayed unreasonably
• Had a piece killed, with no kill fee paid out
• Paid for the expenses of a piece yourself

Was the payment late because of an administrative error?

• Yes
• No

When you first started writing the piece, did you know that payment would come more than 60 days after it was published?

• Yes
• No

If comfortable, please name the publication(s) that paid you this late

At what point in the process were you ghosted?

• During the pitch
• During writing
• During editing
• During fact checking

Did the editor ever get back to you?

• Yes, after several weeks
• Yes, after several months
• No

Did you have to have a third party (an EIC, another editor, a friend, etc.) intervene?

• Yes and they replied
• Yes and they never replied
• No and they replied
• No and they never replied

If comfortable, please tell us which publication(s) you were ghosted by

How long was the delay for piece one?

• several weeks
• 2-3 months
• 6 months – 1 year
• +1 year

How long was the delay for piece two?

• there was only one piece
• several weeks
• 2-3 months
• 6 months – 1 year
• +1 year

Only answer if you have more than one example in mind

How long was the delay for piece three?

• there was only one piece
• several weeks
• 2-3 months
• 6 months – 1 year
• +1 year

Only answer if you have more than one example in mind

What were the excuses that you were told for why your piece was being delayed?

• Illness
• Not enough time
• Production of something else took priority (i.e. magazine vs. a web story)
• Vacations
• Other (please share)

Other (please describe)

How did the delayed payment for the piece(s) impact you?

• I needed the money so, a lot.
• I know they do this so I planned, assuming this would happen. So, a little.
• Not very — I have steady income in anticipation of these kinds of delays.

Aside from not having delayed the piece, what could they have done to make it better for you to manage the delay?

If comfortable, please name the publications where your piece(s) were unreasonably delayed

Why did they say your piece was killed?

• Too much work to get it publication ready
• Too much work needed for the money they were offering
• Draft was different than what they said they asked for
• Change in direction or orientation of an issue/theme etc.
• I needed more flexibility from them on deadlines
• Things were getting weird
• No stated reason/I don’t know

Were you expecting to get a kill fee if the piece was killed?

• Yes
• No

Were you expecting to get a kill fee if the piece was killed?

• Yes
• No

At what point in the process was the piece killed?

• Writing
• Editing
• Fact-checking
• After fact-checking

Were you able to get the piece published elsewhere?

• Yes
• No

If comfortable, please share with us the names of the publication(s)

With expenses …

• I was told they’d cover them, but then they didn’t
• It was assumed I’d cover them myself

How much did the expenses cost?

• Less than $100
• $100 – $300
• $300 – $500
• +$500

If comfortable, please name the publication(s)

If you'd like, please share your horror stories with us

If you could change the industry overnight, what would you immediately change?

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Pay questions

Do you prefer to be paid …

• Per word
• Per piece
• Only preference is that the pay is higher

What is the average rate you are paid per piece (think of a regular piece for you, not a one-off, or special feature)

• Less than $200
• $200-$300
• $300-$500
• $500-$800
• $800-$1000
• $1000-$1500
• $1500-$3000
• $3000-$5000
• $5000+

Have you ever been paid by the hour for a piece?

• Yes
• No

If you've been paid by the hour, please explain the situation

How much do you make annually from freelancing (average of past 3 years)?

• Less than $5000
• $5000-$10,000
• $10,000-$15,000
• $15,000-$20,000
• $20,000-$30,000
• more than $30,000

Can you live off of freelance income alone

• Yes
• Absolutely not

Do you feel like you are …

• Grossly underpaid
• Slightly underpaid
• Paid about the right amount

How much time, per piece, do you think you spend dealing with invoicing and other paperwork to get paid

• Less than 5 minutes
• 5-15 minutes
• 15-30 minutes
• more than 30 minutes

Do you bill a surcharge to pay yourself for the time related to invoicing?

• Yes
• No because the rates are fixed and I can’t charge any higher
• No because I’ve never thought of doing this
• No, for no reason

What do you think is the ratio of unpaid to paid work for an average piece?

• 20% paid to 80% unpaid
• 40% paid to 60% unpaid
• 50%-50%
• 60% paid to 40% unpaid
• 80% paid to 20% unpaid

In this question, think about the time you spend thinking, researching, writing, editing and then corresponding with editors/factcheckers.

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Collective action section

Would you be willing to take action with other freelancers to improve our working conditions?

• Yes
• No
• Depends

On what does it depend?

What kind of actions would you take tomorrow if it were organized?

• Sign an open letter
• Refuse to work for certain rates, alongside hundreds of other freelancers
• Make a public statement
• Participate in a meeting with a publisher
• I will do literally anything if it’s strategic and well thought out
• Boycott a specific publication or owner
• No actions — I’m not there yet
• Other

What other actions would you be prepared to take?

Would you participate in a meeting to discuss tactics?

• Yes
• No

Even if you personally aren't able to participate, would you support actions intended to improve freelancing in Canada?

• Absolutely
• Probably
• No

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Identity questions

In what province/territory do you live?YukonBritish ColumbiaAlbertaSaskatchewanNorthwest TerritoriesManitobaNunavutOntarioQuebecNew BrunswickNova ScotiaPEINFLDI do not live in Canada

Do you live…

• urban
• suburban
• rural

What is your gender?Non-binary/Gender nonconformingWomanManStill working that out

How old are you?16-2425-3031-4545-6060-8080+

What is your ethnicity/ies?

Are you queer?

• Yes
• No
• No comment

Are you disabled?

• Yes
• No

Do you work from an office or from home?

• Office
• Home
• A mix of both

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