We can't say it too many times: never pay someone else to hire you!

After seeing yet another get-rich-quick scam ("hiring freelance writers now!!!" -- Google, don't you vet your ad-placement clients at all?), I was tempted to write a quick list of tips for freelances. Fortunately, someone over at selfemployment.suite101.com has already tackled that problem; check out their Tips For Freelance Contractors article.

The key lesson, though, is this: never, under any circumstances, should you pay someone else to allow you to work for them. Whether you're writing, performing, programming, or creating graphic art, the money only flows one way: toward you. Everything else is a pyramid scheme.