How to advertise yourself as a programmer?

[DFlimbingo]

Hi! I'm planning on advertising myself as a Ren'Py programmer for visual novels and such. I feel very comfortable with the program and I like it a lot, and I've made a pretty well made demo (If I do say so myself!). I doubt I can offer myself as a paid programmer just yet, but I would like some pointers on how to have people take a look at me and think I'm a good programmer for them. Here's a few specific questions I have:

1. If I were to offer myself as a paid programmer, how much should I charge/how often? Hourly? Daily?

2. How can I best detect partnership offers that aren't good for me? Ones that are flaky/unreliable?

3. Whether I'm in an unpaid/paid partnership, when should I know I'm being given too much work? Do you have examples?

4. Any other important things you think you should mention?

[parttimestorier]

For the question of how much to charge, I'd suggest you browse around the recruitment forums and anywhere else where people advertise similar jobs, so you can get a good idea of how much other people are charging and figure out what seems reasonable to you. And for the second question, I'd say that you should look for clients who have experience on other completed projects, and who can provide you with a clear, detailed explanation of what they need you to do. If someone just has a vague idea and doesn't seem sure what they want, they might be difficult to work with and/or eventually lose interest. I'd probably advise staying away from big long-term unpaid projects or anything that promises to pay you through revenue share as well. Not like there's anything wrong with volunteering for something you're passionate about, especially if it's just a short project for a game jam or something, but if you commit to something big on the promise of being paid way later or just getting experience and "exposure" or something, you're likely to end up regretting it and possibly getting taken advantage of. I personally prefer to take jobs from clients who can pay me something like half upfront and half on completion, so I know that they actually have a budget and aren't going to just string me along about it.

[puppetbomb]

1. If I were to offer myself as a paid programmer, how much should I charge/how often? Hourly? Daily?
I suggest figuring out an hourly rate. If you want to charge by day, figure out how many hours you'll be working per day and multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you will work on the project per day. If it's a long project, payday is twice a month. Shorter projects can be half up front and half on completion.

2. How can I best detect partnership offers that aren't good for me? Ones that are flaky/unreliable?

[...]And for the second question, I'd say that you should look for clients who have experience on other completed projects, and who can provide you with a clear, detailed explanation of what they need you to do. If someone just has a vague idea and doesn't seem sure what they want, they might be difficult to work with and/or eventually lose interest.

I'd probably advise staying away from big long-term unpaid projects or anything that promises to pay you through revenue share as well. Not like there's anything wrong with volunteering for something you're passionate about, especially if it's just a short project for a game jam or something, but if you commit to something big on the promise of being paid way later or just getting experience and "exposure" or something, you're likely to end up regretting it and possibly getting taken advantage of.[...]

3. Whether I'm in an unpaid/paid partnership, when should I know I'm being given too much work? Do you have examples?
For unpaid work, I strongly suggest putting a strict limit on your involvement. If this is your first time, look at what they want, calculate what you can do in a day (or 5-8 hours) and sign up for that much. You can always take on more later. If you're asked to do more, don't be shy to refuse (a "no, but thank you and good luck" will suffice).

Paid work is different, as there's contract limitations and usually your work is outlined in the contract. Something to keep in mind is the concept of "feature creep," where even if you've technically done your work, but there's a "so we were thinking of adding ____?" Any request for a new feature should be met with either a renegotiated contract (if you're not paid hourly), an estimate of extra hours billed, or rejection. Do not do extra work out of the goodness of your heart unless a client proves to be a good one after after multiple collaborations.

4. Any other important things you think you should mention?
Be transparent. If you need to quit, let people know asap. If you're going to miss a deadline, let people know before the due date. Don't be afraid to say no.