Jennifer Salopek is based outside Washington, D.C. After years of working on staff, she now performs freelance writing and editing assignments for a wide variety of clients, from a Methodist seminary to a professional association to a large facilities management company. Her projects range from researching and writing straightforward feature articles for magazines, to editing technical manuals, to writing two-page case studies.

Jennifer also has two kids. That's them in the picture. Notice that one is very little. I asked Jennifer about how freelancers can manage family leave successfully.

What's the main difference between taking maternity leave as a staffer and maternity leave as a freelancer?
The biggest difference is that there is no paid maternity leave for freelancers. It's also scary at any time to turn down work, as you're afraid the client may not come back.

What did you tell your clients?
I told my clients that I was expecting a baby! Most of them are long time clients, so they were all genuinely happy for me. I also told them that I would do my very best to make sure their projects were covered, either by doing work ahead of time or referring them to another freelancer during my absence.

Did you check email or voice mail, or were you completely out of touch?
I began checking email and voice mail pretty regularly after about a week. I was fortunate, though, that I had a very easy baby.

What advice do you have for freelancers who are taking parental leave?The best advice I can give is to be upfront with your clients; allow them to share in your joy; plan ahead and bank as much work in advance as you can; and take as little time off as you can. I took a total of eight weeks'leave from writing, but was in touch with clients via email, etc., much sooner than that.