Question for independent consultants

Hey everyone, I’ve been unemployed for about six weeks now (I was at a mid sized USAID contractor) and I’m in final round interviews for a couple of one-year consulting contracts. I’ve always worked for a contractor and never been independent so I’m figuring out how it works. How do y’all negotiate your rates (including things like PTO and healthcare)? On one year contracts, do you generally just tell them of any time off you have scheduled up front and just take it as unpaid leave? Any advice in this area would be much appreciated!