Writers Unbound

What is the original freelance dream, the work at home drive that keeps you up, planning, late at night? Is it to make enough money doing something you love to pay the bills, so you can be your own boss, work from home, be with your kids/spouse/dog/chinese figurine collection, and work in your pajamas? Is it the writing itself that grabs you? The variety? The self-direction? The ability to choose only the work that you find meaningful?
What is your driving reason for writing freelance?

Whatever the dream, the reality is that you become dependent on your clients for your money. Before freelancing, you depended on your boss for the same paycheck every month or so. Now you have to go find the clients, get the jobs, negotiate the fees and contracts, and then find more once the work is done.

You double your work, but at least you get the freedom to decide who you want to work for. Except that if you get to the point where the bills are screaming and the clients are silent, you will take (almost) anything. And it’s all too often that we get to that point.

Freelance writing can become another version of the rat race, albeit a slightly more comfortable one. You do cut costs when you stay at home, but you also lose benefits (health insurance, 401K) that you gain from the corporate jobs. You do control your own schedule, but you also write your own paychecks. You get to be home more, but you might find yourself sacrificing nights and weekends to finish the projects you promised.

What are your options as a freelance writer? You need passive income, diversified income, and most of all, income that you control. You need a product that has people coming to you instead of you chasing them. And clients will come, over time, with the standard freelance-client model: you produce enough satisfactory work, you’ll gain some loyal clients. You can start negotiating with a bit more clout. You can turn down the cheapies with a smirk of satisfaction.

Don’t limit yourself as a freelance writer to a predetermined route. Sometimes you have to break tradition to find your version of success. You might see an opportunity that doesn’t fit your idea of what you, the writer, should be doing. Consider it carefully. Don’t compromise on what is important, but don’t make decisions on auto-pilot. If the real goal of becoming a freelance writer was to get to real financial independence, you might have to be a lot more open and a little more humble than you planned to be.

Have a plan, but don’t be afraid to change it. Don’t get caught up in another hamster ball and lose the opportunities you find, even if they are different than what you expected to find.

Make it a good day.

Image Credit: pfala.