Friday, July 28, 2006

I Love the Freelance Life!

August 6th marks the third anniversary of working for myself and I feel so blessed at the amount of work that keeps coming and at the great clients I have.

I am a freelance writer and editor. I get up every morning and walk from the master bedroom to the spare bedroom. It takes me about 10 seconds. I don’t have to warm up my car in the winter, or scrape the windows. I don’t have to put on business clothes, face the general public, or deal as much with the gas crisis. I went from filling up my tank once a week to filling it up once month.

I work just as many hours now as I did when I had a full-time job, but it’s so much easier doing it from home. I can split the hours up with short breaks, get my housework done on my lunch hour, run errands when I feel like it…go to the gym when I feel like it. I could even jump in the pool at lunch time if I wanted to…I never do…but I really should start taking advantage of that opportunity!

If you want to be a freelance writer, or even a full-time writer, and you're just getting started, here's my advice:

- Start writing for free. I did. And I eventually got a full-time paying job from it. Write for the newsletter of a local charity, your church, a rock band, anything, just to get started and build a portfolio. Then once you have something to show, solicit your local newspapers for writing assignments. And don't give up. Eventually, one will hire you!


- Take writing classes, read books on writing, join writing organizations and go to writing events. Mingle with people, and listen and learn from the best.

- Start at the bottom. Be willing to be an editorial assistant, or to take the worst shift or the worst assignment just to get started. If you're good, your work will speak for itself and you will move up quickly. I worked my way up the ladder in the business for 14 years before I went out on my own. When I finally did, everyone knew me and knew my work.

- Remember that, to make a living at it, you can't just write when the mood strikes. You need to be able to learn how to turn it on at 9 a.m. and turn it off at 5 p.m., and still have it be good material. That was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn, but it can be done.

- And finally, be willing to listen to constructive criticism. The best editorial advice I ever got was what I did wrong in my articles. It's the only way to learn.

I thank God for everything I have and hope that I will be able to write this same post a year from now!


Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

No comments: