We can talk all day about the feast-and-famine cycle, the unruly clients, the non-paying clients, and the aversion we have to marketing or billing. But at the root of it, we love what we do because it fits us. The cycle of freelancing is part of what we do just as our ability to work our own hours is.
But it’s not going to fit everyone. If you’re new to freelancing or thinking about getting into freelancing, at some point you need to ask yourself if it’s right for you. No dreamy notions of coffee-shop workplaces and working with a laptop under a tree in a park – though that can happen, you’ll not notice where you are or anything around you. You’ll be busy working.
Know this –
Building a freelance career takes time. Very few freelancers drop out of their day job and into a freelance career that earns the same. It happens, but it took some careful planning or incredible luck in order for that to happen. Most freelancers start out small and sporadic. It’s the most critical point in your freelance career – starting at zero. But everyone of the successful freelancers who visit here daily have done it. You can too, but…
It takes commitment to doing whatever it takes to build that career. That means learning where to find work, how to approach clients, how to market, when to market, and how to keep your own financial records. You have to be willing to read, research, study, ask questions, and jump in with both feet.
It takes a willingness to fail and learn. Yes, you’ll fail at a few things. Setbacks happen. Clients find ways of not paying. You’ll screw up projects. Where you’ll learn is by taking those setbacks and finding ways to improve your skills and protect your interests.
It takes planning. If you’re building a house, you’re going to take enough time to make sure the plans are correct, the contractors are good ones, and the work is done properly. Same with your career. Put down a good foundation to build on. If you can define a goal and a path toward that goal, you’re ahead of most freelancers. I would wager that the majority of those who can’t get their careers off the ground are people who failed to plan. You can’t show up and announce you’re a writer and expect the world to embrace you. You have to set goals, map out approaches, amend them and tweak them until you get a path that works for you.
It takes patience. Don’t expect to be earning six figures in your first year (unless you’re a marketing guru, in which case call me). Expect to be building a client base and possibly an expertise area. Relax into the pace a bit at first, and when you get a modicum of comfort going, push yourself into new areas. You get to six figures not by resting on what you’re good at but by going outside your comfort zone.
It takes savings. Unless you’re able to rely on someone else’s money to get you by, you’ll need to be earning almost immediately. Though I will say this – desperation is a fantastic motivator. When I lost my job suddenly, I was working two days later at freelancing. I had rent to pay and two kids living at home. It’s been eight years – I haven’t looked back. Sure, you can bank some money before you make the leap, and I suggest you do, but if you’re like most people, the money never seems to be there and you stay in that 9-to-5. That’s fine, but it’s also a sign this job may not fit you.
Writers, what were your circumstances starting out? How long was it before you were earning a decent annual wage? Did you plan? Do you plan now?
I'll add that you have to be able to deal with rejection on a daily basis. If you crumble each time someone says no, this job will be very hard on you emotionally (and financially).
What a great post for me to read! I've been doing a little bit of freelance off and on for the last 8 years. Some of it has been heavier at times than others. It has always been my desire to write full time as my real "career" but I've always been too afraid to jump ship in my career path.
As of June I will no longer be a classroom teacher moonlighting as a writer, but a writer who hopefully has to moonlight as a GED teacher 2 nights a week ONLY.
Your post was timely for me because it reminds me of several things my gut already knows. It is going to take time and hard work. It will not happen overnight. Rejection and nonpayment will come and I will have to learn to weather the storm with grace!
What a great post for folks like myself. Thanks Lori. Loving your blog!
Glad you're here, NormalMiddle! It's a tough first step, but if you do a little work ahead of time, you'll be fine. You've also got the summer to get your feet wet, assuming you'll still be collecting a pay check. Stick around! We're here to help.
Excellent point, Mridu. You have to separate the rejection of your services from personal rejection. It's not – it's business.
I stared sort of backwards. Blame it on my dad. He was a graphic artist/cartoonist who worked most of his career for companies that paid their artists and copywriters less than their salesmen (emphasis on the men). I was maybe 14 or 15 when he was laid off – he was in his 50s and couldn't land another full-time job, so he went freelance. He always said that was the best thing that happened. He found his own clients, set his own terms, had more free time, less stress, and really enjoyed his work.
Knowing I wanted to be a writer, straight out of college he said he'd give me two years to see if I could carve out a freelance business. I did. Not a huge income, and with the current state of freelancing being what it is (overrun with content mill "writers" and others underbidding the rest of us)I'll probably never earn what many of my contemporaries do in the corporate world, but how many of them really love their jobs?
That support from my dad so early on is probably along the lines of people who quit or lose their jobs and go freelance while relying on their spouses to help out. Only I didn't have the health insurance. LOL.
BTW – I doubt any/many of my contemporaries would consider my annual income to be a decent wage. A starting salary, maybe. Decent wage? Not by most of their standards.
As long as I can pay my bills, that's decent enough for me. Having a little left at the end of the month or year? That's gravy.
Thanks Lori 🙂
My name is Lindsey. For whatever reason, blogger won't let me sign in today in any other capacity.
I have a little writing blog in the works, nothing fancy.
http://www.lindsey-writes.com
I thank you for your encouragment! Eileen is mentoring me and she pointed your blog out to me a few weeks ago and I've enjoyed it very much.
Hi Lori, Muttie went freelance again after losing her job two months ago. It's taken her a wee while to build up contacts (she was a freelance journalist for five years before going into PR for eight years) as most of the commissioning editors had moved on. She also found the job has changed so much today. Most of the time she's writing for on-line sites and not printed newspapers. She didn't have savings but rented her flat out and moved in with Paw. She'd make more money if she didn't sit reading blogs for a huge chunk of the morning!
Milt x
Paula, what a great dad! You're not missing a thing. I've been in the cube farm – shudder to think how I'd be if I were still captive.
Hi Lindsey. 🙂 I know you told me once before, but thank you for the reminder. I forget things. You've got a great mentor in Eileen – she knows her stuff!
Milton, I love your posts. 🙂 I smile every time I read them. Hope Muttie an Paw are doing well. 🙂
Lori, I started freelancing full-time with virtually no planning. My job as a technical writer was going in a direction I didn't like, so I quit and turned my part-time freelancing into a full-time job. The first few months were VERY slow — I think I made a measly $300 the first month! Luckily, though, my then-boyfriend (now-husband) was willing to pick up the slack until my income picked up.
I have to admit though that I'm terrible at planning ahead — I don't have anything in savings (though he does). If you go to my blog you'll see how that affected me when everything blew up in my face in April. :o(
When I first started freelancing full-time, I had a ton of work lined up (that was part of why I left my full-time job when I did). But eventually, those projects finished and I reached a lull. Could have been my inexperience (I was marketing but maybe not as effectively as I could have) or it could have been the economy. Fortunately, things have picked back up again, and I'm one busy bee these days! I agree with all the requirements you mentioned, though.
Katharine, I'm sorry to hear about Prince. You have what it takes. It's just a speed bump, okay?
Susan, I made the same mistake. I was cruising along and thinking my career was set in stone! The only stone were the rocks in my head. LOL
I'm fairly new to this, having left a job to write 'the book' then deciding that freelance writing was for me. I'm plugging away at freelance marketing and promotion while the book/memoir collects dust.
Your suggestions are so timely! I found you via Get Paid to Write Online.
I have gotten 3 jobs in this past month, small ones and not what I'm worth but I consider it like "interning". I'm learning to walk away from jobs that would cause me sense of self-worth to crumble! Ha!
Long hard road and I'm living on my retirement but I know it's worth it. So!! Thanks for the wonderful insight.