Oh, and start NOW looking for more work. Always. Be. Marketing. Start making connections today, and at that convention…

Solitaire, my ol’ friend, I think you answered your own question — you called the search “soul-crushing” because it is.

I guess I’d ask you these questions: what does your gut say? Consider each option, then do a gut check. Which one makes you feel queasy in a bad way? In a good way?

If following your dream means feeling guilty, ask yourself if that’s okay until you get your legs under you. I can tell you that after nearly a decade and a half of freelancing, I don’t feel one ounce guilty. I’m earning nearly three times what I did at an editing job.

If you’d be willing to accept any offer that pays a third of what you used to make, why not throw yourself fully into freelancing? If I can, you certainly can.

In the end, it’s about what you feel you’re best suited to, and how happy you’d be in that role.

I think it took my mother about four years to stop asking if I’d seen anything interesting on the job boards. I think for her it was more so about the perceived lack of stability. I get it, but it can be upsetting for sure!

One of my pet peeves is people who are surprised when I can’t drop everything whenever I want and turn down plans to work. I think it’s the image of the “lifestyle”–work when you want, say no whenever you’d like. Oh, if only it were really like that. 😉 I know I’m lucky to have flexibility, but I take advantage when I need to be home with my sick son or something like that…not to go shopping for the day!

It does cheese me off that people still treat freelancing like a joke. My own mother finally stopped asking when I was going to get ” a real job” after I turned down a full time option at my part time get-out-of-the-house-for-a-few-hours retail job. I sat down and explained the math to her- I simply can not make anywhere near what I do writing stocking shelves. She hasn’t said a word since.
(To be fair to Mom, she raised us on a Deli Manager’s pay. Blue collar work is my family’s bread and butter and I”m not ashamed of my background, at all.)

I want something better for my kids. I want them to know they can do better than $12/hour for flipping burgers, and that if they’re willing to work hard and put in the time, they don’t even have to take on a $25K or better student loan debt to make it happen.

Freelancing IS my job. I’ve worked my ass off to earn my pay level and I’ll be damned if I’ll let some fool disrespect the sweat, fear, desperation and frustration that went into building this business by telling me that at least it leaves me time for “yoga classes.”

LOL Well, I’m okay with yoga, but not in public (and that includes wearing yoga gear where people can see you).

For the record, I can’t stand yoga, either 🙂

I think I’m only on the forums to get fodder for the blog. Sad to say, but it’s necessary sometimes because the crap that’s circulating out there is mind-numbing.

I do. 🙂

It’s a shame when people don’t understand that yes, writing is a profession and it requires work.

Only once did someone diss what I did, and I think it was more because the man had just lost a debate with my husband over something quite trivial. My husband doesn’t debate by nature, but when the facts matter, look out. This guy, trying to get a conversation going with me to slight him, asked what I did for a living. I said “I’m a writer.”

Without hesitation, he turned his back to me and started talking with someone else. Never acknowledged me the rest of the evening.

He did me a favor. I don’t typically converse with assholes. By showing his true nature early, he spared me any uncomfortable, awkward excuses to get away.