Reality Check: Are You Freelance Writing Material?

Yesterday, my workday looked like this:

1. I revised a client article most of the morning. Due date — as soon as possible.
2. Simultaneously, I was dealing with phone calls and texts from family members about our summer place. There’d been flooding. Apparently, I’m the designated calm voice in a sea (pun not intended) of anxiety (if only they knew). So I was contacting insurance companies and neighbors to help get a handle on the issue.
3. Among doing those things, I was also following up with interview sources for an article due next week. And planning a trip to our summer place, because as a freelancer, I’m able to take off and take work with me. No one else can.
4. After lunch (that was all before noon), I worked on lining up interviews for another client project, plus got emails answered and bank deposits finished. Then around 4, I had one of what will be two interviews by the end of today.
5. And I wrote this post because hey, when you’re shoveling already, you might as well dig a little deeper, right?

The point of all this is that I’m a freelance writer. Switching gears is not only a plus, it’s a requirement to being successful at what we do. So when I read one more article on how to make six figures in your underwear, I snapped.

I make damn good money in my underwear, too. (They just happen to be on under my clothes.)

I guess I’ve become exhausted weary hearing how new writers can make a living freelance writing without really thinking about it.

Frankly, it’s bullshit.

You have to think about it. And you have to be able to do twenty things at once sometimes. On the same day, at the same time.

If there’s one constant in freelancing, it’s that you will sit idle for a while and then everything will come in at once, due at once, and needing your attention now, Now, NOW.

For me, that’s a Wednesday.

Likewise, when I hear BS like “stay in your lane” I have to laugh. If I didn’t, I might hurt someone.

I saw it come up on Twitter a few times in unrelated areas, where people are telling others whose opinions don’t mesh with theirs to “stay in your lane” — as if opinions were now owned by one side or another. (Maybe the lesson here is Lori needs to stay off Twitter and stop reading things that are patently untrue or irritating.)

Thankfully, I’ve not heard that with regard to freelance writers. Good thing, too.

[bctt tweet=”Freelance writers don’t stay in lanes — we create new lanes and then blaze right on through.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

Lately I seem to be fielding my share of “I’ve always wanted to freelance! How great that must be!” comments. Sure, it’s absolutely great. I love what I do. But in the beginning, it’s a job that’s damn hard to love. A freelance writer just starting out has to have the discipline to:

• Actively find clients
• Do the work efficiently and accurately
• Set rates and stand by them
• Deal with difficult people
• Repeat all of the above every day
• Live on nothing until the money starts coming in

So all the rosy little “Make Six Figures in Your Underwear!” articles are just bullshit. They’re selling Easy. Maybe even Lazy. And they’re giving the false impression that if you, freelance writer, follows their advice to the letter, you’re going to be able to phone this freelance writing career in.

Again, bullshit.

Getting rid of the boss? Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? But what happens when you’re the boss? Are you going to make yourself work harder than you ever did for an employer? It’s going to take that, particularly at the beginning.

Want to earn more money? Terrific! But are you going to be confident enough to charge what you should be charging? Are you going to do the homework needed to see if you’re even close to what other writers (the successful ones) are making?

Want to make six figures? Yippee! Are you going to work your ass off to get there? Are you going to learn all you need to about how to build a freelance writing business, how to find the best clients for you, and how to build on what you’ve started? Or are you going to fixate on that six-figure promise and hope these fly-by-night articles that promise it will get you there?

Want the “glamor” of a freelance writing life? Great! Are you willing to work on several things at once, juggle multiple deadlines, and put in the seat leather required to please your clients and keep them coming back for more?

If not, that’s okay. That’s just proof that freelancing isn’t for you. There is no shame in realizing that something won’t fit your needs. Repeat: there is no shame in realizing that something won’t fit your needs.

If you want all of the above, buckle up. You’re about to work.

Writers, what else do new and emerging freelancers need to succeed?
If you were to talk to yourself when you were a new writer, what advice would you give yourself?