The Rags and Riches of Freelance Writing

March 27, 2007

Anyone who says that freelance writing doesn’t have a downside is either stupid or blindly optimistic or trying to sell you something remarkably crap. Think about it: you have no secure 9 to 5 job where you can sometimes get away with merrily assing around and still get paid the same amount at the end of the month. You have no company benefits like insurance and banking group schemes. No secure pay cheque at the end of the month. Some people are fortunate to work for companies that REALLY know how to look after you, with special training courses, study subsidies and mentorship.

Kiss all that goodbye if you’re a freelancer.

Freelancing is a lonely career. Unless you’re getting the best of both worlds and sharing office space with other freelance writers and designers, a lot of the nitty gritty of your life will remain unshared - nobody to bitch to about a picky client, and no encouragement from colleagues close at hand. When you work with other people every day you also learn a lot from them, picking up new work skills or developing interpersonal ones. Many freelancers who are intent on working solo lose essential social skills and become hermit-like. This is why writers hang out in coffee shops - it’s lonely out there on your own.

Working as a freelancer you also never stop thinking about work. You actually have to force yourself to stop working to find time for other things like family, relaxation and friends.

So why do so many people do it?

There is probably no greater joy than to create something from scratch and watch it grow into something successful - as a freelancer you are an entrepreneur, marketing your services and building your brand and reputation. After lots of hard work, you’ll be able to look back and be proud of what you have achieved.

You are your own boss - and although this can be a double edged sword it means that any decisions that need to be made are made by YOU - no waiting for others for permission to make a move, it’s all up to you. The kudos for good work goes directly to you, and so does the blame for bad work. This is a great and potentially fulfilling responsibility.

You can say NO to work if you don’t want it. Think about that - imagine telling your boss that you don’t think you will do that new project, sorry about that, maybe another time. Simply bloody marvellous.

As a freelance writer the earning potential is phenomenal. Let’s say you work as a copywriter in an ad agency or PR agency or similar and earn a salary of say, R10,000 per month. Not unrealistic. On average you’ll probably write three or four pieces of work per working day. These could be articles, press releases, web copy or how to guides for example. Now reflect on the following fact - freelance writers are charging up to R1,000 PER PIECE - in your example that would be R3-4,000 per day. Multiply this by 20 working days per month and you are well into R60,000 per month. And there are freelance writers out there earning this. In a slow month. Even after tax it’s not something to sneer at.

Freelance work means you potentially get exposed to a variety of clients. You may also end up doing most of your work for one or two key clients. It’s really up to you - you’re at the helm and can take this puppy anywhere you want to go.

There are a bunch of really good resources to look at to find out more about freelance writing. Some of my favourites are:

Phil Gyford’s Beginner’s Guide to Freelancing:
http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/10/26/a_beginners_guid.php

Bad Language - how to be a freelance journalist:
http://www.badlanguage.net/?p=344

Freelance Writing Dot Com:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/

Freelance Central South Africa:
http://www.freelancecentral.co.za/

Good luck!

Tony

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