Getting Real About Freelance Writing

I’ve been a writer all my life,but started attaching the “freelance” label to the term about 20 years ago, when I was fresh out of college and knew nothing other than I wanted to make a living by writing in some way (hey, I had to justify that English degree!)

Yet, 20 years in, I still get strange looks and questions like, “So what exactly do you write—like, do you write books?”, or “You just need one great idea to write a book” (as though I don’t have dozens of ideas…and what makes anyone think I want to write a book?)

So I’ll go back and get real about freelance writing, including why this gig is pretty tough to beat. I think the word “freelance” is confusing to a lot of folks, so I’ll explain that, too.

“Freelance” simply means I am not committed to one employer. I will write for a handful of clients at a given time. I have a few core clients right now, but want to add a few more to my roster.

It’s a real job.

Ask my family—I work all the time, sometimes even beyond the traditional 8-hour time frame. Because I do work at home and it is flexible, I grab writing time whenever I can. When my son is in school, I’m usually at my computer from 8 a.m. until noon, then maybe for another hour, and sometimes for another hour or so hour after he gets home. This past year, I picked up a part-time job as a substitute teacher, but the beauty of that is I can grab writing time while the students do their work (I will always pause what I’m doing if a student has a question).

I write about real stuff.

Unlike novels or short stories, I’m not creating imaginary worlds or complicated character-driven plots when I sit down to write. My hat’s off to those who do write fiction full-time, but for me, fiction, poetry, and essays are strictly pleasure writing. The bill-paying stuff is admittedly not terrifically sexy (an article about the best pet stain removers really does exist in my portfolio of published work) but it’s regular paying writing work. So what kind of “stories” do I write? I have a regular gig sharing the accomplishments, events, and activities of students, faculty, and alumni for a local college; I write a lot of features and profiles for college alumni magazines, and, most recently, I write about various topics in and around planning meetings and events.

I wrote extensively about small businesses, pet products, roller skating, and college and career readiness over the years. This is the perfect job for people who like to learn and talk to people who are truly passionate about what they do.

You can make a real living from it.

I’ve pursued freelancing full-time, part-time, “sometime”, so it’s always been part of my livelihood. I’ve had some great earnings years; others, less so. If you are willing to put in the work, and treat it like a job, you can certainly earn a real living from stringing words together.

It’s really flexible. Like, really.

One of the best things about this line of work is you can literally work from anywhere. It’s summer now, so I try to do the bulk of my most demanding work in the morning. In the afternoon, I’ll follow up on emails or start some editing. I take my son to an indoor play center, set up shop, and get some work done. Or I’ll take the day off and switch to evening hours. I’ll work fewer hours one day and make them up the next, or another day that week. If my son is home sick, I’ll move my “office” (laptop and phone) from our converted spare bedroom to our dining room downstairs so I can be nearby. You really can’t beat it for flexibility.