Eight Violent Truths About Freelancing - Part 1
Posted May 5, 2008 in Writing 25 Rockin' Comments »
*note: this article has been translated into Spanish. Thanks Phillipe!
Being a freelance writer is a lot like being a stay-at-home mom. People on the outside have this image of a leisured existence, while the reality of the situation is that freelance writers (and stay-at-home moms) are often busier than many “working” folks. God forbid you choose to be a stay-at-home mom who is also a freelance writer.
It’s this misconception of the freelance life that spurs my best friend to call me twice a week at 2 in the afternoon and ask, “whatcha doin?” He never once called me at 2 in the afternoon when I was a Network Administrator and asked, “whatcha doin?”
It’s this misconception of the freelance life that causes people to say, “What, couldn’t you get a real job?” when you tell them you’re a freelance writer. If they’re a bit nicer, they might say “freelance what?” or “Really? What books have you written?”
It might also be this misconception that has some of you considering the freelance life for the first time. Before you get any further, though, there are some things you should know.
1. Freelancing Isn’t For The Lazy.
Most successful freelancers I know don’t sleep until noon. In fact, the most successful freelancers I know are up before 6 AM, every day, including weekends. As a freelance writer, there are never enough hours in the day to do what you need to do. Why do you think Navarro’s 30 Hours a Day program is so wildly successful?
It’s not because Dave is such a good writer (although he is). It’s because his peers, other freelancers, don’t have enough time to do what needs to be done.
I put an average of 50 hours a week in on my freelance writing. That’s less than what I put in a year ago, and I make more now, too. As your freelance career builds, you do get to work a little less, but it will almost never be less than you would in another job.
2. Freelancing Is Damn Hard Work.
Yeah, OK. Fine. Freelancing takes time. But it’s easy work, right? I mean, you just write about whatever you want all day. How cool is that?
That’d be insanely cool if it were true. Just before I sat down to write this article I penned a piece on the difference between “HD-Capable” and “HD-Ready“. Now, while I love watching HD, I really couldn’t care less about how the tech works. But I had to learn it and then write a considerable volume about it, too. Right now I don’t care if I ever freacking watch TV in HD again.
Some of the work is enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. Some of that 50 hours a week is spent on my own blog where I don’t make a dime (yet).
A bunch of that time is spent marketing - finding clients, bidding on gigs, schmoozing (and screwing around on Twitter). Some of that’s fun, and some is horribly tedious.
Fortunately, because I’ve built up a decent client base over time, I don’t have to spend as much time marketing as I did just a couple of years ago, but I still have to do it. Add to that all of the busy work, invoicing, bookkeeping and the occasional blog read, and I probably only write around 25 to 30 of those 50 hours. On a good week, half or so of that is in a content area I enjoy or wanted to write about.
3. Freelancers Work For More Jerks Than Anyone Else.
Wait, What? I thought freelancers got to be their own bosses! How does that work?
It’s easy. It works like this:
- Client provides project specs.
- Freelancer completes and submits project.
- Client changes specs.
- Freelancer revises and resubmits project.
- Client drops the order altogether, posts both sets of submissions anyways.
- Freelancer finds new client.
- Repeat.
Maybe #5 becomes “client doesn’t pay the invoice for 6 months” or “client offers half the original bid amount“, but you get the idea. Freelancers are in small business, which means that when you agree to do a job you run the risk that the client will prove to be a jackass before it’s all said and done.
4. Freelancing Is A Thankless Profession.
Some of the highest-paying and most interesting gigs, at least when you’re first starting out, are going to be ghostwriting gigs. They’re also the gigs that you can’t even put in your portfolio. Imagine this conversation:
“So, Mr. Younce, I see here you’ve written more than 5,000 pages of web content. Very impressive. Can you show me some of that work?”
“Eh, well, no. See, I ghostwrote those articles.”
“Ah, OK. So, can you give me contact information on your client, then?”
“Well, no… he was killed in a fiery wreck. Very sad thing. Left 2 kids and a wife behind.”
“Mm Hm. So, you can’t actually prove you wrote anything?”
“Well, I guess not, no.”
“Thanks for your time, Mr. Younce. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
It’s not just ghostwriting, though. Yeah, Chris Garrett and Darren Rowse can publish a book, which will do extremely well in terms of sales. But neither of them would command the audience that Stephen King or even R.A. Salvatore commands at a book signing.
So, Why Do It?
What makes it worth the prospect of working your sweet patootie off every day working for a jerk in a thankless profession? What is it, when you’ve written your 20,000th word on HD-compatible vs. HD-ready, gives you a reason to write word #20,001?
Come back tomorrow, and I’ll tell you why. I’ll tell you the other 4 violent truths about freelancing, and how knowing them and acting on them can take your freelance career into the stratosphere. :)
Bob Younce
******
About the author: Bob Younce is a full-time Internet writer and writing mentor living in Linwood, Michigan. He is dedicated to helping Internet writers to achieve their dreams. Visit Bob at The Writing Journey or follow him on Twitter.
About the author: Bob Younce is a full-time Internet writer and writing mentor living in Linwood, Michigan. He is dedicated to helping Internet writers to achieve their dreams. Visit Bob at The Writing Journey or follow him on Twitter.
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25 Rockin' Comments
Monika Mundell
May 6th, 2008 at 3:08 amWhat a great article. I definitely agree with the getting up early and going to bed late scenario. Sometimes I think I’m turning in circles for the sheer work I have to complete, but then I remember that much hated job I had in my past life (;-) ) and smile.
I look forward to part two tomorrow Bob.
Abhijeet from Jeet Blog
May 6th, 2008 at 6:34 amAbsolutely True! In just one month of fulltime blogging and freelancing, I have started feeling the heat !
Lois K
May 6th, 2008 at 9:25 amYou hit the nail on the head with this one!!!It is extremely difficult for the 9 to 5 crowds to understand the afterhours bunch we inhabit. My best hours are sometimes started at 2 am.
Klaus
May 6th, 2008 at 9:49 amYour vicious cycle in #3 is missing a few steps:
1a) The freelancer submits a quote for the spec as contractual basis (and has a clause indicating how to handle change requests)
1b) The customer agrees on the quote
…
3a) The freelancer submits a quote for the change request ( or starts charging by the hour if this was specified in 1a)
3b) The customers agrees (or not -> then no changes)
…
5a) The freelancer has good legal coverage and sues the client for copyright violation and breach of contract…
Well, 5a) might be a little bit overdone, but it’s sometimes necessary to indicate that you are absolutely willing to play hard-ball. As long as who accept being treated like a slave, you might actually be treated as one.
Renegotiating the rate after a completed work is just a no-go ( for both sides: if you agreed on a fix price, you can not cry if you spend double the time you estimated)
Klaus
Bob Younce at the Writing Journey
May 6th, 2008 at 11:35 am@ Monika - Thankya. Granted, not everyone can do mornings, and I get that. But I used to think I couldn’t, either. Now, 6 AM is oversleeping for me.
@ Abhijeet - It only gets worse. But it gets better in other ways, too. Keep writing, that’s the main thing.
@ Lois - Heck, I even have trouble convincing myself that I should take a nap on those days when I was up until 2 the night before, so I do understand it to a degree.
@ Klaus - Thanks for your input! There are two issues, though:
First, on a practical level, I’m not especially interested in suing anyone over a couple hundred bucks. I’d do it, to be sure. But that’s not the point, right? The point is that, unlike a “regular” job, the freelancer has to run the risk of taking someone to court just to get a paycheck.
Second, freelancers, like many small businesses often deal on a less formal basis and may or may not have a written contract. I’m not saying that’s necessarily good or bad, but again: it’s a practical point. The nature of what we do means we run these risks, and that sometimes they can become a hassle.
Don’t take me to be saying you should work without a contract; I advise against it overall, especially for larger projects.
Fotobuch
May 6th, 2008 at 1:40 pmYep freelancing is not for lazy people. your post is an eye opener for those how treat themselves freelancer but don’t know the exact meaning of freelancing.
Melek
May 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pmi get people calling me all day wanting to chat too. i guess they just envision me curled up in a chair watching Springer.
and they have a hard time understanding why some days i can’t go for a drink at 5, or a walk, or just hang out. i’m still working then…even tho i started at 7:30.
the part about working for more jerks than anyone…yep. not only do you have multiple bosses (for each client/project) but you also have that person’s assistant or helpers that you have to deal with.
it’s worth it tho. i LOVE my freelancing gig. hopefully i can do it for another 10 years :)
Meryl K. Evans
May 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pmRight on, Bob… I’m fortunate that I enjoy working with all of my clients. The couple that drove me a little crazy were not half as bad as the worst corporate boss I ever had.
Jeffry Degrande
May 6th, 2008 at 4:03 pm@Klaus & @Bob I definately hear you guys on this issue. I have had it happening very recently myself for a considerable amount. It’s really painful when you realize you are powerless because the guys where out to scam you from the very start, you don’t have a contract and now need to struggle to even make the rent. Any suggestions besides torturing voodoo dolls with their name on?
Meryl K. Evans
May 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm@melek, right on! I had to stop using Trillian (instant messenger for all the biggies) because friends abused it.
I had it on mainly to stay in touch with my spouse, but it was too disruptive. We (thankfully) found another tool that few use… for now and it’s been better.
And they all know I’ve got a full-time job and have had full-time jobs themselves.
alb
May 6th, 2008 at 4:22 pmit’s an hard work but someone have to do it ;)
Klaus
May 7th, 2008 at 3:04 am@Bob & @ Jeffry:
When I talk about a “contract”, it does not need to be a full blown legal paper written by a lawer (at least not in Germany, where I’m from):
You can close a verbal contract by making an offer and the other party is verbally accepting it - however, this is impossible to prove without witnesses.
If you have something in writing (e.g. a one-page letter detailing the cornerstone’s of your work, and you ask your customer just to confirm these e.g. by fax before you actually start your work, then you are in a much better position when it comes to argueing about terms later on. When your customer refuses to confirm/accept your offer, then perhaps you should not move on with your work - it’s a simple test upfront about how serious the other party is about working together.
Courtney
May 7th, 2008 at 3:53 amAs a freelancing work at home I can tell you that’s it’s definitely a challenge. Violent though? Not in the least.
Bob Younce at the Writing Journey
May 7th, 2008 at 5:52 am@ Fotobuch - Feel free to send the post to your non-freelancing friends ;)
@ Melek - You mean you don’t watch Springer?!? ;) It is worth it though, innit? I talk about that in part 2.
@ Meryl - Truth be told, I’ve been pretty lucky. My biggest and best clients have always been wonderful. And you’re right - the worst client is better than the worst corp. boss. As to the Instant Messenger thing, I hear you. I had to do the same thing.
@ Jeffry - Best advice I can give you is: don’t let it happen again. Beyond that, I’d still consider talking to an attorney, even if you only had a verbal agreement.
@ Alb - True enough.
@ Klaus - I agree with you, for the most part. Again, I can’t say that I’ve always asked for a contract on smaller jobs, or on jobs for clients I know well. I go into it, though, knowing and accepting the risk.
Jeffry Degrande
May 7th, 2008 at 9:11 am@Klaus How about email, IM, anything digital .. Those qualify as contracts? And can they be effective?
Bob Younce at the Writing Journey
May 7th, 2008 at 11:18 am@Courtney - oh, but these are violent truths. See what I mean in part 2.
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
May 8th, 2008 at 6:04 amIt appears that the lovely comment I left is not here. Spam? Askimet? The monster beneath the bed? We’ll never know…
You said it, Bob. By the way - those phone calls? I get phone calls now like you wouldn’t believe. And unexpected guests in the middle of the day. Like, for no reason.
Hallo? I’m working, people. This is not a party.
Jon Phillips
May 8th, 2008 at 11:06 am@James: Yep, well, Akismet thought your comment wasn’t good enough or something… it won’t happen again, I talked with him and he’s cool :D
Meryl K. Evans
May 8th, 2008 at 11:22 amOh, I knew it! Something suspicious about those Men with Pens! {ducks}
Jon Phillips
May 9th, 2008 at 2:24 pmlol
TimMc
May 14th, 2008 at 1:06 pmHi Bob,
I just wrapped up the final version of a press release for a client. I was taking a few moments to relax and read for fun when I found your article on Digg.
I’m in my third year of freelancing. You hit the nail on the head when you said that it does get slightly easier over time. It is well worth the tremendous amount of work in the beginning. I almost gave up a couple of times because the time invested well outweighed the revenue it was producing. Now, I’m sending work out to other people, haha. Having a good core group of clients is critical to success in this business.
I’ll be checking in frequently. I like your writing style. It’s refreshing. Have fun!
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