I’ve been freelancing for the last five years. I’ve rarely had time off since then because of the demand for my skills. Very crazy, very messy at times, but I love every minute of it.

I try to focus on the clients who have been around the longest since they’re the ones I know I can count on. But I do have a Plan B, and C, and D. I realized early on that diversifying my work portfolio was the best to guarantee that I’d always have work. And, with few exceptions, I’ve always been TOO busy, rather than biting my nails and hoping that work comes in.

Writing takes commitment – a lot of it. You really have to be willing to spend all day, every day perfecting your writing and managing clients. It’s not easy, but it is rewarding.

I plan on doing this for the long run, so I know that everything I’m doing now is just securing my future. That helps me when I just want to run off to the nearest tropical island.

Nice to read what everyone else is up to. The freelancing gig can be a quiet place, after all.

Have a good Monday everyone,

Lynda

So sorry about my way-delayed reply. Remember that bullet point above, about always being the resource your clients’ can’t live without? Well, that was a perfect description of this past week for me — which meant, of course, that everyone else had to live without! (Including me.)

I’ve thought some about your request for additional info, and here’s one thought that I think *may* be important to long-term success as a freelancer, but that I don’t see addressed too often: the role of your own ego in the work you (choose to) do.

While there are many shades of gray, many points on the continuum (to mix my metaphors) and the neverending necessity for self-promotion (i.e., marketing), it seems as if there are two types of freelancers: those who are doing it so they can make a name for themselves — in the world of writers, that may mean people who want a byline above all else — and those who are doing it for reasons that are unrelated to whether or not they become well known.

The question is, which type of freelancer are YOU?

Of course, individual answers to that question may vary, and often involve some degree of “both.” And while the word “ego” is often laden with all sorts of value judgments, believe me when I say that, in my opinion, self-interest and so-called other-interest are equally valid.

However, there do seem to be some interesting costs and benefits that seem to apply with some predictability, depending on where you fall on the spectrum.

For example, if having bylined articles is incredibly important to you, you will find yourself up against loads of competition — and where supply meets or exceeds demand, prices always drop.

(For example, except for the occasional breakout star — the myth and rarity of which seems to have the interesting effect of further driving the obsession — thousands upon thousands of would-be screenwriters keep hoping for that first megamillion-dollar Hollywood sale, just as lottery-ticket buyers keep purchasing those $1 Powerball stubs. The amount of money paid to screenwriting contests for entrance fees alone is staggering — but that’s what happens when the prize is huge but extremely rare.)

Of course, with hard work and some talent, you will ultimately get your name out of there — but you’ll most likely also take on a lot of projects along the way that, when comparing time spent on the project to money earned, often provide a pay scale that’s much less than minimum wage.

On the other hand, if having your name under the title or up in lights is less important to you, there’s a whole world of B2B freelance writing that pays quite well — especially if you’ve made a name for yourself in a genre in which names don’t matter (or, more accurately, in which your name and the reputation you’ve built around it matter only to the people paying you).

Of course, when people ask you what you do for a living, it won’t sound nearly as cool as being a novelist. “I write case studies for transportation-industry process-improvement white papers” is a sure dinner-conversation killer — but chances are, you’ll also be the one who can afford to pay for that dinner, thanks to that white paper.

Now, some may disagree with my broad generalizations here. And I should admit that I pursue both types of projects. I write plays, and am very proud that the plays I write get produced — some have even won some pretty cool awards. But I know that even the most “successful” playwrights in the country — some of them my friends — rarely make their living off the plays they write; most teach, write episodes of “CSI: New York,” etc. So I accept that I’ll get a nice emotional paycheck from the plays I write, but the financial paycheck will be less.

At the other end of the spectrum, I do quite a bit of B2B freelance writing, which is sometimes very interesting and sometimes as boring as hell. But it pays the bills quite nicely, provides an engaging professional challenge, and allows me the time to pursue projects that may be off the grid but are equally rewarding. Like making a great loaf of sourdough bread or improving my time in a 10K race.

Ultimately, you have to decide what matters most to you, what you want to achieve and what you’re willing to accept in terms of costs and rewards, investments and returns. There is no single formula, and even what works for you may change over time — especially if you become that bylined freelancer who really does make a name for yourself!

But by making yourself fully aware of what you want, and what you’ll pay to get what you what, you put yourself in a much better position to find satisfaction in your chosen career, no matter what it is: as a freelancer, a business owner, or as an employee.

I agree with all of you who listed patience, sticking to a schedule, and the commitment to keep learning as the keys to success. My own “Plan B” involves knowing a little web development and scripting – if a web designer can say to a client, “Yes, I’m familiar with SQL/ASP” then that will definitely open more doors for you.