FREELANCE RIGHT
The Pros and Cons of Being a Freelance Writer
So, you’re thinking of breaking free from the shackles of the corporate/retail/service world and diving head first into the waters of freelancing writing and/or independent contracting, huh?
Let me be the first to say congratulations! After all, in this sea of possibility and endless opportunity that is being a freelancer, you will bask in the glory of a home office (or uninhabited corner), wake at whatever time you please, wear whatever you want (or don’t want), and spend your new 9–5 enjoying life to the fullest!
Okay, so that’s not exactly true… but didn’t it sound cool?
Incoming truth bomb: as a freelancer working from home, you’ll actually spend your days swamped by text messages from “friends” who either want help moving into their new place, or need a ride to the airport, because, hey, you work from home and therefore you must do nothing all day.
Now don’t get me wrong — being a freelance writer can bring a bevy of rewards, but since the decision to strip away one’s safety net is not one to be taken lightly, it’s important you consider what your world will be like if and when you take the plunge, and feel confident in knowing whether your lifestyle, finances, and mental well-being can support the weight of such a heavy change.
And because with every pro comes a con, I feel obliged to share some cold hard truths for your consideration as you decide your future: a safe, stable, and predictable full time job, or the teeth-gnashing, hair-pulling, colon-clenching life of a freelance writer.
Read on, if you dare. *cue ominous organ music*
1. Steady income vs Will I get paid this month?
If you’re a full time employee, then every two weeks your bank account sees a predictable deposit of a predictable amount. With those funds you pay your student loans… your groceries… your Netflix subscription. The world keeps on spinning.
In the life of a freelance writer, you send your invoice to the accounting manager, they acknowledge receipt, and quickly deposit the funds in your bank account (or other digital platform) and tell you to have a nice week.
I’m just kidding again! If only it were that easy.
Once you send your invoice, you’ll get no sort of response or acknowledgement whatsoever. In fact, you may as well have emailed the info to your grandmother — who doesn’t even know what the internet is — for the response is that similar.
As a freelancer you’re the last in line to get paid. That invoice clearly says Net 30 on it and yet you may wait 60 days, 90 days, or longer before you see that precious payment come through and land in the credit line of your mobile banking app. In the meantime, you will chew your fingernails to a fine powder.
2. Employee insurance vs You figure that $#@% out
In a full time environment you’ve already met with Karen the HR lady and chosen the health insurance benefits you want. Hell, Karen’s slick and she probably even talked you into enrolling in a 401K. Karen’s good like that. Now, when your direct deposit hits, you don’t even see what monies have been withheld for your medical, dental, and vision. It’s like having a gun — or an extra pack of toilet paper — in the house: you may not need it, but you’ll sleep better knowing it’s there.
If you’re freelancing and you’re not lucky enough to be able to mooch off your spouse’s insurance then guess what? It’s time for a visit to healthcare.gov where you will read tiny print and sentences that literally make no sense in the English language as you work to enroll yourself in a program that will hopefully allow you to see a doctor within a 1,500 mile radius the next time you get the sniffles. However, when you do get the sniffles, you’ll be glad you enrolled.
3. Automatic tax withholding vs Again, you figure that $#@% out
You know that money that comes out of your full time paycheck for your benefits? Great news! The same thing happens for taxes. Good ol’ employer is there to make sure your tax dollars are siphoned off the top and paid to the government. Heck, you’ll probably even score a refund at the end of the year. A refund!!
As a freelancer, you have to show extreme self control. When the accounting manager finally cracks under the weight of your numerous follow up emails and deposits the money into your account, you can’t just go out and buy that new living room set from Ikea. No way, Jose. You’d better slice at least 30% off whatever money you wrangle and dump it into a separate account to ensure that those quarterly estimated taxes get paid. Oh! And don’t forget your state income and city income taxes, too if your city — like mine — is a brutalist society only several mistakes away from becoming a savage Mad Max-esque landscape.
In a perfect world, you’ll break even at the end of the year once you’ve sent in your tax returns. If annual tax refunds are important to you, then you’ll probably feel like something inside of you has died.
4. Set hours vs Flexible schedule
With a full time job comes set, dependable hours. You wake up each morning knowing you’ll arrive at the office, take your hour lunch, and clock out at roughly the same times each day. It’s all very standard, efficient, and sort of boring.
The freelance life? It’s friggin’ unpredictable. If you do your best work in the morning, you can adapt your schedule to that. Night owl? Catnap all day and grind out your words when the rest of the world is deep in the throes of REM sleep and can’t bother you for a ride to the airport.
Granted, if you’re freelancing or contracting with a company in close vicinity, you may be asked to visit the office from time to time for meetings and/or free coffee. It’s likely you’ll also have to be available at certain times of the day for phone or video calls with suckers that still have to wear a tie to work. On those days you’ll have to play by their rules, but during the rest of your time? You do you.
5. One job vs Many jobs
If you’re working a full time job, you’re putting in your 40 hours and then coming home and likely crashing on the couch to catch up on Cupcake Wars or The British Baking Show. You’re spent. Any extra energy you were trying to save to work on personal projects, cleaning the house, or getting a haircut are out the window. You aren’t even sure when you last brushed your teeth.
As a freelance writer? You may decide that you’d like more than one job. Hell, you might want six or seven of them! As long as your schedule and energy levels allow it, you can freelance for multiple companies or clients at once, working on a variety of fun and interesting projects… and also begging six or seven different accounting managers for money at the end of the month.
6. Pants vs No pants
While dress codes are becoming more and more lax in the working world (thank you Startup Culture!) many full time employers require some combination of shirt, shoes, socks, and/or pants. Nice ones. The kind of which you only own one or two pairs. Are you cool with rocking khakis and a button-up every day, or would you prefer the uniform of the freelance writer?
What is said uniform? It’s some combination of a T-shirt and pants that may or may not have been washed in the current calendar year. In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to wear that uniform every day for weeks on end. And if you do have a video meeting with Bob, your Editor-in-Chief, toss on a polo and keep the sweat pants on. After all, whatever he can’t see outside of the Skype chat window doesn’t technically exist!
7. Area of opportunity (AKA Location, location, location)
A full time job usually ties you to a specific city, town, or regional area. In fact, while that area may contain your job, house/apartment, pets, family, and significant other, it may not actually be a place you enjoy living.
The good news is, off-site freelancers and contractors have the ability to work from anywhere! This works to your advantage should you want to have a decent cost of living and potentially buy a house, get married, have children, adopt more pets, start a worm farm, etc. Since freelancing often doesn’t come with vacation time, your status as a remote nomad means you can venture off to those cool, groovy places you saw on the Travel Channel. As long as the hotel, café, or sailboat has WiFi, you’re still able to keep in touch with your clients and upload the work once it’s finished.
Even sexier is the fact that as a remote writer, you may choose to work with companies all over the world! In my own experience, I’ve recently enjoyed writing for international companies who have a much better understanding of work/life balance than many in my native USA.
8. Management vs Motivation
I saved this one for last because it’s big. Like, make or break type big. At your full time job you probably have a boss whose sole reason for existing is to ensure you get your work done. He or she may even be *shudder* one of those micromanager types. You’ll hear and feel them mouth breathing over your shoulder as they offer words of encouragement (or threats) that help you remain productive throughout your shift.
As a freelancer, you’re given your tasks and then it’s up to you to ensure the materials are created and the deadline is met. This usually means no one micromanaging you. As a writer, sometimes it would be nice for someone to stand over your shoulder with a gun to your head, screaming at you to get the words on the page, but unless you’ve hired a someone with a questionable moral center via Craigslist to do exactly that, it’s not going to happen. Instead, it’s up to you to remain self-managed and self-motivated to get the work done. If you’re easily distracted by the internet, social media, pets, video games, snacks, or shiny things, this may be a real struggle for you.
Perhaps of all the things on this list that you should consider before pursuing the freelance life, this is the most important. After all, if you can’t get the work done, you won’t get more clients, you won’t get better job opportunities, and worst of all, you won’t get paid. Then, it’s right back to the full time work life, where at least you’ll have predictable pay, benefits, automatic tax withholding, predictable hours, and a nice dress code.
You may come away from this read thinking that the world of freelancing is all doom and gloom, but I promise it’s anything but. In fact, if you can deal with some of the valleys detailed throughout this piece, you’ll find that the peaks make it all worthwhile. In fact, going freelance just could be the best decision you ever make.
You still won’t get paid on time, but a great decision, nonetheless.
Wes Locher has spent nearly a decade working as a freelance writer in the fields of video games, comic books, journalism, copywriting, ghostwriting, editing, and other things that end in -ing. He’s a member of Full Sail University’s Creative Writing Program Advisory Committee and regularly mentors students on how to build and maintain a freelance career. His writing has been featured by Wired, VentureBeat, Gamasutra, and others.
