Should You Take Your Chances on Writing Full-Time?
Learn to navigate your life as a full-time freelance writer
The freelance writing sector is sharply growing and becoming more competitive each day. The 2018 Freelance Writers’ Survey showed that almost 28% of freelance writers earn less than $15 per hour. But the low earners work 8 or fewer hours a week, which can explain low income.
On the other hand, most of the people who work at least 20 hours a week earn up to $45+ per hour.
Freelance writing field, although cutthroat, can be lucrative, you just need to find your niche and work hard to get to the top.
The biggest problem in the writers’ market is that you have to go a long way to earn respect and start generating a decent income.
I started writing three years ago, although writing has been my passion for years, I needed a quick income to support my studies. I was doing an unpaid internship in a movie production company, but as lovely as it sounds, I needed money to survive.
My friend, who was working in a travel agency, suggested that I try writing about tourism and monetize my passion. I immediately jumped that train and started my writer’s career.
When I was still studying, writing my bachelor thesis, and doing an internship, a few hundred were enough to support my student lifestyle. But the more I earned, the more I wanted.
Then I started looking for more clients to increase my earnings. Still, it was more of a side hustle because I wasn’t building my brand, nor did I see it as a business.
After attempting to establish as an office worker and failing to do that, I came back to freelancing. But this time, I was ready to turn a few gigs into a full-time online business.
Trust me, when you’re not a native English speaker, and your home country pays pennies for writing jobs, you have to challenge yourself every day. I won’t lie, many times I was on the verge of quitting. I’m a very sensitive person, and criticism makes me want to flee the country and live alone in the jungle, away from all the judgment.
But you can’t afford to do that if you want to be a writer, no matter what writer (copywriter, content writer, blogger, ghostwriter, email writer, novelist, etc.).
Despite countless times crying into my pillow and swearing not to write anymore, I would wake up the next morning and do it all over again. Now, although this career brings all kinds of challenges, I couldn’t be happier with my choice. I couldn’t work for a boss anymore or deal with the office environment.
But you have to be prepared for the writer’s career.
And here are the reasons why you SHOULDN’T become a full-time freelance writer
If you want fast and easy money
A bunch of writers proudly earn $100 000+ a year and live a worry-free life. But they didn’t get there overnight. You won’t make money or create a perfect schedule if you don’t invest in learning about the craft, continually improving, and working tirelessly.
First, you probably will face a lot of rejection. Rejection is still better than thousands of scammers who lurk around for junior writers full of hopes and potential. It will take time to gain recognition and trust to build a stable income.
While I don’t agree that you should work for free or $2 per 1000-word article, it will take time to dictate your rules.
If you like stability
In the beginning, freelancing is like a rollercoaster. One month you’re thriving, everyone wants to work with you and the next month you can barely make ends meet.
I learned from my mistakes to be strategic about my work. First of all, don’t overestimate your luck. Even if you have enough money this month, don’t waste it overnight. Also, don’t stop pitching. Yes, it comes from a freelancer who was so sure about herself, but somehow, one month later, she found herself without work and clients.
Freelance writing is often unstable, and it teaches you to think one step ahead.
If you aren’t willing to have multiple income streams
Again, been there, done that, and burned. Relying on one client is risky. Although freelancing has many benefits for companies: it’s cheaper, faster, and more agile, they can cancel your services any minute. And what’s then? Then you are stressing out about finding new clients, lowering your rates, and doing work that makes you sick.
It’s a bit difficult to keep up with several clients, but it’s your guarantee for financial stability.
Also, consider building passive income streams that would support you when things go south.
If you hate dealing with accounting and budgeting
Tax requirements vary from country to country, but in most cases, as a freelancer, you have to pay your taxes yourself. Remember to withdraw the tax whenever you get too excited about earning much more than your in-house counterparts.
Not only that, but you also have to be strategic about your spendings. Be aware that your monthly income can change a lot from one month to another. You have to make sure you can pay rent and buy food.
Also, think about other savings such as retirement account, emergency account, and essentials. In my case, I’m doing it all myself, because paying a percentage to my country will pay me only 30–50% of all the savings in the time of my retirement. Be smart about it and make your money work rather than sit in the bank account and lose its worth.
Besides dealing with all this, you have to be prepared for rejection and obnoxious people trying to prove you wrong and avoid paying for your services. But don’t get me wrong — it’s all worth it because freelancing gives many benefits. And nothing feels as good as turning your dream into a career.
If you’re still considering, here are the reasons that make freelance writing a dream job:
You can earn more in less time
Forget 9–5. These hours don’t make sense in this day and age. If you’ve ever worked at the office, you know how much time you actually work and how much time you waste.
When you are freelancing, you can create your own working hours. You can do the same amount of work and usually much more in much less time than a typical workplace requires.
Having free time scares people because we feel the need to be busy all the time. You did your work in 3 hours, that’s great. You finished, then enjoy your life, because as much as freelancing is about work, it’s also about having more control over your life.
You can work from anywhere in the world
Remote work and telecommunication tools raised a new generation of digital nomads. Digital nomads are people who choose to work and travel at the same time.
Should you try digital nomadism?
The feeling of achievement is much stronger
You don’t work for a boss. You are the boss, so when you achieve something, you achieve it for yourself.
All the effort you make is solely for you. You don’t have to report to a boss, no one is monitoring your steps, and even a little victory feels like the biggest achievement in your life. And you can always pop a bottle of champagne in your workplace to celebrate it.
Freelance writing is a challenging career path. No matter how hard sometimes you try, it just doesn’t work. And then the next day, you do a bare minimum, and everything goes smoothly. Freelancing, in general, is a rollercoaster, and to be successful, you have to learn to ride it. If you find your way with it, then trust me — it’s all going to be worth it.
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