Stop! You Shouldn’t Become A Freelance Writer If You’re Doing It For These 3 Reasons

By Dan Smith

We all have our different reasons for wanting to be a freelance writer.

Some who have been writing for a few years will have seen their reasons change and others who have have been writing for many more years will have also seen their reasons change, but they’re likely to now be a in place where they believe they’re writing for reasons most suitable for them.

But it’s determining these reasons in the first place — before you’ve even really started writing — that can be more complicated than most first believe, as if you start freelance writing for the wrong reasons (and are completely set on these reasons, with no room for change), the simple fact is you’re likely to be massively disappointed as you find it particularly difficult to get what you want out of your chosen career.

And if you’re currently considering starting a career in freelance writing, have a read through these three reasons first, as if you’re thinking about becoming a freelance writer for any of them, you really need to rethink your career options.

1. It will make you rich

Being a freelance writer can be lucrative. If you get the right work, you can earn a very, very respectable income.

However, of all the freelance writers in the world, there’s only a small minority who truly earn an income that’s going to make them rich.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying freelance writers are badly paid in any way (even if you got lowest paying gigs at $0.02 per word, fill your diary on the basis that you could complete two 500 word pieces an hour, with eight working hours in the day, that’s $38,400 a year, based on you working every week except four), but I believe a lot of people hear you could earn thousands from a single piece in a magazine and believe doing this a few times every week will make them rich.

And it could — but that almost never happens.

Magazines, newspapers, specialist publications — they all want professionals. People who have years of experience. And even then you’re going to find it difficult to not only produce several quality pieces each week, but actually find the publications to work with.

As a freelance writer, as long as you work hard, you can become comfortable financially, but you should never think being able to put a few words on a page is going to create you a wonderful nest egg upon which you can retire after just a few years working.

2. You’ll have lots of free time

One of the most common misconceptions about freelance writing — or in fact any freelance career where you can work from home — I’ve found is that you have lots of free time.

No having to get up early to shower and get ready. No lengthy commutes. No meetings and all the travelling to and from them. None of that — you can get up on a morning, roll out of bed and straight into your computer chair.

And this is what I do — but I find I work more hours than I have done in any employed role.

When I was employed, I’d get up at 7.45am, get showered, ready and drive to work for 9.15am. I’d leave at 5.15pm, be home for 6.00pm and then do a bit of writing work from 6.30pm until 8.00pm. If I was busy, I’d do a bit more after dinner.

Today, I get up at 7.30am, start work pretty much straightaway and I’ll work right through until 8.00pm. I do stop for some food and I might go out for a run or to the bank or something, but on the days I do these things I usually end up working later.

I have an aim to work pretty much office hours — something like 8.00am to 6.00pm — but at the moment, I’m working longer hours than I ever have done in just one role.

And this is largely because I’m responsible for every aspect of my career. There’s no one to sort out the accounting side, from arranging client invoices to putting a monthly amount of money into my bank account; there’s no sales team to generate leads; no marketing department to get my name out there to ensure the work doesn’t dry up. I have to do all of it — in addition to all of the actual ‘work’.

3. It’s a career you can boast about

OK, so this may not be one of the most obvious reasons why you shouldn’t become a freelance writer, nor one that should stop you entirely, but it’s one I think a lot of freelance writers overlook (and one that annoys me personally no end).

There’s no doubt being able to say you’re a writer will occasionally bring out a person’s inquisitive side and you’ll have the opportunity to tell them all about the work you do, but there’ll be many more who either aren’t interested or simply don’t understand.

Typical replies to “I’m a freelance writer”:

“Like a literary writer?”

“Oh, so what book are you working on at the moment?”

“That’s great — where will I have seen your work?”

“A writer? What, like…books…and…magazines?”

“I could totally write, too — how do I get started?”

In all seriousness, I very rarely talk about my work outside of my working / professional circle. This isn’t because I’m embarrassed to be a freelance writer or that I don’t want people to know I’ve produced work for x, y and z. I’m proud to be a freelance writer, but the truth is it’s just too complicated, annoying and time-consuming to explain what I do — I usually now just say “I’m a writer — commercial bits and pieces. What about you?” and focus the discussion on them.

I say it time and time again, but I really do love freelance writing and I wouldn’t change my career for the world. However, I think it’s important for new freelance writers to understand that as great of a career choice as it is, it’s unlikely to be the one that makes you a worldwide, filthy rich celebrity living a jet-setting lifestyle.

Image: hitthatswitch (fotopedia)