When
is the right time to go from part-time, moonlighting freelancer to
work-at-home full-timer? There are guideposts to go by and progress
you can chart. In this article we'll discuss how to assess your
readiness for full-time freelancing so your entry will be as smooth as
possible.
Now,
I do understand there are a lot of you who freelance just as a
part-time proposition and maybe you're never planning on going
full-time. Hey, that's no biggie! Not everyone goes full-time -- nor
should they. But still, there are quite a few people who want to go
full-time but the idea of making the jump into uncharted waters scares
the doodles out of them.
To
be sure, making the decision to go full-time is not for the faint of
heart. If you're the type of person who has to have a future that's
constantly stable and predictable and who has to have everything
"just so" all the time, then don't freelance full-time. If
you do you'll end up getting gray hairs if you don't have them already
or you'll chew your nails down to the utter quick -- and maybe past
the quick!
What
does it take to be a full-time freelancer? Well, there are many
combinations of traits and it's probably true that all freelancers
aren't alike down to the tooth and nail, but I contend that if you're
a full-time freelancer you're probably an optimistic, confident risk
taker at heart.
Some
people may say, "Oh no! I'm not a risk taker! I'm very well
organized and blah blah blah -- anything but a risk taker." I
disagree. In your heart of hearts you are a pioneer and a risk taker.
With the boldest of actions you chose to go where most men and women
in life never even dream of traveling: into the wild, unpredictable
wilderness of working without a net.
When
you work without a net that means you are not guaranteed the same
paycheck every two weeks (or perhaps, every week) like most American
workers. Your job doesn't guarantee health care or dental insurance --
although you can sign up for such plans through writers' unions. You
literally have to go out and find jobs over and over again. You also
have to be a marketer, a salesperson and a publicist -- among other
things. You not only have to sell a product you also have to sell
yourself, in a manner of speaking.
By
the same token there are benefits to freelancing full-time, not the
least of which is the satisfaction of working for yourself and not a
boss who stares over your shoulder all the time. You can also work any
time you want -- day or night. You set your own hours.
However,
this is a double-edged sword; you must be disciplined enough to work
without supervision. You have to motivate yourself each morning to get
up and get cracking. Of course, nothing motivates people more than a
looming house payment!
What
are the tell tale signs that you're ready to consider striking out on
your own as a full-timer? Here's a list to get you thinking:
1.
Increasing sales. Are you pulling in assignments on a consistent
basis? Have you gone from selling four articles in one year to selling
40? If so, this is a good indicator of your ability to sustain regular
assignments.
2.
Have you mastered the art of composing an effective query
letter? More importantly, are your query letters targeting the
appropriate publication markets and pitching ideas that fit just right
most of the time? Are your queries hitting the target more often than
not? If so, this is a good indicator of full-time readiness.
3.
Before you slap that feather in your cap and begin to whistle a gay
old song of self-employment bliss, you'll have to take into account
your ability to wear many hats: writer, administrator, marketer,
salesperson, promoter, publicist, researcher and producer.
Full-time
writing is not just writing, period. If you have a difficult time
managing more than one job responsibility, then you'd better be a
quick study in multi-tasking. Until you are financially successful
enough to hire people to assist you with these tasks, you'd better get
used to the idea of being a one-man or one-woman band!
4.
So you can write. But can you market what you write? If you plan
to sell regularly you'd better figure out how to market. What is
marketing? It involves not only figuring out what to sell to which
market, but also how to advertise it, put it together into a pleasing
product and deliver it on time to your client.
In
my own freelancing business, marketing is just as important as the
written product. Writing without marketing know-how is like a car
without wheels -- it may be a nice ride, but without wheels, it ain't
gonna take you anywhere!
5.
Do you have a manager hidden inside? If you're planning to go
full-time, you should have an ability to manage not only your time,
but your finances as well as records, too. You should also know how to
think ahead and decide how many assignments you plan to tackle for the
next month, six months or a year.
6.
Can you fend off procrastination? Will you be able to slay writer's
block? These are deadly enemies to the full-time
freelancer.
Often
you'll have to turn out articles or other projects dealing with a
range of subjects, and you'll have to research, too. Being able to hit
the ground running with interviewing and research, as well as writing
on the fly, are assets. You don't have time to be inspired or
motivated as a freelancer when deadlines are looming. Motivation and
inspiration often equals butt in chair (as I've heard many times
before!).
One
caveat: beware of too much research -- you don't have to be the
world's foremost expert on a subject to write a decent article about
it. Get the best facts you can and the best, most well-informed
sources you can. Interview by e-mail when possible -- when you get the
experts' replies in their own writing, it's hard for them to say
they've been misquoted!
7.
Another eater-away of your writing time is interruptions. Can
you effectively handle interruptions and complete your writing
assignments despite all sorts of scenarios that may pop up? Because
time means money when your bounty pays the bills, watch for time
stealers. We've touched on this before: interruptions, unnecessary
phone calls during your working hours, an overabundance of e-mail that
has nothing to do with writing. These are all ways to entice you to
procrastinate or waste time. I must admit, e-mail is my biggest
downfall, so be especially wary of that.
8.
Finally, do you have a financial Plan B? What I mean is this:
until you get the hang of full-time freelancing and are firing on all
eight cylinders, do you have a nest egg or a spouse to help pay the
bills when they come due? When I began freelancing, I made sure my
family could live on my husband's salary. It would be tight, to be
sure, but we could meet the basics and there were places I could scale
down our lifestyle and save money. Things are more difficult now since
he died unexpectedly in 2001.
In
other words, I counted on zero guaranteed income for my first year.
Luckily, I brought in more than zero, but I did the math and covered
all the bases, nonetheless.
Let
me say this again: freelancing does not offer a guaranteed income and
before you make the decision to do this full-time, cover all your
bases -- most especially your financial ones.
Hopefully
I've given you some valid points to consider in your quest for
full-time freelancer status. In no way does this article cover all the
ins and outs of making the leap, but this can at least give you a
jumping-off point for exploring all the avenues and the pros and cons
of your future decision.
Bev Walton-Porter is a Colorado-based
professional freelance writer who has had hundreds of columns,
articles and reviews featured in numerous publications, both online
and offline, since she began freelancing full-time in May 1997.
She was Inkspot's BookStop editor from July 1999 until March 2000 and
has been a contract editor for NBC Internet, senior editor for
CyberTips.com, review editor for Eye on the Web and managing
editor/contributing editor at Suite 101 - Freelance. She has also
reviewed software and books for CompuNotes, Inscriptions and The
Charlotte Austin Review, Ltd. She has published two award-winning
online e-zines for writers -- Inscriptions Magazine and Scribe
& Quill. She also operates a website called Pen
& Pentacle for pagan writers & creatives.
Apart from writing, she also has a passion
for education and conducts online
courses on professional freelancing, electronic commerce and
Internet marketing through the Academy of Web Specialists, Scribe
& Quill and Coffeehouse for Writers since 1998. She was the
Colorado state rep for ByLine magazine from 2000 - 2002 and
elected and served as a delegate and Grievance Officer for the
National Writers Union.
Bev is pursuing advanced educational studies
in Communication and Philosophy at the University of Colorado-Colorado
Springs. She is working toward obtaining her Masters and her Doctorate
in the next few years. Her article on online promotion appears
in the January 2001 book release, "The Online Guide To
Writer's Markets," edited by former Inkspot editor
Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
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