Freelance Writing Myths Busted

'I am a freelance writer', I said.
'Oh, so you work from home?' asked the gentleman.
'Yes sir. I do.'
'That's easy. You are so lucky. I wish I could do the same.'
'Believe me, you don't.'

This is an excerpt from a conversation which I had with a gentleman who occupies a senior managerial post in one of the biggest global conglomerates. He's a family friend and hence took the liberty of casually informing me about my exceptionally good fortune to be able to work from home. It's not the words that surprise or irk me. It's the number of times that I hear this that makes me want to pull out my hair. It's the 'Oh,-that's-an-easy-job' attitude in those words that wants me to clear some myths over here.

I am a freelance writer by choice. Come May 2009 and it will be 3 long years since I started doing it. Yes, I quit a high paying job with IBM and took this up. Not because it was more lucrative. It was only because I wanted to smile at the end of a day's work feeling satisfaction and contentment. I am sure you must have heard the 'Do what you love to do and the money will follow' bit. I was smitten by that. I have had my ups and my lows. I have met my share of great clients and also the pesky ones. But it has been far from easy. What people don't seem to realize is that when they try to label this job as even remotely easy, they are trying to take away from me, all that I have put in, in the last three years. And I refuse to let anybody take away even an iota of my efforts.

Anyone who feels that writing or freelance writing is an easy job should read this. This is especially for you.

You work from home, you have got all the time. Why don't you...., Can you please.....

I am sorry, but no is the answer. I too have a 7 to 8 hour work schedule like most others. The only difference being the place that I work from. Though I might not have to adhere to strict login times, I do follow a stringent time schedule. My work demands incessant attention and I devote most time of my day towards it. I agree that I do manage to save up on a lot of time otherwise spent in annoying bottleneck traffic. But if you ask me to do chores or tasks for you, I would have to reply in the negative. I cannot baby-sit, I cannot take your pet for a walk to the park nor can I accompany you to the supermarket. I call this work for a reason. It earns me my bread and butter. And any

The work that you do is great to do part time/ post retirement. How do I start?

Writing is not something that you can do after you come back home from a grueling day at work or while you are fishing for that matter. It's not that easy. (I'll come to this in a minute or two). It requires a fair amount of planning, business acumen and most importantly, a flair for writing which very few people possess. I am not a literary giant, but I do manage to impress a lot of people with my writing skills. Can you do the same? If yes is the answer, then you must think seriously about making this a career and not pursuing it like some half-assed hobby. And post retirement? You know what I wish to do post retirement? Mining. Maybe that's easier.

Writing, that's easy!

Is it? Then why don't you try?

Adam Hochschild once said that, 'Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short." (Source: Thinkexist)

That's how you sum up freelance writing. Every second is a challenge and there is a new distraction to counter. If you do not have a dedicated work place at home and you share it with the living room or some other room, then there are distractions galore. There will be a family member doing his/her daily chores (Noisily on more occasions than not). There will be phone calls. There will be visitors at the door. There are kids if you are married, girlfriends if you are not. And, the biggest distraction is the internet itself. If you are hooked on social networking or gaming, then it's very hard to curb that instinct to log on for a second and check for new scraps or writings or whatever you call em.

Then there is time management to worry about. Try being your own boss and you will know what I am talking about. That one extra hour of sleep, that one extra song on your Ipod, that one extra page in your fav novel, they all eat up on your quality productive time faster than you can imagine. Believe me; it's easier to work in a regular 9 to 5 job. You have fixed work hours, a fixed pay scale. You pay your taxes, you have your insurance. As a freelancer, I have to build it all up.I cringe when someone calls it 'easy'.

Try churning out 6 to 8 quality articles per day and then find time to contact potential clients and then find some more time to send in a sales pitch and then find some more time to update your own blog and then some more to bid for more work. Call that easy and you can call me Harry Potter.

Hey, you don't have many expenses. You must be raking in the moolah!

Yes and No. While I do save up money spent on traveling and food, I have my own share of expenses.
I have an insurance policy to set up.
I have to invest in software and services to promote and market my business.
I have to work towards building up my retirement account.
I frequently come across clients who do not pay me on time. Yes, I do not have a monthly pay check that comes in on time.
And lastly, I have a very bleak economic situation affecting my work.
Yes, I have managed fairly well so far. But I wouldn't call myself rich. At least, not yet. (I still haven't bought a home).

Let me wrap this up by saying that this article was in no ways written to discourage new and promising writers from entering the arena. If you have a passion for writing, love reading and writing about new things, love to chase new gigs, then freelance writing can be a great profession for you. This was just my way of presenting the facts. If you felt it to be too hard hitting or rude, then I sincerely apologize for that. Didn't mean to be. The tone of the words depends a lot on the mindset of the person writing it. Maybe I'll get saner soon! Cheers. :

Sanjay is a freelance content writer and blogger with over 3 years of experience. He loves to twiddle with words and blogs about freelance writing, copywriting and blogging. His articles are informative and make a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. Visit his blog at Freelance Content Writer now !

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