If you want to be a freelance writer, read this and learn

Most people, at some point, fantasize about being a freelancer, working on their own and coming and going as they please. Usually the conversation goes something like this: “Boy, I wish I could work from home. It would be so cool to just wear slippers and sweats all day and work on the patio with my laptop while sipping coffee. I wouldn’t have to be on anyone else’s schedule or worry about some boss hanging over me. That would be awesome.”

Well, yes. Yes, it is pretty awesome.

But, like everything in life, freelancing has its ups and downs.

Sure, we can wear whatever makes us feel comfortable.

And we keep our own schedules.

But we still work really hard. Sometimes we get into the creative zone and the words just flow.

But sometimes they don’t. And a writer without words, well that’s a problem.

The pressure to produce grammatically correct stories can sometimes be overwhelming. Like for example, we’re expected to remember the difference between there, their and they’re; your and you’re; its and it’s.

Sometimes the pressure causes us to totally blank out.

And sometimes other influences cause us to totally blank out.

Working alone, in solitude every day, searching our souls for the right words, putting our hearts out there for people to critique…it’s not always as easy as we make it look.

Tough editors make us cut out words and slice and dice our copy to meet a word count, which is really hard to do, especially since every single word we’ve written is absolutely perfect, and important, and essential for world peace.

And then, after all our heartfelt work, there are the negative reviews of our writing.

The critiques can cut to the heart and make us feel like losers.

Sometimes, we start feeling like we just can’t do it anymore, and we should go get a ‘real’ job again.

But, then we remember what THAT was like.

And

And

So every day, it is good for us freelancers to remind ourselves…

And to also remember the good times, the awards, the sleeping in late in the morning.

When it all comes together, it’s simply magic.

And to top it off, people actually pay us money for our words. How cool is that?

Even though it is sometimes exhausting to try and always be creative.

I wouldn’t change it for the world.