One of the most difficult things about being a freelance writer is earning a steady income. When I worked in the corporate world, a set amount of money would show up in my bank account twice per month. But as you probably know, self employed writers do not have this luxury.
Through my experience, there are three reasons that ones freelance writing income may begin to decline.
1. You may see a decrease in income if you decide to start working on other projects outside of your primary career. For instance, this blog has taken a bit away from my freelance writing income. Even though I made nearly $5,000 last month, this is several thousand less per month than earlier this year. While I am not happy about this, taking the chance to build this blog is something that I hope will pay off in the end.
2. Losing a big job can greatly affect your freelance writing income. For instance, if I were to lose a $1,000/month job, my income would drop to $4k/month right away. If this were to happen, I would immediately begin to search for a way to make up some or most of this money. My backup plan always has been, and always will be Associated Content. I know that I can write for them whenever necessary, and if I can do so in quantity, there is money to be had.
3. Simply put, when the quality of your work decreases, so will the amount of money that you make. This may not happen right away, but shoddy work will lead to clients dumping you. In turn, your income will suffer.
Some of these things are unavoidable, so it will not do you much good to worry about them. Instead, do your best to build your freelance writing income to a steady level. This way, you can at least have a ballpark figure of the money you will earn each month.Â
One of the biggest benefits of being self-employed is the freedom that it offers. This means the freedom to wake up when you want, quit when you want, and oversee every last detail of your business. But at the same time, the biggest drawback of being self-employed is exactly the same. With so much leeway in what you can do, wasting time is something that every self-employed worker has to deal with.
Keep this in mind: even if you are self-employed it does not mean that you can slack off. In fact, the exact opposite is true. If you slack off you are not going to get paid. This is not the way that it works if you are employed by a company. You may get fired sooner or later for being a bit lazy, but until then, the paychecks will continue to roll in.
It is easier today than ever before to waste time during the workday. You can thank the internet for this. With so many distractions looming around every corner of the net, you could easily get off track and spend hours on end reading, gawking, and searching for useless information.
The way that I avoid wasting time is quite simple. Every night before I shut my computer down, I write out a list of what I have to get done the next day. When I wake up, I look at this again and devise a plan for working through the tasks. If I am lucky enough to complete them early, I will then allow myself a few minutes to scour the internet for information that is not related to work. This is more or less a reward that I give myself for working hard to complete my tasks list.
But even then, this is easier said than done. Yesterday, despite having a list of 15 things to do, I found myself searching the internet for information on dogs. I am interested in buying a dog, so of course, it was on my mind yesterday morning. Before I knew it, 15 minutes went by and I was still staring at pictures and reading about buying a new puppy. At that moment, even though I was having fun, I had to pull myself back to work. I bookmarked the page I was reading, and then made a promise that I would finish it after my work was done.
Although the internet may be the biggest way to waste time, if you work from home, you will be faced with even more distractions. This includes everything from television to radio to playing with your kids.
If you want to be successful as a self-employed worker, you need to learn how to resist temptation. Make a list, work through your tasks, and then reward yourself!
It is amazing how many people think that being self-employed as a freelance writer is a joke. They honestly believe that freelance writing is a career that anybody can excel at in no time at all. In fact, I have had more than one person say to me, “Freelance writing? I have been writing since I was in first grade!†True, these people probably did learn how to write that early in life. But it is amazing to me that they are so ignorant and clueless as to what it takes to be a successful freelance writer.
All in all, there is nothing easy about freelance writing. Although I would never trade in my career for another, it does not mean that I live the good life where work is a walk in the park everyday.
Below is a list of three things that a freelance writer has to handle that a corporate employee would never be able to sympathize with; unless they become self-employed of course.
1. As a freelance writer I am responsible for drumming up my own business. If I do not do this, I will not make any money. As you can see, this is quite different than somebody who works for a company and relies on others to keep the wheels moving.
2. When you are self-employed there is no way of escaping your work. While it does not bother me, some people have a major issue with this. Since I run my entire business alone, I think about work a large majority of the time. In other words, there is no leaving my work at the office. After all, my office is in my house!
3. Not only do I have to sell my services to obtain more work, but I am also responsible for collecting the money that is due to me. Unless you work as a collector or in the accounts receivable department, you really have no idea what this is all about. If I do not do a good job as a collector, once again, I do not get paid. This is far from the way that things work in the corporate world. Try telling an executive that their salary will be paid when the company’s clients decide to send some money. Trust me, it wouldn’t work; not even for a second!
The freelance writing life is a great one. I am the first to admit that I love everything about it. But when people think that being self-employed is a joke, it really irks me. The next time that you catch flack for living the “easy life,†point your critics towards this post. They will see where you are coming from right away!
