Freelance Cutout Q&A
May 9, 2008 · Written by Melissa Donovan
Earlier this week, I asked “are you cut out for freelance writing?” and gave you some of my ideas about what traits a freelancer needs to have in order to succeed. Today, let’s expand on that a little. Instead of a traditional writing exercise this Friday, I’ve prepared a Q&A that should help you get started in determining how you can move into a freelance writing career, or start building a freelance business that you can do on the side.
If you are remotely interested in freelancing, try answering some of these questions. They’ll get you thinking about how freelancing could fit into your life. These are questions to address even before you enter the business planning stage. If you are already a freelancer, feel free to expand on these questions by adding your own in the comments section.
Reason
The first and foremost question to ask yourself when you’re thinking about freelancing is why. Why do you want to be a freelancer? Is it because you want to stay home with the kids? Want greater control over your earnings and schedule? Knowing why you’re drawn to this crazy profession is something you absolutely need to identify and understand. Because it is the one thing that will keep you going as you move forward.
Time
How much time do you have (or can you create) in your life right now to dedicate to your freelance business? Can you squeeze a couple of hours out of each day? A few hours on the weekend? Also, do you want to transition into full time freelancing right away or do you want to ease into it over time? You can become a freelancer by dedicating just a few hours a week, but it helps to know in advance exactly how much time you can invest in this enterprise. Be realistic!
Money
How much could you trim your budget if you really needed to do so? Are there things you could give up temporarily so that you can build your business? Do you have savings or could you qualify for a business loan to help subsidize your income while making a transition? If you’re married, maybe your spouse’s income could cover the budget for awhile, or you can take some time in advance to save up a little funding.
It’s unlikely that the day you launch your freelance business, you’ll immediately start earning your previous salary. In fact, I read somewhere that it takes about a year to get to that point (the good news is that in the second year, you can surpass your previous salary). The goal of business is to make money but before you make the leap, know where you stand financially.
Summary
I’ve said it before and many freelancers say it on a regular basis: freelancing is a business. It’s not something you can jump into halfhazardly and expect wild success. Some freelancers plan more than others before they launch their business and there’s a happy medium in the planning stages where you don’t want to cut yourself short, but also don’t want to spend so much time planning that you never actually launch the business.
It helps to understand why you want to do this and what you can afford to invest in terms of time and money before you begin to plan your freelancing business. Next week, I’ll publish a post that explores some things you can do to actually start planning and laying the groundwork to become a bona fide freelancer.
If anyone has other questions or thoughts to share on what needs to be considered before the real planning begins, please share and discuss!
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Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Perversely, after I answered the questions I came up with the possibility that I could dabble at free lancing, if I planned it right and kept my monetary expectations low. I have a low, but adequate guaranteed income.
I firmly reminded myself how unsuited I am to free lance and reread your earlier article. Poetry may not pay, but no one’s going to bang on my door demanding a finished product either. Not this year.
Mikel Pottss last blog post..back thought
Melissa;
When I read all these blogs on free-lancing, I often wonder how many of these writers are from a two-income family?
Having a spouse with a comfortable salary is a huge safety net. Natually this would remove some of the risk and stress involved for the other person who’s taking the plunge into full-time writing.
But if you’re single and you have a mortage, there is only so much budgeting and sacrificing you can do. You still need a minumum income to pay the bills.
How much money can a moderately successful freelance writer typically earn?
$20K? $50K? $100K?
And how many hours of work each week is typically required to maintain this income?
Answers to those questions might be a good dose of reality for those of us who are considering a career change, but have no idea what we’re getting into.
Friars last blog post..Watercolors: Time to Rake
@Mikel, Freelancing is definitely a lot different than creative writing pursuits (such as poetry). However, I’ve found that the combination of my freelance writing and blogging has improved my writing significantly. Now, if I could just squeeze out some time to work on my fiction and poetry…
@Friar, Well, I don’t have a spouse to fall back on, but I also don’t have a mortgage. I think a freelancer can earn whatever he or she wants, within reason. Yes, some freelancers do earn over $100k.
Like any business, a career in freelancing has to be built; it takes time to reach goals in terms of salary. There are many factors that determine how much you earn, such as how much you charge, what kind of writing you do (i.e. press releases pay far more than web content articles), and how much time and money you’re willing or able to invest - and what type of clients you target.
One of the reasons you don’t get a lot of hard numbers from freelancers is because it’s vastly different for everyone, and it changes dramatically over time. I will say this: my income has steadily increased since I started. I have yet to reach a plateau and it’s been almost nine months. There are just no hard and fast numbers.
However, I think hooking up with established freelancers is a good idea. My first months were a struggle but once I met some other freelancers online and was able to discuss rates and growth, things got a lot easier and more profitable. I just didn’t have a network like that in place back in the beginning.
I will work through these but I have a hectic column schedule for the next two weeks.
Debs last blog post..Defining business: When to introduce the left hand to the right hand?
Hi Melissa!
You’re a wise gal.
Excellent stuff here and I love the photo! Can’t wait to read your next post.
Micheles last blog post..Relief for Tired Eyes
This is an excellent summation of freelancing, Melissa.
I think you hit it right on the head when you describe how much money you will expect to earn the first year. Realistically you need to learn the ropes first. Don’t you think? And I find my goals are changing now that I’ve been in the freelancing biz for six months. I find myself wanting to follow my passions more, like writing for magazines (article photo packages) and possibly other news sources. Yeah, I got into it primarily because I’m a fiction writer, but wanted to write for a living, and other various career reasons. Like you mentioned, it does improve your writing the more you write.
Did you start making money right away?
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..Bring Your Daughter to Work Day
@Deb (gscottage), A hectic column schedule is a good thing for a freelance writer… right?
@Michele, Thanks! Next post coming up today or tomorrow!
@Ellen, Yes, I think that you learn things in the first year that you can’t possibly anticipate. Same with blogging. No matter how much you read or research, there are something you can only learn through experience and those things will inform how you handle your business in the future. That’s why flexibility is important to me.
Yes, I started making money right away, but not very much. Not much at all actually, but each month it’s a little more, and I think that’s a good sign.
Melissa,
I read this the day you posted it and wrote a comment but accidently deleted it instead of hitting submit.
One of those too busy days that I couldn’t focus.One of those days I’m glad I don’t have to worry about getting paid for this yet. LOL.
But that night, I went to sleep and dreamt that I put a page on my blog that said:
HIRE ME: I’LL WRITE FOR YOU.
And that was the whole extent of my marketing plan and my intro to getting into freelancing business. Funny how it made such perfect and simple sense in the middle of the night!
I am enjoying reading all of this. It seems my brain is turning it all around while I am sleeping and planting the seeds…..
Wendi Kellys last blog post..Balancing Balloons
Yes, hectic column schedule is good. But this week it is even better.
The first year learning point is so true. I put myself into such a tizzy planning and researching blogging and really it came down to “jump in the freaking pool.”
The column is the real example of plodding through the mud, stepping out for a bit, going back, and finally figuring out how to slide through instead. And I cut the lengthy epistle from here but I will email it one of these days.
So, short story long, I went back on for a trial basis and slowly over the past year it has been building. I have about 15 cards in my file, and 20 email addresses, and several groups send me press releases or their list-serve newsletters. Last month was a record for income due to the number of photos that published. This week I have my dream feature for a local nonprofit anniversary and another of my favorite bloggers is coming as keynote speaker. And next week it’s back to preschool commencements and charity golf.
So the question is how to translate what I am doing into other kinds of freelance work?
Debs last blog post..Dreams, Courage and Achievement
@Wendi, Sometimes things that make sense in the middle of the night don’t make any sense during daylight hours. But then I wonder if the night sense or the day sense is more accurate!
@Deb (gscottage), I’m not sure how you can translate it but it sounds like you have some good projects coming in! One of the best ways to get clients is through a website that exists specifically for freelancing.