Contrary to popular belief, most freelance writers don’t roll out of bed at 10, work in PJs and bunny slippers or take pen to paper only when the mood strikes.
Jen Miller, a New Jersey girl as well as being an author, blogger and freelance writer, deflates these and other popular myths about writers who work for themselves in an excellent post on her blog, Down the Shore with Jen.
Freelance writers are essentially entrepreneurs, and anybody who’s ever worked for themselves knows, when you’re the boss you have to work twice as hard because there’s nobody else there to pick up the slack. When you freelance, there are no paid sick days, vacations or holidays – if you’re not working, you’re not making money.
And just because you make your living writing doesn’t mean you spend all your time putting words on the page. Miller figures she spends 30 percent of her time writing. Other freelancers only spend 15 percent of their time writing. The rest of their time is devoted to researching publications, pitching ideas, doing interviews, chasing invoices, blogging, networking and maybe, just maybe, cleaning the office.
When it comes down to it, freelancing is like any other job. It’s work, and it comes with all the good and bad of any kind of work. But for the independent minded, it’s work where satisfaction is guaranteed.