I started freelancing more than 20 years ago as a broke 20-something living in Sweden.
I pitched magazines, translated corporate marketing material and pestered a wire service to hire me for stringer work because I had to, otherwise I wasn’t going to eat.
I was driven by desperation, which puts me neatly into one of the four iconic freelance types.
At various times in my career as a journalist I’ve fit into each of the the following:
1. The Desperado
Description: Gets laid off, fired or up and quits a staff job with no back-up plan, then scrounges freelance work while figuring out what to do next. I did the latter and ended up a freelance desperado for the better part of a year, first in Sweden for a handful of U.S. and English-language Swedish publications, and then after I moved back to LA to re-establish my career.
Motivation: Freelances out of fear — of not making rent, paying the utility bills or being able to buy groceries. Takes just about any job that comes their way, no matter how small — which is why so many accept schlock work that more established freelancers won’t touch.
Best for: Someone with minimal overhead, frugal tastes and roommates.
Advice: Checks never come as quickly as you need them to, make sure you’ve got an emergency stash.
2. The Transitioner
Description: Has a little, or a lot, of work experience, enough to know where they are today isn’t where they want to be 6 months or a year from now. Could be in the news business and freelancing into screenwriting. Or in public relations and freelancing to get enough clips to get established as a feature writer.
Motivation: Upwardly mobile, wants a new challenge, or is tired of the same old, same old. After a couple of years working as a trade magazine reporter and editor, I was determined to re-cast myself as a daily newspaper reporter. But newspapers weren’t interested in my trade magazine background. I had to come up with clips that were closer to the stories newpapers ran. I started small, getting whatever work I could, and slowly learned how to write decent letters of introduction and pitches until I had a story published in the Los Angeles Times, and then got a steady freelance gig with a weekly tech news startup. That led to a full-time job with a weekly business newspaper. Eighteen months later, I landed on staff at a major daily. Transition freelance mission accomplished.
Best for: Someone OK with living in a state of flux, working outside their comfort zone, and networking to gain entree to new publishing outlets.
Advice: Consider all possibilities. Sometimes the path from point A to point B isn’t a straight line, or the series of jobs you think it’d be.
3. The Moonlighter
Description: Earns extra money by freelancing on the side.
Motivation: Has kids to put through college or is getting a late start saving for retirement and needs the cash. Or is doing the stay-at-home-mom thing and freelances part-time while the kids are at preschool or napping to help pay the bills. Or is so well-known as a writer, reporter, editor, graphic designer or graphic novelist they get freelance offers they can’t refuse.
Best for: Writers without a lot of encumbrances or other demands on their time, expert jugglers and workaholics. After working as a staff writer for eight years, I freelanced full-time for another five, then quit to have a baby. When the baby went to preschool, I thought I could freelance part-time and still be a full-time SAHM. But my moonlighting freelance days were short lived — I wasn’t as good at juggling as I thought I’d be.
Advice: Consider what you’re giving up to work more: is the money worth the stress you’d gain and the free time you’d lose?
4. The Lifer
Description: Makes a conscious decision to work for herself. Newspaper or magazine vet who’s put in the time and understands what it takes to make it on her own. Writer of a certain age. Anyone who needs a flexible work schedule or environment. Once my youngest made it to grade school and my other kids were in elementary and high school I went back to freelancing full time and never looked back. At a time when society is once again questioning whether it’s possible for women to have it all, working for myself let me have the family I always wanted and pursue a career I love.
Motivation: A desire to work for yourself, and work like a dog.
Best for: The self-disciplined, self-motivated or entrepreneurial. Published authors, New Yorker or Vanity Fair contributors, successful bloggers or journalists who can also write code, design websites or shoot photos. Anyone who couldn’t imagine being an employee again, or working regular office hours.
Advice: You’re in it for the long haul, enjoy the ride. Experiment. Just because you start out doing one thing doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it. Remember to give back: there are a lot of desperados, transitioners and moonlighters who could learn from your mistakes and successes.
Which type of freelancer are you?
#s 4, 2 and 1–all at once! with experience in #3 (I couldn’t juggle either. I’m kind of an all or nothing type, I guess.)
Question: Why did you decide to move from trades to newspapers? Were you bored? Not getting paid enough?
Also, where in Sweden did you live? We visited Stockholm a few years ago and absolutely fell in love with the area (granted, it was end of summer so still light and breezy).
Thanks for sharing your journey.
So many questions. I switched from trades to newspapers because I’d always wanted to work for a daily newspaper. And it’s a good thing I switched. While the small trade publisher I worked for offered all kinds of opportunities, including traveling all over the country for interviews and conferences, they didn’t have the kind of seasoned editors who could help me become a better reporter and writer. I definitely got that when I went to work for papers. Ironically, when I started freelancing again, my trade background paid off – I had steady work from a bunch of tech trades throughout the Internet boom, and I still write for trade and custom business publications today.
In Sweden, I lived in Lund, a university town just outside Malmo in the southern part of the country. I got to Stockholm a couple times and loved it. I’m not going to say too much more about it here, because I’m going back for the first time next week and I’m planning a series of posts about the trip — stay tuned!
Michelle
I’m a lifer. Have been since college.
Why? My dad was a graphic artist who’d been laid off, forcing him to go freelance, and he was happier (and slightly better paid) than he ever was as an in-house graphic artist. He encouraged me to try freelancing for two years after graduation, and I’ve been freelancing ever since.
Paula, that’s interesting that you were inspired by your father. In a way, I was too. My dad was an engineer, salesman then general manager of a wood products industry business before getting unceremoniously dumped when a bigger company bought his out. He worked for a few other companies for a couple years before opening his own engineering consulting firm, and he was never happier. My mom, after raising 5 kids, became a wedding planner. And now that I think of it, both my grandfathers were self-employed: one had a wholesale and retail meat business (if you live in Portland it’s still around, Zenner’s) and the other ran a wholesale jewelry business (it’s still around too). So I guess entrepreneurship is in my blood. Never thought of it that way before.
Michelle R.
We’re both from entrepreneurial families, Michelle!
On my mom’s side, my grandfather (who died long before I was born) co-owned a car dealership, a trailer grove catering to GIs after WW2, and even a farmette where he experimented with raising and selling agricultural products. My grandma helped in most of his endeavors; she was from a long line of Swedish farmers so she appreciated the work ethic involved in entrepreneurship.
Like
Lifer. I’ve only just begun, but having exhausted all the other options, I must try what I have always wanted to do or end up disappointed. I never liked anyone else calling the shots. I’m not good at dividing my concentration, so writing on the side has not worked. I’m happiest in my own space with control over how I spend my time, and it flies quickly when I’m excited about an idea. Sometimes my words feel powerful. Nothing else makes me this happy.
Hoping to be a #4. Freelancer-for-life!!
Right on!
I’ve been the first 3 but really hoping to transition to number 4 soon! Really enjoyed this.
Thanks Heather. I think it’s common for freelancers to have been in more than one of these categories at different points in their career.
Michelle
A Lifer and loving it.
Me too!
MVR