Freelance Writers: How Is It to Be a Freelancer

Being a freelancer can be a very rewarding experience. It is one that is full of flexibility and the ability to work selectively on a great number of projects. Finding a good client makes it worth it. Being able to work hard on something and turn it around quickly only to hear back how well it worked for the client is what being a freelancer is all about… in addition to being able to work in pajamas from home of course.

Some of the greatest aspects about being a freelance writer include the aforementioned benefits and the ability to literally embody capitalism as it was intended; if you want to make more money then you just bid on more jobs. If you want to take a few days off to be with your family you can do that too and not have to worry about asking permission or using only a limited number of vacation days.

But being a freelancer also comes with its fair share of challenges.

For example:

• Some clients give you no direction or instructions for their job and then you submit the work as best you can and they turn around and ask for changes because they decided (after you started working… and no they did not tell you) that they want a different direction.
• Some clients will disappear and not get back to you for weeks. So you are left in this limbo land uncertain whether they loved the work or hated it.
• Some clients will try everything not to pay you. They will cheat you out of money and unless you work through a third party organization that has protection for payments you risk being unpaid about 5% of the time. This is true even for clients who have worked with you multiple times in the past. They will just one day disappear and never pay you for the last set of work you did.
• You also don’t always know whether the client wants repeat work or not. Sometimes they tell you that “if all goes well” they will hire you again but most of the time they are counting their new business chickens before they hatch and as a result you don’t really have any continued work and you have no way of knowing that until it is too late.

When you find jobs you are interested in taking you have to write a message to the client as to why you would be best suited for the job, how much you would charge, and when you can complete it. You can also attach samples of previous work for review. If you are selected, you are awarded the job terms, which you must accept.