My First Year As A Freelance Writer

Sucked.  Enough said.  I made some money, but not nearly enough to get me off the state’s teat.  Granted, a lot happened in my personal life last year that needed my full attention, so I’m not kicking myself too hard.  Family comes first, which is the main reason I’m exploring freelance writing.  There were a lot of lessons learned in the past year though.  There is nothing like starting your own business to make glaringly obvious your faults and weaknesses.  Freelance writing is no different, it strips you bare to the forces of nature that surround you and leaves you bleeding and broken in the small moments of calm.

Lesson One: You have to have time management skills.  I’m not talking about being able to make it places on time.  You really need a strong background in time management, because there are way too many distractions, unless all the writing is done in a vacuum.  There always be a phone ringing, housework to do, kids screaming bloody murder for attention, family members pressing you to help them with this or that, or a myriad of other things.  It never ends, and somehow you need to figure out how to get some writing done.  Which leads me to my next hard learned lesson.

Lesson Two: Murphy’s Law hates you.  For those few souls who are unaware of what Murphy’s Law is (and for that I might just have to seriously hurt you), Murphy’s Law states basically that whatever can go wrong, will.  Get comfortable with Murphy, he’s going to become your best friend.  Be prepared for all your goals to go flying out the window regularly due to a major catastrophe, and it will be one that allows you NO writing time and requires your full attention.  And usually will cause you to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off, living off of nicotine, caffeine and a distinct lack of sleep.

Lesson Three: Be prepared to work your ass off.  Unlike a regular job where you clock in and get paid whether you goof off, socialize or bum around, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the money.  There is no “safety net” of pay, you don’t get paid to show up.  Nor will you get rich quick, frankly you’ll be lucky if you make enough to barely scrape by.  Especially if lesson one and two come into play.  Being a freelance writer isn’t for the faint hearted and shy.

There were more lessons learned, but those are my top three that I will be working with this coming year.  Yes, I definitely plan to continue to grow my freelance business.  I love the work, and it allows me to stay home with my daughter.  Honestly, that’s far more important to me then the money I have or don’t have in the bank.  Unfortunately, the joy of being home all day doesn’t pay the bills, so its back to working my tail off.  After the boys leave.  I’m not that insane yet.  I have financial goals this year, as there are some major things I wish to save up for, like a new place that ISN’T falling down around my ears, summer camp for The Daughter, and maybe eventually a car that isn’t going to break down on me every time I turn around.

So we go back to lesson three: work my ass off.  Here’s to a better 2011!

Above photo by sxc.hu user Nicole N