Welcome back to One Job A Year! And welcome to 2020! I hope you had a wonderful holiday time with beloved friends and family.
So what is Freelance Writing?
Doing a quick Google search leads you to hundreds of definitions, help sites, and blogs about freelance writing. Simply put,
A freelance writer’s main responsibility is to develop compelling, consumable content targeted to an audience about a particular topic.
That might include getting paid to write technical blogs, populate social media sites for companies, or even help write marketing copy for products or companies. As a freelance writer, you are getting paid to write about practically anything. Excited yet? I am.
Why freelance writing of all things?
First and foremost, for the simple reason that I didn’t feel like starting from nothing. My role at my existing company has been a combination of a partner enablement engineer and technical writer, and I’ve been growing as an expert in writing and editing over the past 6 years. If embarking on a new adventure or challenge, why not start from something familiar and grow from there?
Although I’m able to make use of my existing skills, freelance writing is a totally new ballgame. You need to find your own clients. You need to find your own voice. Heck, you need to fund your own business! If you’re like me, to be in control of your entire business is both intimidating and exhilarating.
So let’s think through the pros of being a freelance writer:
I own my time. I choose when I want to work - outside of my day job obviously.
I choose where I want to work, how I want to work, and with what I will be working on.
I will be a business owner either as a sole proprietorship or as a Limited Liability Company (LLC).
I will learn about so many different topics, products, and industries. At risk of sounding too cliche ... I’m all about experiences, travel, meeting new people, learning new things, and just overall individual growth, so this is an important factor for me. And if you’re still reading, it’s probably important for you, too.
And the scary cons of being a freelance writer?
I need to find my own projects and clients.
I’m not guaranteed a salary just by ‘going to work’.
There’s no set agenda or syllabus or training plan to follow. I’ll need to figure everything out for myself.
There are certainly more pros and cons to freelance writing in general, but these are the most applicable to me. Keep in mind that I will be doing this part-time and addition to my day job. So, fortunately for me, accounting for things like medical benefits can be put off for now but are definitely part of a freelance writer’s considerations.
Nonetheless, this year I will be walking you step-by-step through what I do to successfully become a freelance writer!
Cheers to 2020 and cheers to becoming a freelance writer! Join me if you wish! Next up, I'll be sharing my plan for this journey.
Comments