Maintaining the write balance as a freelancer

Maintaining the write balance as a freelancer by Chip Tudor

As a freelance writer, you initially experience an exhilarating sense of freedom. Freedom from rush hour traffic, office politics and answering to the boss…the big jerk. But freedom as a freelance writer has an illusory quality that is framed by other decisions. Those decisions affect your life both personally and professionally.

When I started, I was married with 2 small boys (I’m still married but my sons are now BIG boys). My wife’s teacher salary covered our healthcare and main expenses, but not everything. So my freedom as a freelance writer came with a restrictive clause—I had to earn income.

Quality or Quantity…be honest

If you have a certain standard of life in mind, it’s best to be honest about it and create a plan to get there. To say one thing but live according to the other will create anger, frustration, guilt and resentment. And even then, your resolve will be tested.

I was driving along one day in my 10-year old Subaru when a sparkling, new Lexus cut in front of me. The vanity license plate on the back read: Author. I was immediately offended and of course, it had nothing to do with an obvious difference in economic status. Okay, maybe a little. I reminded myself that we were meeting our financial obligations and I had already decided this was the primary goal. Therefore, I had nothing to be ashamed of. So I stomped on the gas and left that new Lexus in the dust.

I know of other writers who measure everything based on income. They don’t even engage in routine household chores because their earning power as a writer easily covers paying someone else to clean. From an economic standpoint, if you’re earning $50-$60 an hour as a writer and you can pay someone else to clean your house at $10-$15 an hour, you’re way ahead. I simply approached it from a different perspective.

Now I don’t particularly like housework. And I’m not all that skilled in home repair either. But I decided that participating in both and teaching those skills to my kids held other values related to quality of life. Although I’ve seriously questioned that level of quality while cleaning the inside rim of a dirty toilet.

Work and Family…the never ending tug of war

When you work at home, you face a constant battle between family responsibilities and work. Part of the whole attraction to the freelance life is that you’re more available. It’s nice to be around when there’s a problem and able to run errands when the need arises. But when these interruptions become the rule rather than the exception, it creates difficulties.

Therefore it’s important to establish a work schedule and stick to it as much as possible. Perhaps it’s early in the morning before the family gets up or late at night after they’re in bed. If you have young children, you might hire a baby sitter for a few hours during the day. Obviously, a deadline is a deadline, which may require adjustments. But the more you’re able to achieve a regular schedule that everyone in the family understands, the better off you will all be.

Help family members understand there is a difference between their convenience and their need. The potential for building significant memories occurs when you seize the moment. My advice is to take advantage of them when you can. But sometimes, a deadline must take priority over playing in the backyard and you shouldn’t feel guilty about saying “no” to your child’s convenience when you’re providing for their basic needs. There has to be give and take.

Personal self-discipline is essential. Stay on task during your scheduled work time. Reading the mail, catching part of Oprah and chatting on the phone with friends will quickly consume your time. Then you’ll be guiltily trying to catch up during family time, which will create even more conflict and further guilt.

How professional is professional?

My first office was a corner in the kitchen next to the phone so I could connect to dial-up Internet. With a website and e-mail, it’s amazing how professional you can look. Occasionally however, clients called on the phone and I’d converse with kids fighting in the background. Learning to muffle and un-muffle the telephone during a conference call became an art form.

Several men suggested I would enhance my professional image if I worked out of an office or at least installed a business line to keep children from answering the phone. Women thought a man working at home with the kids was very cool. So I focused my efforts on gaining and maintaining women clients.

There is something to be said for professional presentation. You will have to decide what is right for you and your clients. For the most part, I discovered that handing in polished copy on deadline, making revisions in a timely manner and maintaining a friendly, willing disposition was by far the most important key to professionalism.

Freelance writing is not for everyone. I know of many who tried it and decided they needed the structure and steady income of a regular job. But if you can handle messy and frustrating, manage the unpredictable and adapt on the fly you’ll find that freelance writing is a rewarding career and satisfying way of life.

Chip Tudor is a freelance copywriter with a sense of humor who is experienced in writing for all media. http://www.chiptudor.com http://www.chiptudor.com/blog chip@chiptudor.com

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