Get a Freelance Life Mediabistro.com's Insider Guide to Freelance Writing

PART I: Are You Ready to Be Free? Chapter 1: Is Freelancing Right for You? Things to Consider Before Taking the Plunge So you want to be a freelance writer. Welcome to the club. There are many wannabe freelancers out there but only a limited number of talented, dedicated, motivated, hardworking, and successful freelance writers. It's not that it's an impossible goal; it's that freelance writing is hard and demanding workalthough potentially very rewarding. It's doable, if you're cut out for it. Here are eleven questions to ask yourself before deciding whether freelancing is right for you. 1. Do you like being alone? Working at home is certainly a luxuryyou can sleep in, work in your PJs, take a break when the sun is out, or meet friends for a long lunch. But it can also be lonely. There's nobody standing at the water cooler (or at your fridge) waiting to discuss last night's reality-TV program. There's nobody to vent to after an editor asks you for the third rewrite of a piece that was a bore from the beginning. And you have only yourself to rely on when trying to come up with a catchy headline. The good news is that many writers have developed creative techniques to deal with this isolation: heading to a coffee shop every morning for a cup of joe, the newspaper, and some conversation; weekly meetings with different editors; a class at a nearby college; regularly scheduled lunches; volunteering a few hours a week; or even partaking in online discussion groups. Loneliness will kick in, so be sure you can handle it. And have a plan to nip at least some of it in the bud. 2. Where are you now? If you've been working as an accountant for the past fifteen years, even if you're very proud of what you publish in your diary each night, it's probably not yet time to jump ship for a full-time freelancing career. That's okaythe great thing about freelancing is that you can start doing it while you're still doing something else. You can slowly but consistently start accumulating writing samples (known as clips) and establishing connections; this lays the groundwork for a freelancing career. On the other hand, if you've been getting published fairly regularly (let's say once or twice a month) in a few different publications that pay at least decently (around $1 a word), you might be in a better spot to make a go of it. But you'll need to continue to work your connections correctly and leverage what you've already been doing. And you'll need to be realistic. If you've been employed as the restaurant reviewer at a community newspaper for the past two years, don't expect to quit and jump right into freelance travel writing. And before you say hasta la vista to your boss, work to keep a relationshipand even better, a freelance incomewith your current employer, if you can. This is key. The benefits of having a steady gig set up before you set out on your own are great. And don't be afraid to ask yourself some of those dreaded interview questions, such as "Where do you want to be in five years?" WHEN TO MAKE THE MOVE "There's never really a completely safe time to start a business. It's always a risk. But one good way of going about things is to start your business while you are still employed. If you're a staff writer, start building a client list of freelance assignments. Yes, it's tiring to have a full-time job and then work on the side, but it sure beats not being able to play your rent. Once you get a list of clieRagland, Margit Feury is the author of 'Get a Freelance Life Mediabistro.com's Insider Guide to Freelance Writing', published 2006 under ISBN 9780307238030 and ISBN 0307238032.