Falling Into Freelancing (Again)
A spooky career update!
Provided that this post goes out on the day I scheduled it to go out, today is the first day of fall. You wouldn’t know that just by stepping outside in the Texas weather, but I’m actually not in the Texas weather! I’m currently in Salem, Massachusetts, visiting high school friends with my girlfriend. We have a four-hour to Acadia National Park tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited to view some foliage! If anyone has any recommendations, they might not reach me until I’m back in Austin. OOO, baby!
This trip started last Friday. When we booked it, we had no idea that this would kick off a new season for me.
No, not fall.
It’s a new season of freelancing.
Yup, I’m working full-time as a freelance ghostwriter again. Pretty spooky, huh?
A Quick Freelancing History
I started working as a freelance writer back in 2016. I might not have called myself that at the time, though. My first copywriting job was a full-time position, but I worked 40 hours a week as an independent contractor, unaware of what that actually meant and how many taxes I would be hit with the following April. I don’t say this to be sarcastic. I couldn’t be more grateful for this initial job. It may be the only time that I get a job by searching on Craigslist. (Again, not being sarcastic.) I learned so much through that position about writing, content marketing, and social media.
Back in 2016, I didn’t know where writing would take me. I just knew that I was a 23-year-old who wanted to save up money, move to Australia for a year, and see the world. Eight years later, I still have more of the world to see (Dolomites, Mongolia…you’re on deck), but I’m happy to say I’m still writing and somehow staying afloat doing so. After working full-time as a salaried employee for a year and a half, I have some great new ghostwriting clients and I’m exclusively ghosting again.
This time around, I know a lot more about being a freelance ghostwriter, but there are still plenty of unknowns ahead of me. Here’s what I know, and what I don’t know, about freelancing.
What I Don’t Know About Freelancing
Let’s start with the unknowns, shall we?
I know how much I will be making for the next six months. But I don’t know about the six months after that.
I don’t know, in six months, how much time I will be spending on ghostwriting projects versus a new business I am starting with my friend.
I don’t know what it looks like to balance a book tour with ghostwriting.
I don’t know how my novel will do and how it will affect my career.
I don’t know what surprises, for better or for worse, will come knocking on my/my family’s doorsteps in the next two, five, or ten years.
As I started writing this list, I realized that the unknowns aren’t all that terrifying. Maybe I am mistaking anxiety for excitement, but at this point in time, I’m happy to not know everything about the next few months, career-wise.
What I Know About Freelancing
Freelancing is not for the faint of heart.
I am very lucky to have eight years of freelancing behind me. I am Top Rated freelancer on Upwork with 100% Job Success. I am also a member of the Association of Ghostwriters and the Editorial Freelancers Association, so I know that freelancing platforms like Upwork are far from my only option.
My experience and resume made my job search significantly easier. (I was very happy to hear, in interviews that I did not land, that I was “the most experienced and the most expensive” on Upwork.) If I wanted to start a career as a ghostwriter or a copywriter today, I would have to take some crummy jobs with crummy pay.
I think there is something to be said for knowing what you are worth and being paid accordingly. Part of my journey back into freelancing has been significantly raising my rates from where they were three years ago, and yet I still know through EFA’s rates and mentors in AOG that I can raise them even higher. But that’s because I took a lot of lower-paying jobs many years ago and have a lot of experience. If you are entering a creative field, experience matters. A portfolio matters. Reviews and testimonials matter, and it takes a lot of time and work to gather everything and present it appropriately. And then it takes a lot of cajones to put all of that out there for clients who usually think you’re worth less than what you’re charging, even if you’re charging appropriately or on the lower side of industry standards.
Freelancing is not for the faint of heart, but after years of freelancing full-time and years of being a full-time employee, I know the struggles and the extra work are worth the freedom.
Freelancing is incredibly free…ing.
In some ways, backpacking for two years seriously messed with my head. I had ultimate freedom, with the ability to work when I wanted, travel where I wanted, and do pretty much whatever I wanted. As a result, I often felt lonely and definitely missed stability, so I did want to come home. But freedom is a hard thing to give up.
There is a lot of abstract freedom that comes with working for yourself. I’m going to keep things vague here, but I pride myself on being who I am at all times. When I’m talking to clients or colleagues, I prefer to have control over what I share about who I am and how I work with clients. And as a bit of a perfectionist, I am confident in the high standards I set for myself, the quality of my writing, and the service I provide my clients.
I just really feel much better when I am working for myself.
Freelancing is a big bungee jump into an ocean of possibility.
When I joined Upwork in 2016, while sitting on a ripped couch in a $5/night hostel in Kuala Lumpur, I had no idea what I was doing. I took whatever jobs were offered to me. I didn’t keep track of how much I was making and I pretty much took my freelancing career day-by-day.
This time around, I fell back into freelancing with a full load of clients (which is less than I can count on one hand, and I say that as a positive) and a side hustle that I’m building with a friend.
I know what the next few months are going to look like, job-wise. I know when I am going to have to look for additional clients and when I am going to start getting more serious about this side hustle. (No, I will not tell you about it yet…) And I know that I have the ability to leave time open to enjoy the release of my debut novel, to travel with my girlfriend, and to explore other creative endeavors.
Even when I worked 40 hours a week as a writer, I don’t know if I fully grasped that this was my career. I have always been insecure about saying I’m a writer or saying I have this creative job. Maybe landing a publishing deal was the kick in the pants that I needed to fully claim this as the way I pay my bills. Maybe I just have more confidence this time around. Either way, I know that the next year or so is going to be an incredible time to start fresh as a writer and set the path for my career moving forward.
Here’s to seeing where I go.