Writing on a blog is instant publication, so it’s easy to feel like every post should represent you as an authority on a certain subject. Broadcasting what you don’t know or mistakes you’ve made? That’s intimidating. But since this blog follows my continuous efforts to balance my creative and freelance writing, it’s important to divulge slip-ups and setbacks.
My commitment to creative writing is constantly in flux as I explore my abilities and my limits. As for work, though I’m well into my first year of freelancing, every job brings me a new lesson. I’ve been lucky to mostly work on projects that actually interest me, making those moments of 20/20 hindsight much easier to bear. In many cases, we need to screw up; the determination to not make the same mistake twice can really turn a mistake into a practical lesson.
Recently, I lost focus in my creative writing because I spread myself too thin and miscalculated my workload. Here is what I found:
[Intensive Thai language course] + [one big freelance project]
+ [a handful of small freelance projects] = [too frazzled to create]
For the past two weeks, I have forgone my daily word counts on all but a few days. The silver lining? I realized daily writing had become enough of a habit that skipping it made me feel dissatisfied. Now that my class ends on Friday, my mornings will be free for daily writing once more. I’m quite excited. For those who read my writing goals, I’m pleased to say that I did not let myself down on the “one submission per month” — August’s submission made it into the post (er, into cyberspace).
In the spirit of hoping others can learn from my mistakes, here are some lessons I’ve learned:
1. Ask MANY questions before giving a quote. Ask all about the project and expectations of your client. If you’re still not clear, don’t think, “OK, well I guess I’ll figure it out when I start the job.” Ask more! I learned this after quoting too low for an interesting but very time-consuming project.
2. Specify a minimum charge. It feels kind of silly to send out an invoice for $11.
3. Don’t feel guilty about charging what you deserve. If you are confident of the quality of your work, you are entitled to be duly compensated. I hate talking money, but I also hate not making any. I’m learning to keep my sympathy in check when it comes to quoting rates.
4. Hold on to what truly matters to you. Do not forget your priorities, and do not compromise them. For those of you who know me in person, you know how much I value this: all my goals, loves, values, and instincts fuse together as my “angel.” (For those who don’t know me yet, I mean that in an entirely secular context).
What have you learned the hard way? What are the best mistakes you’ve made?
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For me, one of the biggest challenges during the first year of freelancing was balancing work and personal writing. I recently crossed the one year mark and it’s still somewhat of a struggle.
By the way, I’ve been trying to subscribe to your blog but it’s not working. I’m not sure why, but the feed comes up empty. Just thought you might want to know.
I haven’t reached the one year mark yet, but I’m sure balance will still require effort. Sometimes simplifying seems tougher than letting yourself run into overdrive.
By the way, the RSS feed should be working now. Thanks for alerting me!
Hi Zoe
Here are my three tips, from someone who’s been successfully freelancing for just over two years now:
1. Learn to love the downtime. When you first start out, it’s easy to be terrified if you don’t have any work pencilled in for the following week, say. But something always turns up and before you know it you’re wishing you hadn’t wasted your downtime worrying about having the downtime!
2. I once read that freelances spend a third of their time looking for work, a third of their time doing the work, and a third of their time trying to get payment for the work. I’ve found this to be largely true – and I price accordingly. Which brings me onto my final point . . .
3. If some people don’t say you’re too expensive, then you’re not charging enough!
Clare
@Clare – Well said. Sometimes it takes too long for freelancers to build up confidence that allows them to follow the tips you’ve listed. It certainly helps to have reassurance from an established, successful freelancer!
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