FreelanceWriter
Detroit, MI
Female, 30
After working in strategic communications and marketing for five years after college, I decided to make the move to full-time freelancing--mostly, to give me the freedom to travel. I've been freelancing for three years. At any given time, I'm writing for 5-10 print and digital publications, covering everything from engineering to travel. Common projects include copy writing, research reporting and academic writing.
I wondered how long it would take someone to ask me that! I get an email or a Facebook message asking the same question about once a week. :) My definition of "comfortable" is being able to buy and do pretty much what I want (within reason) without worrying about it or living paycheck to paycheck. When you average out the low-income months (traveling in developing countries and working 2 hours per day) and higher-income months (traveling/living in the US or Europe and working a max of 5 hours per day), it comes to about $40,000 a year. Obviously, that salary comes with some limitations. If I want to work 4-5 hours a day, I'm not going to... Read More +
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I'm fortunate enough to have great clients who respect my work and recognize when I'm the authority. If they make changes, it's usually to refine the technical or scientific content. (I do a lot of writing about highly complex technologies and research projects.) I love that type of editing because I can learn from it. Plus, if I have clients who are truly irritating, I can dump them. :) When I worked for a communications agency, it was different. My job was to put out great writing AND pacify clients to maintain the company's relationships. Academics are the worst. I sent a technical piece to one interview subject (an engineering researcher)... Read More +
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I ran into a seriously slow period just once--the fear was enough to motivate me to change the way I work. I was working with only two clients at that point, and one of them lost their government funding. Luckily, I had another project coming right down the pipeline, but it was terrifying to realize that I could lose half of my income in an instant. Now, I've added more clients, so I have a very steady supply of work. I also put in place a few backups that I can turn to if things go south. One of them, which I hope I never need to use, is content mill work--Demand Studios and CloudCrowd. Both sites have a large supply of work, pay out frequently... Read More +
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I'm certainly not a fashion industry expert, but I'm guessing it varies by publication. Obviously, Vogue.com is going to have different standards than SHEfinds.com. If you're aiming for a website that has exceptionally high readership or is connected with a respected national publication, the blog probably won't be enough. You'd probably also need some type of published sample to show that you understand journalistic writing and that you can work within the professional writing environment. If you are looking to write for a website that has a more informal tone, is not connected with a print publication or has a small readership, the blog... Read More +
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Programmer
Why are so many developers such bad communicators?
Antiques Dealer
How easy is it to forge a rare piece, and are fakes a big problem in the antiquing world?
Dry Cleaner
What happens to clothing at dry cleaners that goes unclaimed?
The short answer: I don't work for free and I never have. When it comes to compensation, I have complete control. As a freelancer, I can negotiate my rate and turn down low-paying jobs. If I am not being compensated fairly, the blame lies entirely with me. Many freelancers fall into the trap of writing for a pittance, just to get by or just to build a portfolio. The truth is, an employer that doesn't value a writer's work is not worth your time. There are plenty of companies and organizations that are willing to pay reasonable rates--you just have to put in the work to find them. Many writers make the mistake of quitting their jobs to... Read More +
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I've always been a fairly competent writer, mostly because I've always been a voracious reader. Reading is a big part of writing well--it introduces you to sentence structure, helps you recognize misspellings and grammatical errors. It also teaches you how to break the rules, which is more important than you might think. In answer to your question, yes, I was told that I was a good writer in elementary school, high school and college. Of course, the definition of "good" writing changes rapidly as you move beyond essays and term papers. In college, I learned that I am a terrible creative writer. I like to infuse creativity into non-fiction... Read More +
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Good question! For anyone that's interested in a writing career, here's what I suggest: 1. Identify your current areas of expertise. There is a market for pretty much every topic, especially on the Internet, so anything can qualify. Someone who's been a stay-at-home mom will have a wealth of knowledge about parenting, feeding children, cleaning and probably health issues. A female professional in a mostly-male industry might be able to talk about issues of equality, overcoming workplace obstacles and professional communication. 2. Find publications that specialize in those topics or have a section devoted to them. Start with online publications,... Read More +
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