15 Execs and Cons of Being a Freelance Author

On this put up, I’ll be discussing the primary professionals and cons of freelance writing. Whether or not you’re contemplating a radical profession change, or just interested by earning a bit of extra money online on the aspect, this one is for you.

I’ve been doing freelance writing for a few years now. Whereas I completely love the advantages of being a contract author (and there are various – which is why I do it), there are undoubtedly a couple of downsides as I’ll clarify under.

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For me, the largest benefits of freelance writing embrace the pliability to decide on when and the place you’re employed, in addition to the flexibility to resolve precisely what sort of work you need to do. Nonetheless, on the flip aspect, there is no such thing as a job safety and no assured paycheck every month.

It’s necessary that you simply bear this stuff in thoughts when deciding whether or not or not this can be a profession (or side hustle) that may give you the results you want. Total, I feel the disadvantages of being a contract author are vastly outweighed by the quite a few advantages. However, it’s good to contemplate what’s best for you.

Execs of Being a Freelance Author

Listed here are among the key benefits of being a contract author. This checklist displays my very own private expertise, in addition to the experiences of different people who I do know who work as freelance writers. There’s numerous overlap between every level, however I’ve damaged them down for the sake of readability.

Do not forget that each job is totally different, and each freelance author is exclusive. So, the precise professionals and cons of being a contract author will fluctuate in accordance with every particular person and their particular person circumstances. Nonetheless, the next are some common benefits which are prone to apply to most individuals.

1. Flexibility

One in all my favourite issues about freelance writing is the large quantity of flexibility it affords. As a freelancer, you’ve got whole management over your schedule, together with when, the place, and the way a lot you’re employed. This flexibility could be particularly useful for individuals who have youngsters or different commitments.

It’s arduous to overstate fairly how a lot of a recreation changer this flexibility is, significantly when put next with a “conventional” job – i.e. full-time, in-person employment. You’ll be able to set your individual hours and take as many breaks, or as a lot time without work, as you need. It’s superior!

For instance, if you happen to’re feeling burnt out, need to attend a buddy’s wedding ceremony in Italy, fancy a spontaneous street journey, or just want a change of surroundings, you possibly can take a day (or every week, or a month) off with out having to ask for permission out of your employer or boss.

In fact, you continue to must handle the expectations of your purchasers. Nonetheless, the dynamic is completely totally different from being an worker. You simply must allow them to know what you’re doing – you don’t must ask permission. It’s an necessary distinction!

2. Autonomy

One other main perk of being a contract author is the autonomy it offers. This goes hand in hand with flexibility (see above). As a freelancer, you might be your individual boss. So, you set the foundations – together with how you want to define “success” in your profession.

You may have whole freedom over which purchasers you need to work with, which initiatives to just accept, and the way you need to deal with them. The period of time you need to spend researching and writing is solely as much as you, as is how a lot cash you resolve to cost in your work.

You even have management over your profession development. No extra inflexible employment hierarchy with another person dictating when or whether or not you get a promotion! Personally, I discover this degree of independence actually liberating and rewarding.

I’m a lot extra motivated understanding that I’ve whole company over what I do and the place my profession takes me. It additionally permits for lots of private development and growth, as I’ll increase on under.

3. Numerous Tasks

Probably the most thrilling points of being a contract author is the truth that you possibly can work on no matter initiatives you need. Some freelance writers select to specialize and area of interest down greater than others. However, basically, the selection is yours.

If you wish to tackle a various vary of initiatives and discover a number of totally different niches or industries, you possibly can completely try this. Once more, you get to set the foundations (therefore the autonomy, above)!

So, say you’ve all the time fancied dabbling in artistic fiction writing. However, you’re additionally a fan of doing a little bit of travel writing and completely love writing persuasive advertising copy. As a contract author, you possibly can select to do all of this stuff in the identical week, supplied you handle your time effectively.

You’ll be able to increase your ability set and discover new subjects as a lot as you need. This not solely helps to maintain issues attention-grabbing and difficult, but it surely additionally provides you the chance for steady studying and development.

4. Ability Growth

Following on from the earlier level, selecting to work on a various vary of initiatives is, in my expertise, a sure-fire method of creating new abilities and broadening the vary of your experience.

For instance, as a contract author, you would possibly select to write a blog post for a website at some point, craft social media posts for a model the subsequent, draft advertising emails the subsequent, after which assist write an e-book or white paper the subsequent… And so forth – you get the image.

Additionally, you possibly can select to have a variety of purchasers throughout a broad spectrum of sectors (e.g. journey, advertising, monetary, enterprise, and so on.) which helps to make sure you’re consistently studying. Having a various vary of initiatives helps make you a extra versatile author with a broader set of abilities.

Moreover, freelancers usually should handle their very own admin and enterprise operations. For some individuals, this can be a drawback of being a contract author. Nonetheless, you possibly can see it as a chance to develop transferable abilities comparable to time management, group, and monetary admin. See Additionally: best apps for freelance writers

5. Work From Wherever

One other large perk of being a contract author is the flexibility to work from anyplace. I’ve gotten paid to do freelance writing from some superb locations all around the world, together with once I was living as a digital nomad in Mexico, Costa Rica, Albania, Italy, Sri Lanka, and even a distant nook of the Scottish Highlands.

Basically, your purchasers don’t care the place you might be, so long as you get the work achieved to a sufficiently excessive normal. Once more, that is completely totally different from most employment relationships. (I actually hated being employed, in case you hadn’t figured.)

So long as you’ve got a secure internet connection abroad and an influence outlet, you possibly can mainly work from virtually anywhere on this planet. That is large for anybody who loves touring and having the ability to do it for quite a lot of weeks per 12 months of annual go away.

It’s additionally one of many explanation why freelance writing is such a popular job with digital nomads and different distant staff. The truth is, that is the primary purpose I selected to do it.

6. Networking Alternatives

Being a contract author can open up alternatives for networking with individuals throughout a variety of sectors. If you happen to select to work with a various unfold of purchasers, you’ll have the prospect to construct a wide-reaching net {of professional} relationships.

That is clearly an effective way to increase your skilled community. Connecting with fellow writers, editors, purchasers, and different professionals in varied niches can result in a wealth of latest job alternatives and but extra priceless connections sooner or later.

Plus, having a powerful community may also assist offer you help and assets that is likely to be helpful sooner or later. It’s additionally an effective way to construct your individual private model and get your identify on the market.

7. Work-Life Steadiness

In my view, it’s a lot simpler to keep up a wholesome work-life stability as a freelancer than as an worker. I say “in my view” as a result of it’s a little bit of a contentious debate, and I’ve had discussions with different freelancers who disagree with me on this.

I’ve heard individuals say that working for your self can provide you a worse work-life stability. In keeping with these individuals, as a result of freelancing is inherently much less secure than employment, there’s a bent for freelancers to overwork to compensate for it. That is undoubtedly true to an extent.

Nonetheless, in my very own private expertise, it doesn’t should be the case. Whereas being self-employed does, after all, include its personal pressures, and requires appreciable self-discipline and arduous work, autonomy is vital.

The massive quantity of flexibility you achieve means which you can select the way you need to construction your work life. So long as you’re in a position to handle your time successfully, together with consciously permitting your self sufficient downtime, you’ve got the ability to engineer an incredible work-life stability.

8. Inventive Freedom

Inventive freedom is a serious benefit of being a contract author. As a freelancer, you’ve got the chance to work on initiatives that really curiosity and encourage you. And, conversely, there’s no person forcing you to do any initiatives that you simply actually don’t need to do.

Moreover, the elevated choices and management over your profession trajectory (mentioned above) means which you can select to concentrate on areas that offer you extra artistic expression if that is one thing that’s necessary to you.

If you happen to select the proper initiatives (and purchasers), you will get numerous private achievement out of your work. It additionally lets you select to write down for publications or purchasers that align along with your private values and beliefs.

Cons of Being a Freelance Author

Whereas I actually take pleasure in freelance writing for the entire causes mentioned above, it’s not good. (No job is, proper?) There are undoubtedly a couple of downsides to being a contract author, which I’ve set out under.

I’m not making an attempt to place anybody off right here from becoming a freelance writer. I simply need you to enter it along with your eyes open, having made an knowledgeable resolution. That mentioned, not all of those points will have an effect on each freelance author, however I’d nonetheless advocate contemplating the next.

1. Unpredictable Earnings

For me, one of many biggest disadvantages of being a contract author is the dearth of economic stability. As an worker, you usually receives a commission each month, on the identical day, usually the identical quantity. This makes it simpler to plan financially as you’ve got a predictable revenue.

As a contract author, it’s the other. Your revenue can fluctuate drastically from month to month, and never all purchasers pay on time. Some months you would possibly earn extra, some months you would possibly earn much less. If you happen to don’t get any work, you don’t receives a commission in any respect.

This lack of economic predictability could be difficult to handle. It’s necessary to have a buffer of money in your account if attainable so that you simply’re not left in a precarious monetary scenario when you have a quiet month or, for another purpose, your revenue drops off.

2. Requires Self-Self-discipline

Freelance writing requires a substantial quantity of self-discipline. Since you work for your self, it’s good to be your individual boss. This implies setting deadlines and targets for your self, being organized along with your time, and guaranteeing you retain your self on observe.

It’s necessary to have the ability to stability the workload of a number of initiatives, whereas on the identical time maintaining along with your different duties and common life admin. Talking frankly, this was a little bit of a problem for me once I first began working for myself.

Generally I additionally discover that working alone for lengthy intervals of time could make it tougher to remain motivated, given the dearth of colleagues and coworkers to present help or recommendation.

In the end, you want to have the ability to encourage your self to work arduous and write creatively, even on days once you don’t actually really feel prefer it. It’s additionally necessary to have the ability to stability work with leisure to assist keep away from burnout.

3. Doubtlessly Isolating

Being a contract author could be isolating at instances, particularly if you happen to work remotely by your self.

Earlier than turning into a contract author, I used to work in an workplace in London. Whereas I actually didn’t benefit from the workplace politics and performative tradition, there was a minimum of all the time someone to go for a espresso with, or to cease by and have a chat.

Now I work for myself, I discover myself needing to make extra of a acutely aware effort to socialize with different individuals. It’s not an excessive amount of of an issue for me, however it’s one thing to consider.

Whether or not or not this is a matter for you relies upon, partly, in your persona – together with how introverted or extroverted you might be, and the way a lot you prefer to socialize generally. Working from coworking spaces may also be a great way to get a dose of social interplay and fight emotions of isolation.

4. Lack of Job Safety

This one ties in with the purpose about unpredictable revenue. Usually, being a contract author doesn’t supply the identical job safety {that a} conventional 9-5 job does.

Most international locations all over the world have legal protections in place that supply workers a level of job safety. These fluctuate from nation to nation (they’re particularly strong in Europe compared with the US). Nonetheless, the important thing level right here is that these protections largely apply to workers solely.

As a freelancer, employment regulation protections typically don’t apply to you. If one among your common purchasers immediately stops needing your companies or their enterprise goes beneath, that’s too dangerous for you – you’ll want to exchange that revenue from some other place.

This lack of stability could be robust, particularly when you have monetary commitments comparable to lease, a mortgage, payments, or childcare prices to pay. It’s additionally why I’d all the time advocate having a number of totally different purchasers to diversify your revenue streams and shield your self from sudden modifications.

5. No Worker Advantages

Workers usually obtain advantages comparable to medical insurance, paid time without work, and retirement contributions from their employer. Sadly, these perks will not be usually out there to freelance writers. That’s the worth you pay for all that freedom!

Which means you’ll must cowl these bills your self, which could be pricey. Medical health insurance, specifically, generally is a large expense for freelancers, particularly in international locations the place healthcare isn’t free. It’s necessary that you simply funds for these further prices.

And, whereas that is undoubtedly not monetary recommendation, it’s extraordinarily necessary to have monetary provisions in your retirement. In any other case, outdated age goes to suck – critically.

6. Having Too Few (or Too Many) Shoppers

One other main con of being a contract author is needing to strike a stability between the variety of purchasers you’ve got at one time. As mentioned above, as a freelancer, you’re typically not assured a gradual stream of labor, and it’s widespread in your revenue to fluctuate significantly.

Some individuals select to attempt to fight this by doing numerous work for one or two purchasers. Nonetheless, what occurs if one among these purchasers immediately stops providing you with work or goes out of enterprise? Dangerous issues, so far as your funds are involved.

So, as we agreed above, it’s necessary to diversify your revenue streams. Nonetheless, working for plenty of totally different purchasers comes with its personal challenges, together with managing competing deadlines, expectations, and usually greater ranges of admin and problem.

It’s a tough one and requires you to strike stability, which isn’t all the time straightforward. The truth is, that is one thing that I usually discover most difficult about working as a contract author.

7. Extra Admin

As a self-employed freelance author, you usually should deal with extra admin than an worker. This contains duties comparable to consumer outreach, invoicing, establishing and paying right into a pension, preserving observe of your bills, and managing your individual taxes.

Freelancers are often paid gross with none deduction for tax, so it’s good to be certain that you retain adequate information to allow you to file your tax return annually. You additionally want to make sure that you truly find the money for to pay your tax invoice every time it falls due – don’t make that mistake!

These admin duties require you to be pretty organized. They may also be time-consuming and, for many individuals, a bit overwhelming. But it surely’s essential that you simply carry on high of them to maintain your online business working easily and stop additional complications down the road.

Execs and Cons of Freelance Writing: FAQ’s

Listed here are solutions to some often requested questions concerning the ups and downs of being a contract author.

Conclusion

If you happen to’re interested by being a contract author, it’s necessary to suppose critically about whether or not it’s a profession that’s appropriate for you. There are numerous professionals and cons of being a contract author, which fluctuate from individual to individual and job to job. It’s important to weigh up whether or not the professionals outweigh the cons.

For me, the advantages of freelance writing enormously outnumber the disadvantages. However, after all, everyone’s totally different. Both method, I hope this put up helped make your resolution a little bit bit simpler.