Freelance writing is a burgeoning industry since self-employment is more suitable for the millennium generation due to its freedom and flexibility. Some of the advantages for writers include clients’ independence, the ability to choose projects and decide on the rates and working schedule themselves.
However, before jumping to freelance writing, there are certain benefits and drawbacks that you should consider. Here today we shall be outlining some of the strengths and weaknesses so that you may be in a position to appreciate some of the challenges that are likely to face you when you want to balance your freelance writing business properly.
What is Freelance Writing
You should understand that freelance writing is kind of like being a writer for hire, which means you are not working for any specific company. But you have several employers with whom you cooperate on one project at a time. Here’s a breakdown of the key aspects:
- Self-employed: There are no set working hours and you work directly for the client that you close a deal with and you stipulate your own rates of charges.
- Project-based: Some of you may find it advantageous not to have a fixed, steady job with a particular client and instead of going to work on a number of individual writing assignments for various clients.
- Variety of writing: Any type of writing can be freelance writing and the most popular types are blog posts and website content, e-books, ghostwriting and many more.
- Client selection: Employment choices in freelance work allow you to select the projects you want to undertake and the clients that you wish to associate with.
Why is it important to know the pros and cons of freelancing?
It is important to familiarize yourself with the merits and demerits associated with freelance writing. It encourages your readiness to undertakings that are different from the conventional ones it offers. Understanding what you stand to gain and what you stand to lose. This knowledge prepares your mind and prevents disappointment most especially when freelancing is not as lucrative as was expected.
Another aspect that concerns the nature of freelancing despite its numerous benefits are issues connected with personal satisfaction and mental health. Knowing this is instrumental in putting more effort into the development and sustenance of the professional contacts, something that contributes to a great freelance writing career.
Pros and cons of freelance writing
Writing independently means being your own boss and there are several benefits attached to freelance writing. Although the job type comes with a list of drawbacks as well. It offers some autonomy that you find interesting and freedom when it comes to work that compels you but it also has its own challenges. Among these, some of the most frequent are irregular income and the need for personality self-regulation. It is always important for a person to make a right decision regarding his career and the above advantages and disadvantages can be very vital in this venture.
Pros of Freelance Writing
Independence
Freelance writing is a job that has a certain degree of freedom in comparison with a general job. Finally, as a freelancer, one has full control of their work, freedom to decide which way their career is going, and can even build personal strategies for business. This type of independence brings you to have more control of your career and in extension, job happiness.
Flexibility and Freedom
That is why freelance writing is considered a good option as it offers a large amount of freedom and opportunities to manage time. There is no fixed business hour, with this; you set your working hours depending on your best working frequency. They can therefore attend to other responsibilities than work related needs better than they would if they were practicing any other standardized profession.
Income Potential and Growth
Freelance writing is also lucrative and known to offer its writers a great deal of financial prosperity. While in many cases there is a ceiling on how much one could earn within a specific company. A freelancer has ways to earn more by expanding the number of projects they accept, increasing the rates with additional services. Whether it is a freelance or a full-time job, the income capability can improve as the skills improve.
Work from Anywhere
This therefore means that freelance writers do not work under a specific geographic area. You can complete your work from home, from a café, from an office space or even when traveling. This geographic flexibility is useful to improve your quality of life as you do not have to perform a job to feed your family at a certain geographic location.
Variety of Projects
Freelance writing typically includes the assignment of various projects with numerous types of works in different sectors and areas of interest. There is so much of the project that is varied in nature and having this type of work that you do not get bored. A new project can always pose different goals or problems and at the same time new opportunities can also be expected from it.
Creative Freedom
Being a freelance writer is often not as secure as a daytime job but it offers writers more freedom in terms of creativity. It also offers flexibility in choosing projects that reflect the interests and specializations of independent contractors providing them more control over the creative process of completing the work.
Work-Life Balance
Compared to other conventional methods of employment freelance writing provides better work-life balance. This is because you are your own boss and you are able to make time for your family to engage in other activities of your interest and relax. This balance gives more significant results by lowering stress levels and satisfying work-life balance, thus improving well-being.
Choice of Projects
Freelancing is one of the best ways to enhance the quality of working life since one does not have to work on projects that do not match with interest. You are fully free to choose the project that suits you. Also, choosing flexibility provides a freedom of working schedule because you can manage your timing with this choice of project. If any project has the possibility of making you a burden you can ignore it politely.
Flexible Work Hours
One of the pretty impressive features of freelance writing is the ability of fixing one’s own working time. Just from what I have observed on my own, I understand that you can work during the most convenient time in that you could wake up early in the morning to commence work. It also allows people to be more productive and happier in their work since they can have more say in their working environments.
No Commute
Freelance writing saves writing time because one will not spend time commuting to the workplace that reduces stress levels. Since working in an office is not mandatory, you get to start your work early in the morning leaving more time for leisurely wake up. Such can also lead to some level of cost reduction especially in relation to transport.
No More Mandatory 9-5
It breaks you free from a set schedule of hours that are compulsory and are usually within the 9am to 5pm working hours. It does not have specific implied time constraints like a traditional working environment and this frees one to plan for the work in a way that suits lifestyle. This freedom makes working more satisfying where most of the day one spends doing a particular job was your own fulfilling choice.
Networking Opportunities
Freelance writers can meet and communicate with other people and create a large contact base with other persons of various occupations. That means you can work with various clients and other freelancers, if needed. Such connections also mean the chances to meet the potential partners for future cooperation along with the establishment of strong business relationships.
Superior Skill Building
Freelancing typically involves the correspondence services and need ability to market oneself, make deals and manage projects. On the other hand you have to write for many industries and topics that require research and understanding before writing. So, if you are a freelance writer then your skills will become superior day by day because of this career nature. This superiority will bring opportunity in your career and life.
Cons of Freelance Writing
Inconsistent Income
The first and perhaps the biggest disadvantage of freelance writing is the inconsistent income that a writer is bound to receive. This means that freelancers like freelance writers do not hold a fixed position with a set pay and are not restricted to a scheduled pay structure like that of a regular employee. This element could make it difficult to budget as expenditure might be high when the earnings are low hence it would be necessary to build a financial reserve for the lean times.
Potentially Isolating
Since freelance writers work independently, they often feel isolated. This kind of employment involves spending most of their time alone at home and not in a centralized building like an office. Meanwhile, solitary confinement may result in loneliness and may be detrimental to the health of the prisoners’ minds thus the need to look for ways of developing a strong community to mitigate the effects of loneliness.
Difficulty of Self-Promotion
Promotion is an important element of freelancer work however many writers consider this as a hard and tiresome task. Due to this, marketing itself and creating personal brand awareness yourself to possible clients may not be easy to execute or time consuming and may not come easy to some people due to lack of skills. Freelancers require clients to offer services thus need to market themselves in order to survive in the freelancing business.
Lack of Job Security
On the downside, freelance writing is not as secure as it does not guarantee a fixed level of employment. While being employed is highly coveted, you may find yourself out of work after losing a particular client or not getting a new project as soon as you expected. Such inconsistency can be quite stressful and it becomes a task to continually seek for new client interests and to retain existing projects.
Inconsistent Workload
Freelance writing is quite a flexible type of job; a freelancer might not get any work for several days and then get a contract for a large project. It may be a case of feast and famine where there are folders of activities to do for a few days then no activities to do for a few days. Studying for exams and writing term papers is another challenge that may demand excellent time management skills and flexibility to work on different projects at the same time when they are due.
Uncertain Benefits
There are several issues involved in freelance writing because freelance writers work independently and their employers do not offer several privileges such as; health coverage, pension schemes, holidays, among others. Such is the case as freelancers do not receive any medical benefits. They have to buy insurance on their own, they have no retirement plans provided by an organization they work for. Freelancers do not have any paid vacations, holidays or sick leaves as these are all difficult and expensive.
Tax Worries
Freelancers are not protected by the employer who on the behalf of the employee ensures that they pay their taxes to the government. They have to be on their own and pay self-employment taxes. As it entails the recording of income and expenditure, comprehending and sometimes seeking an accountant’s assistance in order to adhere to tax laws to avoid penalties in instances when they may potentially apply.
Requires Self-Discipline
Freelance writing requires regular work and lots of discipline and dedication in the course of the writing work. If there is no strict organizational structure as in a usual office, then working can be in a way unproductive since people may just put off tasks so they do not get easily distracted. Freelance jobs require the employee to organize well for time and be able to deliver on the given time without supervision.
Finding Clients
The hardest part of freelance writing is always finding a constant supply of customers that will hire the writer for their projects. It spans constant advertising, branding and negotiating for new clients’ business. This process may take time due to competition from other freelancers and rejection may be expected. You need determination to become relevant in offering the services by the clients.
Final thoughts
This career is quite diverse and offers writers a lot of freedom in choosing the work they undertake. However, as we have seen on this blog many times, it offers many benefits including; freedom, independence and of course the possibility to earn a lot of money. This is because it lets people work from anywhere, select specific tasks and therefore have more time for themselves. On the positive side it offers job flexibility and independence but it also has its drawbacks such as uncertain earnings and loneliness, requirement of self-motivation and self-organization.
By developing these aspects further it aids in giving a realistic expectation of the freelancing profession and the tools required to endure the freelance writing world. Thus, you need to bear those advantages and disadvantages in mind when you devise your strategy of self employment as a freelance writer. By doing so, it will also enhance your chances of career advancement in the life line. May you have all the luck with your career as I have always wished you all the best.
