15 Professionals and Cons of Being a Freelance Author

On this publish, I’ll be discussing the principle professionals and cons of freelance writing. Whether or not you’re contemplating a radical profession change, or just curious about earning a bit of extra money online on the facet, 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 a lot of – which is why I do it), there are undoubtedly a number of downsides as I’ll clarify under.

If this can be a profession you’re contemplating, be sure to take a look at my publish on the best freelance writing courses online, and my review of the Knowadays course (which is at the moment providing a 25% low cost using this link and promo code GOATS25).

For me, the most important benefits of freelance writing embody the pliability to decide on when and the place you’re employed, in addition to the flexibility to determine precisely what sort of work you wish to do. Nonetheless, on the flip facet, there isn’t any job safety and no assured paycheck every month.

It’s vital 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. General, I believe the disadvantages of being a contract author are vastly outweighed by the quite a few advantages. However, it is advisable contemplate what’s best for you.

Professionals of Being a Freelance Author

Listed below are a number of the key benefits of being a contract author. This listing 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.

Keep in mind that each job is totally different, and each freelance author is exclusive. So, the particular professionals and cons of being a contract author will fluctuate in response to 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 every of my favourite issues about freelance writing is the large quantity of flexibility it presents. As a freelancer, you may have whole management over your schedule, together with when, the place, and the way a lot you’re employed. This flexibility might be particularly useful for individuals who have children or different commitments.

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

For instance, should you’re feeling burnt out, wish to attend a good friend’s marriage ceremony in Italy, fancy a spontaneous highway 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.

After all, 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 vital distinction!

2. Autonomy

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

You have got whole freedom over which purchasers you wish to work with, which initiatives to just accept, and the way you wish to deal with them. The period of time you wish to spend researching and writing is completely as much as you, as is how a lot cash you determine to cost to 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 figuring out that I’ve whole company over what I do and the place my profession takes me. It additionally permits for lots of non-public progress and improvement, as I’ll increase on under.

3. Numerous Tasks

Some of the thrilling elements 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, primarily, 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 do this. Once more, you get to set the principles (therefore the autonomy, above)!

So, say you’ve at all times fancied dabbling in inventive 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 nicely.

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

4. Talent Improvement

Following on from the earlier level, selecting to work on a various vary of initiatives is, in my expertise, a sure-fire means 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 in the future, craft social media posts for a model the following, draft advertising emails the following, after which assist write an e-book or white paper the following… 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 forth.) which helps to make sure you’re always studying. Having a various vary of initiatives helps make you a extra versatile author with a broader set of abilities.

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

5. Work From Wherever

One other huge perk of being a contract author is the flexibility to work from anyplace. I’ve gotten paid to do freelance writing from some wonderful 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.

Normally, your purchasers don’t care the place you’re, 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 may have a steady internet connection abroad and an influence outlet, you possibly can principally work from virtually anywhere on the planet. That is large for anybody who loves touring and with the ability to do it for quite a lot of weeks per yr of annual depart.

It’s additionally one of many explanation why freelance writing is such a popular job with digital nomads and different distant employees. Actually, that is the principle motive 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 possibility to construct a wide-reaching net {of professional} relationships.

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

Plus, having a robust community may assist offer you assist and sources that is perhaps helpful sooner or later. It’s additionally a good way to construct your personal private model and get your title on the market.

7. Work-Life Stability

In my view, it’s a lot simpler to take care of a wholesome work-life steadiness as a freelancer than as an worker. I say “for my part” 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 steadiness. Based on these individuals, as a result of freelancing is inherently much less steady 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 must be the case. Whereas being self-employed does, after all, include its personal pressures, and requires appreciable self-discipline and onerous work, autonomy is essential.

The large quantity of flexibility you acquire means that you could select the way you wish 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 may have the facility to engineer an incredible work-life steadiness.

8. Inventive Freedom

Inventive freedom is a serious benefit of being a contract author. As a freelancer, you may have 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 wish to do.

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

If you happen to select the correct initiatives (and purchasers), you will get lots of private achievement out of your work. It additionally means that you can select to put in writing for publications or purchasers that align together with your private values and beliefs.

Cons of Being a Freelance Author

Whereas I actually get pleasure from freelance writing for the entire causes mentioned above, it’s not excellent. (No job is, proper?) There are undoubtedly a number 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 together with your eyes open, having made an knowledgeable determination. 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 Revenue

For me, one of many best 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 may have 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 might be tough to handle. It’s vital to have a buffer of money in your account if potential so that you simply’re not left in a precarious monetary state of affairs you probably have a quiet month or, for some other motive, 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 is advisable be your personal boss. This implies setting deadlines and targets for your self, being organized together with your time, and making certain you retain your self on observe.

It’s vital to have the ability to steadiness the workload of a number of initiatives, whereas on the identical time maintaining together 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.

Typically I additionally discover that working alone for lengthy intervals of time could make it more durable to remain motivated, given the dearth of colleagues and coworkers to provide assist or recommendation.

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

3. Probably Isolating

Being a contract author might be isolating at occasions, particularly should you 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 no less than at all times any person 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 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 character – together with how introverted or extroverted you’re, and the way a lot you prefer to socialize on the whole. Working from coworking spaces will 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. Typically, 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 provide staff 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 principally apply to staff solely.

As a freelancer, employment regulation protections usually don’t apply to you. If one among your common purchasers immediately stops needing your providers or their enterprise goes underneath, that’s too dangerous for you – you’ll want to exchange that revenue from someplace else.

This lack of stability might be powerful, particularly you probably have monetary commitments akin to lease, a mortgage, payments, or childcare prices to pay. It’s additionally why I’d at all times advocate having a number of totally different purchasers to diversify your revenue streams and defend your self from sudden adjustments.

5. No Worker Advantages

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

Which means that you’ll must cowl these bills your self, which might be expensive. Medical health insurance, specifically, could be a large expense for freelancers, particularly in international locations the place healthcare isn’t free. It’s vital that you simply finances for these extra prices.

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

6. Having Too Few (or Too Many) Purchasers

One other main con of being a contract author is needing to strike a steadiness between the variety of purchasers you may have at one time. As mentioned above, as a freelancer, you’re usually not assured a gradual stream of labor, and it’s frequent to 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 supplying you with work or goes out of enterprise? Unhealthy issues, so far as your funds are involved.

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

It’s a tough one and requires you to strike a great steadiness, which isn’t at all times straightforward. Actually, 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 must deal with extra admin than an worker. This contains duties akin to consumer outreach, invoicing, organising and paying right into a pension, retaining observe of your bills, and managing your personal taxes.

Freelancers are often paid gross with none deduction for tax, so it is advisable be sure that you retain enough data to allow you to file your tax return annually. You additionally want to make sure that you truly manage to pay for to pay your tax invoice at any time when it falls due – don’t make that mistake!

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

Professionals and Cons of Freelance Writing: FAQ’s

Listed below are solutions to some ceaselessly requested questions in regards to the ups and downs of being a contract author.

Conclusion

If you happen to’re curious about being a contract author, it’s vital to assume 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 vastly outnumber the disadvantages. However, after all, all people’s totally different. Both means, I hope this publish helped make your determination a bit bit simpler.