Pros and cons of going freelance as a writer/editor

A personal reflection

Freelancing. It’s freedom of choice. It’s a fully flexible work life. It’s freaking out daily. It’s forging your own path. It’s flapping about in uncertainty. It’s following your own values. It’s finding your own work family. It’s forgetting to do your admin. It’s funding your own way. It’s failing to remember why you’re doing it. It’s frightening and fulfilling.

I’ve been freelancing since 2011 and still feel all of that, most days. 

But before we look at my pros and cons for becoming a self-employed writer or editor, let’s take a quick peek at the when and why of that decision.

My when and why: seeing a window after walking on broken glass

If you’re considering going freelance, there’s the matter of timing and motivation.

Some people are pushed

I get a lot of ex-colleagues from my time working in publishing houses asking me what it’s like to be self-employed. Often this question comes hot on the heels of redundancy announcements or as a fall-out from some ‘role redefining’. The question feels heavy with hopeful curiosity because they’re wanting self-employment to be the answer when unemployment is staring them down. I’m glad I wasn’t in their position, but I did have a deadline by which to make my decision to leave employment.

Some people, like me, find themselves looking through a rare window of opportunity

My decision to work for myself came after I walked barefoot on broken glass. Not even kidding. Towards the end of my maternity leave, my sister and I went to an empowerment workshop. It worked. I felt empowered enough to tell my employer I wasn’t coming back to work after maternity leave.

The decision took me by surprise. I’d always embraced and actively sought out security when it came to income, regular hours of work, job stability. So to choose to walk away from that was a shock - to me and those around me. But I knew I had to at least give freelancing a go. And my reason weighed 7lb 4oz.

Some people are born to it

Others go into self-employment because it’s just how they roll. They’ve had an independent streak and an I AM BOSS tshirt since they learned which way the loo roll hangs, so it’s a natural progression for them to make their own rules, lay out their own plans, and be their own boss when it comes to employment. 

This was not me.

Some days the bossing it bit comes naturally. Other days, I hide from things (social media and new client leads) like a short-necked tortoise.

3 pros of freelance writing/editing

Drum roll please for my list of 3 great things about freelancing as a content professional.

1. Flexibility

This is my favouritest thing about freelancing, especially living with kiddiwinks, mental health swings and other unpredictable factors. So long as you get the job done, you can work when and where it suits you. 

I can still feel twists of guilt that I'm not always at my desk 9 to 5, but nobody’s judging. And I’ve only had to ask for an extension twice. Ever.  I’ve worked in frustratingly small stolen moments when my kids were little. Spent many evenings and weekends catching up from my flexible liberties (taking a stretchy tea break with a friend in need). Freelancing gives me the freedom to use the time available to me, whenever those pockets arise, fitting around other demands (and occasional whims)  in my world.

And lest I forget, my reason for joining the self-employed brigade was to be there for my kids. Which I have been. Even when they’re asking why they can’t go to breakfast club like their friends.

2. Autonomy

I know, I know, I said I didn’t want to be my own boss and I have next to zero natural bossing it abilities, but not having to do what someone tells you to when they want it feels soooo damned good! And not once having to explain why you’re late for work (traffic, tantrum, apathy), want an afternoon off to hear a herd of 5-year-olds squeak unrecognisable Christmas songs or need a duvet day to rebalance is a dream.

Having the autonomy to decide who to work with is massively satisfying too. Working by your own values and letting those values lead your business strategies is a gift as well.

Being able to market your company and present yourself authentically in whatever fashion you see fit, without adhering to fixed, starchy and questionable corporate values and branding makes me feel so … me!

3. Variety

Variety. It’s spicy. It’s lifey. It’s all mine! 

As an in-house editor, I worked for years solely on education publications then all law materials. Nearly a decade of my life was spent using the same two style guides on the same two ranges of resources. I don’t regret those years and they taught me a lot about the craft. Plus, I worked with some fabulous human beings who I’m friends with to this day. But! Where was the variety?

In my freelance work, a week’s worth of jobs often shapes up something like this: write a blog for a music app, edit a PhD business ethics thesis, write a section of a technical manual, refresh some webpages for a life coach and draft some newsletters for a wellbeing company.

Boom!

3 cons of freelance writing/editing

And now the downsides, for balance (and so I can have a whinge). My 3 struggles with freelancing as a content professional are as follows.

1. Flexibility

Work and life cohabit in my house and my brain.

I’m getting better at setting boundaries, but still find I contact clients out of hours and finish off jobs when the kids are in bed despite having worked my full office hours that day. 

Work is always there, whispering through the door. Sometimes hard to switch off.  Impossible to drown out. 

Bellowhead at full volume helps.

2. Autonomy

There’s only me! Nobody tells me what to do. Decisions need to be made. Things need to get done and I am at the helm of ALL departments - HR, Publicity, Marketing,  PR, IT, Accounting. And I can’t hide behind anyone - there’s only me! Sometimes the pressure and responsibility of having only myself to lean on is overwhelming.

A good network of fellow creative freelancers helps.

3. Variety

I specialised in education, business, law and linguistics in my lengthy freelance editing career before I started content writing alongside. Having a specialty is great for finding your niche and becoming that credible professional with a solid reputation.

Now, in my writing career, I have variety. And it’s exciting! But I don’t yet have a niche per se, so how do I advertise and market successfully without a more specific target client base? It’s something I need to work on, for sure. Saying I’m a content writer for small businesses with similar values is still meaningful, but too wide-ranging. 

The fear for most freelancers is not knowing where the next job will come from, so the tendency is to accept any jobs that come your way, whether they match your values and goals or not. That’s great for working on varied content, but can leave you a little directionless and, at worst, sullied by the experience.

Trusting in yourself that you can find work that doesn’t leave you compromised helps. (And the regrettable, dodgy first job you took on to build your portfolio makes for a good laugh over a cream bun a few years down line!)

6 of one, half a dozen of another

As you can see, freelance editing and writing has, in my experience at least, so many positives. Really meaningful ones that allow me to live and work in a fulfilling job that suits me and my family. But for each upside there’s a corresponding downside. Not always as powerful, but certainly as present.

And I haven’t even mentioned money (there’s lots of useful info online about that - see below). Let’s just say most self-employed content professionals could earn more in-house (especially when you consider lack of holiday and sick pay, and only being paid for the work you do, not just for showing up). But the trade-off is worth it (when you can afford it) for the other benefits it brings that you can’t put a price on.

There’s a lot to weigh up when considering a freelancer life, so I hope I’ve given you food for thought and that you come to a decision that meets your needs and wants.

I’ll be writing more about the different challenges and celebrations of freelancing, but for now you can find some excellent advice on starting out from a fellow Yorkie copywriter, the ever-so-talented Helen Reynolds, the Ink Gardener: https://www.inkgardener.co.uk/writing/freelance-copywriter-uk/

For more from me, keep checking my blogs. And if you have any questions or want to chat about working together, drop me an email and brighten my day!