The Financial Price of Freelance Writer Freedom

Honing your skills as a freelancer could lead to a full-time position

My life as a full-time freelancer ended abruptly when the opportunity to use the skills and passions I’d spent a lifetime honing dropped into my lap unexpectedly.

Out of the blue, I was offered a dream job as a full-time senior editor. Not only did the position allow me to write and edit, but it also allowed me to coach and mentor writers and editors who were starting their careers.

I had spent three years enjoying a semi-retired life as a freelance copyeditor/journalist/writer. It was the life I thought I’d live until I could “retire” for real. (Like that will ever happen.)

I knew what I was doing was not as fulfilling as I would have liked, but as I’ve always done in my life, I trusted the Universe to know better than me.

It’s as if a giant spiritual Alexa kept reminding me that “chop wood, carry water” — a phrase that originated from Zen Buddhism and emphasizes that mundane things are necessary to achieve a goal, even if they aren’t exciting — was very much alive and well in my career.

The Challenges of Freelancing

The freelance life is one of freedom. But it’s also a life of financial challenges that come with not knowing how big your next paycheck will be or from where it will come.

It’s a life and job status in which many people find themselves as the business model for so many industries shifts to accommodate a world of lowered business profits, and the implosion of brick-and-mortar businesses makes way for “click to place in your cart” online marketplaces.

While freelancers and contract employees allow businesses to maintain a diverse pool of workers without providing the benefits full-time employees require, this sometimes leads to lower standards and quality.

Freelancers are skilled workers who value what they do, but let’s not kid ourselves. Because they still have to put food on their tables, they have one eye on the project they’re working on, and the other is looking ahead to the next project on the horizon.

But here’s a phenomenon currently making its way up through the imploded foundation of what were once traditional businesses. Full-time employees are making a comeback as businesses realize that there’s nothing quite like the loyalty and commitment that a staff member offers.

Why? Because when a company believes in you, you believe in the company.

To put it more bluntly, a freelancer that a company hires full time will be more loyal to a company than someone who must look elsewhere to supplement the income they make from just one company.

If you’re a freelancer seeking full-time work, always remember that.

Freelancing Demands Full-Time Focus

In my three years as a freelancer, I met dozens of others in my shoes. Some people loved that life. Others were doing it because it was the only way they could afford to pay their bills while looking for full-time work.

If you’re freelancing for a company and hope to one day work there full time, trust that when that company is ready to hire a full-time employee, it’s in their best interest to hire from their dedicated and loyal freelance talent pool.

And one day, when what you’ve been waiting for suddenly drops in your lap, you’ll be glad you chopped wood and carried water.

Here’s what first forced me into the freelance lifestyle.

Barb Besteni is a writer, spiritual seeker, former rock star, and animal lover who, at 65, finally achieved the below 20% body fat composition that eluded her in her younger days. After 35 years of writing, copyediting, and producing content for local, national, and international television news, she left the newsroom for the comfort of her home office. Get an email whenever Barb publishes a new story on Medium: https://medium.com/@barbbesteni/subscribe.

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