A Day in The Life of A Freelancer

Some people seem to revere freelancing careers as sort of free money. Images of no work and lots of money float through their heads and they think "I wish I had it that easy!" Well the reality is that a freelance life is not easy and it is most certainly not free money -- It is hard work for very little money. At least at the start.

There are a gazillion ways to get into freelancing, whether you're coding, writing, researching, whatever. The problem is that these gazillion ways seem to be reserved for those who have actually put tons of effort into wiggling their way in and gotten into the not-so-illustrious freelancer fold.

Woe to the newcomer, long hours, irate clients, and sporadic pay days are on the horizon! Get a year's worth of coffee ready, because you're going to drink it all in two months trying to stay awake and make your deadlines for the same amount of money you could make in a single day at a regular job.

You are going to lose sleep. You are going to feel pressure. Periodically through the day you are going to wonder why you do this to yourself -- BUT! At the end of the day, you can look back and think "I did something today." and feel good about yourself. Even if you're making beans and your rent is two months past due, there is still something in your head that beams pride over being a real and true independent contractor.

I get frustrated absolutely every time some person decides to ask me what could be so hard about what I'm doing. My fiancee is the biggest culprit of this, because he seems to think I have all the time in the world during the day to clean the entire house and make enough money to keep me going.

Writing isn't labor-intensive, writing is mind-intensive.

You can get a client who wants very specific work on things you have no clue about, but they're paying well so you are going to take it. You haven't had a well-paying client in months and you could really do with that extra cash in your pocket to actually use instead of push it all to food or bills.

Making money freelance writing is, in most cases, far more complicated than anyone who has never done it can imagine. You have to worry about the subject matter, the tone, the deadline, the client themselves, how you're going to fit all of your gigs into your schedule, and if you're ever going to get a big break.

On average it takes a freelancer 6 months to start seeing the real fruits of their labor, and some people are just not meant to write, meaning there is a good chance they will never make a good sum of money freelance writing.

The reality of freelance writing is that it is not easy money, and not just anyone can do it. You need dedication and flexibility to make it.

9AM: Wake up and make the strongest cup of instant coffee I possibly can. Get ready for the day and work out in my planner which things I want to work on that day. I can have anywhere from two to twelve articles lined up for a day.

10AM: Get to work. Some days I start with the most urgent, some days I start with the easiest. Whatever strikes me.

12PM: I usually start getting emails from clients around noon and I find out which things I should get to work on ASAP. I'll usually adjust my schedule accordingly. I also take this time to eat my first meal of the day and play around online for about an hour.

1PM: Back to work through the schedule which has undoubtedly been changed. From here on out it's "Most Important First, Okay!?" time for me.

3PM: Try to clean up around the house a little bit for about 30 minutes to keep my fiancee from tearing his hair out over the mess. Back to work at 3:30.

7PM: Slow down time, unless I'm working on something big. Around 7 I start to get burned out and distracted. Most days I'm working on several articles that all deal with the same thing, and it gets boring sometimes. I try to finish up by 8.

8PM: Quitting time, unless I'm working on something big. I get a lot of client emails around this time and get updated on the next day's assignments. After 8, I am free!

Various times of the night: I get client emails pretty consistantly at night or have to chat with them on Google to clear some things up. If I have a big workload coming up, I will work at various times throughout the night, usually on paper since my fiancee and I take turns using the computer.

Of course, there are some nights where I have to work through the night and end up not getting any sleep at all. Those are never any fun.

What now? I get back to work in a few minutes, that's what.

Freelance writing is not easy, and I know for sure that any sort of freelancing has the same kind of hectic, pressured workload that writing does. Making money through freelancing, no matter what kind, is not child's play and the difficulty should not be underestimated by those who have never done it.

If you want to make money freelancing, by all means, try your best. But it is not going to be the free meal ticket that most people assume that it is.