Don’t mind old Herne up there. He’s just being a god of the hunt – possibly a Celtic one.
I got bored with the idea of a “freelance” picture.
Anyway.
It’s nice to feel wanted. This week, I was twice – twice – approached for freelance work.
Tag Archives: freelance writing
Freelance Weekend: Big Project
I spent most of last weekend right here, in front of the computer.
While I typically don’t work on the weekends, I do keep tabs on my email and try not to completely lose track of jobs and clients.
But, last week I accepted an assignment that was, in comparison to the majority of my work, massive. Because it was due on Monday, I knew I’d be doing most of it over Saturday and Sunday.
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Freelance Adventures: Guest Posting
Ok, third post of the week. I know. I can hardly believe it either.
No guarantees for next week. Just sayin’.
So what’s new on the world of freelance for Katie you ask? Guest posting, that’s what. I got an email about two weeks ago from a client I worked with several months back, asking if I would be able to help out with some guest postings.
I’ve always enjoyed working with this client – he’s straightforward and dependable, which are not to be taken for granted in the freelance world. And bonus, his timing was impeccable, as some recent client turnover has put me on the hunt for work.
Hint, hint.
Anyway, long story short, I’m now an “outreach assistant” for certain web sites. This means that I try to land guest postings on blogs that write on topics fitting with said web sites, and simply put site URLs in my author bio.
Fabulous things about this:
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Freelance Mommy: 2 Months In
I’m not gonna lie – working from home with a new baby is tough.
Hence the infrequent posting.
I began incorporating some work back into life after Iris was about three weeks old. I started slow with just a few little jobs here and there. The biggest thing I did was go into the office where I answer phones and do some work for a friend’s publishing company, and that was just two shifts of two hours each. Most of the time was spent gabbing about the baby anyway.
But now, we’re over two months in, and I’m already more than three weeks past when many women go back to full time. I certainly am not pushing myself to work anywhere close to 40 hours – I have to breastfeed and wash diapers and play with my daughter, and those are time consuming tasks.
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Winding Down Freelance…
There are lots of nice things about working as a freelance writer, one of them being that when you have to, you can put real life first without feeling like it’s inconveniencing your co-workers.
I’ve been fortunate for this through my entire pregnancy. I’m a person who deals well with a very specific sort of stress, and very poorly with another. Basically, when I have a lot to get done, like buy a house, plan a wedding, go to class, go to work and maintain a social life, I thrive.
But if I have any health/physical situation that makes me concerned or less capable than usual, I sort of crumble under slight pressure.
Working out of the house, on my own time and terms, has allowed me to make a healthy pregnancy the priority. I haven’t had to deal with taking time off for appointments, or finding a minute to call the nurse when I have a question or sitting in a cubicle when all I want to do is work on the bed.
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Seven Months Free(lance)
Last night I went back and read my first freelance Friday post. I wrote it just over seven months ago, on what happened to be my sixth wedding anniversary.
My tone was pretty confident, considering I was secretly six weeks pregnant and technically unemployed, and about to tackle the annual season that had temporarily broken me the winter before. I’d like to call myself brave, but the truth is that I had a bed I’d made and some unavoidable challenges. I had no choice but to adopt a good attitude.
I’m happy to report that, while I’ve not made the millions every freelance writer dreams of, I remain steadfast in my decision to leave my job. The most important reason for this is that I firmly believe my pregnancy has been much healthier than it would have been in my pre-July 22 condition. Stress is an evil, evil thing, and not worth the (underpaid and underchallenged) position I occupied.
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The Varied Topics of Ghostwriting
I’ve done a lot of ghostwriting over the past few months. Most of this is typical content work that ends up somewhere in the back stacks of the Internet, driving traffic to the client’s web site.
My name is not on this content work, and that’s alright. It’s not usually masterpiece quality – just something to pay the bills. I simply take the money, as well as a little bit of amusement in the random things I’ve learned over the week.
For example, I’ve researched vintage cars, tourist attractions in Indianapolis and a college prep school in Dallas. I’ve become very familiar with the concept of online DJs, the process of renting a dumpster and what one would look for in a criminal defense attorney.
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I Gots Biiiiills!
Dearest freelancing lifestyle, I yet have so much to learn about you.
One of the things we give up when we leave employee status is the guarantee of a regular paycheck. Presumably, our gigs and a staggered pay schedule will fill in the gaps.
Of course, this assumes that people pay you for work within a two week period. But as I have learned, if there is no contracted pay plan, it might take folks a while longer to get that check in the mail.
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Freelance? Place an Advert
Here’s a thing: Advertising my writing services. Novel.
I mean, I have business cards, a twitter account and this blog, but I haven’t really done any actual advertising, where I pay someone to present my info through their media outlets. Part of the reason is that I don’t have much extra budget to speak of. Also, an easy opportunity has never presented itself.
Until now.
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The Content Farmer
There once was a girl who could write. She could write very well, and given the time, might have even written a book.
Sadly, this girl also had bills to pay, student loans to fulfill and a growing family. Her decision earlier in the year to quit a job that, while somewhat maddening and stagnant, provided a steady paycheck was keeping her on her toes. There was very little time for creative fun and the generation of magic on paper.
Known to society as a “freelance writer”, this girl balanced herself between moments of excitement and inspiration and bouts of panic over her insistence to buy organic apples. If only she could grow content and fresh produce.
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