Is Freelance Writing Worth It? My Honest Take

Freelance writing is awesome, but is it worth it? If freelance writing has always been your dream job, then you’ve probably asked yourself that question a few (thousand) times. It may be easy to idealize the life of a freelance writer, but what does the reality look like, and is it actually worth it?

Whether or not freelance writing is worth it for you depends on what you value in a career. If you want the ability to choose your own working hours, get creative on projects, and be truly location independent, then freelance writing is definitely worth it.

Sometimes freelance writing means robotically pounding the keys for Google rankings and Amazon review sites. Other times it means writing about your passions from a beach in Bali. Freelance writing has ups and downs, but the unique perks of the job make the hardships worth it, especially in the time of Covid-19.

Freelance writing territory is always shifting. With disruptive technology emerging all the time, new tools are appearing every day. From autocorrect to AI writing programs, the market is broader than ever before.

Freelance writers also face more competition than ever before. Many of the world’s citizens have access to the internet, and more and more are upskilling every day. This can make freelance writing a pretty rough industry to break into, and horror stories abound.

There are plenty of things I wish someone had told me when I started out freelance writing. I’ve cobbled together some of the most salient reality checks and pro tips that I’ve come across to make freelance writing easily worth it.

Is freelance writing worth it?

First, we need to break down what freelance writing entails. It’s easy to think of a life of freelance writing as that of Hunter S. Thompson or Marie Colvin, tearing around the world on assignment, getting sent briefs on fax machines in the Commodore Hotel in Beirut.

Within six months of your first foray into freelance writing, you’ll be dealt a serious reality check. After pursuing what you believed to be a creative industry, your mind is full of jargon, just like your old job.

From another angle, freelance writing actually looks like this:

• Learning SEO copy
• Understanding Google’s algorithms
• Affiliate marketing
• Direct links
• Copyright-free images
• WordPress
• Headers 1, 2, and 3
• Black, grey, and white-hat marketing
• And on it goes

Just like a job in any other field or industry, being a freelance writer means learning things, often stuff that you would never otherwise be interested in. Maybe you like analyzing data; maybe you don’t. You’ll most likely end up doing tasks that you don’t particularly want to do.

Freelance writing means meeting deadlines, replying to emails, and keeping up with industry trends. You’ll also have to register as self-employed and file your own taxes — the horror.

But don’t let a few bureaucratic hurdles dash your hopes. They’re molehills, not mountains. In my mind, the mountains of freelance writing are epic in scale. I’ll go into them in more detail but here’s a quick list:

• Unparalleled freedom
• Working for yourself
• Learning a valuable craft
• Nimbleness and agility
• Being a Sell Sword (think GoT)
• Relatively pandemic-proof.

Pros and cons of freelancing

Being a freelancer, someone who hires out their skills on a job-by-job basis brings pros and cons. I’d say the biggest of both is the freedom it brings. Before becoming a freelancer, ask yourself if you really want that much freedom.

It sounds corny, but you have the ultimate freedom to decide who you work for, what jobs you take, which clients you work with, how much you work when you work, how you work, and on and on. As a freelancer, you’re in charge of everything.

It’s easy to think this means there’s no boss. That was one of the reasons I got into freelancing in the first place. But the reality is you have to become your own boss. You’re self-employed, which means you’re an employee and employer.

It’s up to you and only you to take care of your business pipeline, production, marketing, accounting, development, and HR. You have to find the work, bid for it, do it, and repeat the process again and again, and it can be relentless, especially at the beginning.

For some people, this amount of control and freedom is awesome, while for others, it’s the most terrifying thing in the world. If you bring an open mind to freelance writing, you’ll get a lot out of it. I found it easier once I started seeing it as a way to improve creative and critical thinking, as well as communication skills, instead of a way to relax and have fun.

If you’re an extrovert, freelance writing might not be worth it. It’s a relatively anti-social job with long spells spent alone, writing. On the other hand, it’s a perfect job for introverts, though there’s an equal danger of spending too much time alone with a screen.

You’re going to have to do your own taxes as a freelance writer. There are no benefits, pension, or holiday pay. While the gig economy is improving and there are plenty of good resources out there, it’s still one of the most precarious, unregulated industries.

Being a freelancer means you can live where you want and work as much or as little as you want. I also freelance because I’m engaging in what looks like a huge future economy — that of a highly-skilled gig economy. Making money on our computers and phones is the future, and freelance writing can get you into the game.

Remember, it’s freelance writing

If you love writing, then there’s no better gig. Freelance writers get paid to string words into sentences, paragraphs, and pages. The lance turned into a pen, which turned into a keyboard and dictation software, but words are still the tools of the trade.

One of the coolest developments on the internet has been Google cleaning up its algorithms. Now, instead of allowing shady blackhat techniques, they actively promote articulate, well-researched articles. Don’t ask me how they do it; I just know that it’s working.

Unfortunately, one of the harshest realities of becoming a freelance writer is the crap jobs you’re going to have to take at the beginning. Like every other industry, you’re going to have to grind at the bottom for a while. Try to see it as an opportunity to learn while you build a portfolio.

Another brutal reality about the industry is the rates that some clients pay. This is one of the results of a globalized freelancer pool. It can turn into a race to the bottom, and you’ll see plenty of rates for way less than minimum wage.

On the plus side, this makes it easy super to start out. If you’re willing to trade pay for experience, you can easily grab a few contracts to get your portfolio up and running. This is why so many freelance writers start freelancing as a side hustle from their regular 9-to-5 career.

If you don’t mind writing about treadmills one day and prom dresses the next, and use every job as an opportunity to improve your writing, then freelancing is definitely worth it. If you come in with realistic expectations, life will be a lot less stressful.

Shortcuts

To finish, I want to pass on some of the best tricks and tips of the trade I’ve collected during my time freelance writing. I learned some the hard way, while luck kept me out of the worst hornets' nests.

First of all, try to get things before you need to do them. This applies to deadlines, tax returns, learning how to write SEO copy, and pretty much every aspect of freelance writing. Once you’re in the grindhouse of bidding, writing, hitting deadlines, and repeating, it’s a lot harder to free up time. So, get a diary — physical or digital — and learn how to use it.

To improve your writing, check out Grammarly. To find work, check out UpWork and Freelancer, as well as the other freelancing websites. Weigh up the pros and cons of writing articles, blogs, listicles, product reviews, and eBooks. Learn as much as you can about SEO writing.

Then, try to find a niche or two or three in which you will become an expert. The industry wants experts, and developing your knowledge in a particular field is essential for success. To get started, think about your interests and hobbies, even if you did them as a kid.

After that, all you have to do is crank out a million words, and you’ll make it. Time and practice is the only true path to success. Freelance writing is an opportunity to navigate the world by using your words. Sound good? Then it’s definitely worth it.

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For more articles like this, check out my blog which’s dedicated to freelance writing and how to make the most out of your career.