The Path To Freelance Writing Full Time

After taking some much-needed time off in May, I decided it was time to buckle down and really make an effort toward something I’ve wanted to do for a while: freelance writing full time.

Writing has always been part of my job in some capacity. It’s the aspect of work I most enjoy, but I’ve always had doubts about whether I could make a living doing it full time. There’s a reason the “starving writer” archetype is a thing.

Up until now, the majority of my income has come from consulting on all kinds of PR and digital marketing stuff, from social media to email marketing to PR and beyond. As you might imagine, this was chaotic. Over the last few months I’ve been zeroing in on writing, putting myself out there for more gigs and working to build up my income from it. I just sat down and took a look at the numbers and slowly but surely, I’m making progress.

What’s Working

I’ve ended all but one of my digital marketing contracts to make more time for writing. The one I’m holding onto is a longtime, low-maintenance client that I really enjoy working with. It’s nice to still have a little recurring income to count on each month. I’m saying no to everything else that isn’t specifically writing.

I reworked my profile on Upwork, a marketplace for freelance work, and started using it to apply for writing jobs. I used Upwork all the time back when I was breaking into freelancing, but as my workload grew I let my profile collect cobwebs. This was fine when I wasn’t actively looking for work, but now that I am, I want to make sure people know I’m available.

So far I’ve landed one awesome website copywriting project from Upwork and a few smaller one-off gigs. I’m hoping to build up the larger contracts more over the next few months. Those will be key to making this sustainable full-time.

I’ve also started reaching out to agencies and media outlets for freelance projects. A lot of times marketing or advertising agencies will outsource work to freelancers, and publications often use freelancers to supplement the work of their full-time staff. I have a few solid leads from these channels that I’m hoping will develop into ongoing work.

Why I’m Interested In Freelance Writing Full Time

Earlier I touched on what kind of work I was doing previously—a little bit of everything in the digital marketing arena. While this was great for making money, it made work-life balance a challenge.

By trying to be all things to all clients, I was setting myself up to get burned out on the regular. Need an email campaign? I can do that. Set up and run your Facebook ads? Sure, why not. Have a question about your website at 8 p.m. on a Friday? I better take that call.

The phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” feels suspiciously familiar. By not specializing in one thing, I was running myself ragged trying to keep up with all of the things. Not only that, I was making it impossible to become a true expert in any one area and stretching myself way too thin in my availability with clients.

Writing is great in that it doesn’t need to be done strictly during business hours and it doesn’t require a ton of hand-holding with a client. For the most part, there are a set of guidelines at the start of a project and a bit of back-and-forth communication throughout, but it doesn’t force me to be glued to my phone or computer like I have been in the past.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, the path I was on didn’t seem to have a future. It wasn’t something I could realistically see myself doing for the next ten years, and I had no desire to hire employees and grow into a larger operation. I felt like I was just going through the motions rather than working toward something.

Fear Of Failure/Imposter Syndrome

Even as my writing projects grow, some things I’m still working through are the fear of failure and imposter syndrome. I think this is something a lot of freelancers deal with, even those who have been in the game for a long time.

Can I really make a living writing full time? What if it doesn’t pan out and I can’t pay my bills? What if a client bails and leaves me high and dry after the work is already finished? Even though I’ve been self-employed for more than four years and have yet to find myself living on the street, I still have anxiety about job security.

Yesterday morning was a perfect illustration.

I’m in the middle of a decently sized copywriting project which I mentioned above. I was excited to land it because it’s the kind of contract that would make freelance writing full time very feasible. I just submitted the first half of the work for review, and the client messaged me to ask if we could have a quick phone call.

My reaction was completely normal and totally justified: I panicked.

He hates the work. He’s backing out of the contract. The paycheck I’d been anticipating wasn’t going to materialize.

We had the call. Of course, none of those things were true. He just wanted to give feedback in real time instead of typing it out.

Even though I know those kinds of worries aren’t rational, I still have them and they feel very real. I’ve heard from a lot of other freelancers who describe similar feelings, so I know it just comes with the territory of doing something unfamiliar. It’s something I have to continue to work through.

Why Not Just Get A Real Job?

If you’ve made it this far, you may be wondering, why not just get a “real job” and eliminate all this anxiety? It’s a valid question. My husband asks me at least a dozen times a week.

But the truth is, I’ve gotten spoiled. Setting my own schedule and not having a boss is completely awesome, and for me the pros of being self-employed still outweigh the cons, even if it means I have to deal with a little more mental anguish than your average 9-to-5 employee. I’m in it for the long haul.

AND ANOTHER THING. Contrary to how a lot of well-meaning people will make you feel, freelancing is very much a “real job.” The number of freelancers in the U.S. topped 57 million in 2017 and continues to rise. If you’re not a freelancer or working among them already, you probably will be soon.

Next Steps

Right now my game plan is to keep doing what I’m doing and continue to grow my writing portfolio. I have a number in mind that I want to hit for my monthly take-home pay. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer as the months go by.

I plan to focus less on smaller writing gigs and more on projects that pay better, like large copywriting assignments or becoming a regular contributor to a media outlet. Cobbling together a decent salary from freelance writing is a challenge for sure, but what once felt like an unrealistic goal is starting to feel more possible. I’m excited to see where it takes me.

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