I hope the American workforce can make strides towards seeing the benefit in quality of work, rather than rigid schedules.

I understand what you said about being constantly auditioning; I totally get now why actors are so insecure. You are only as good as your last project, and there are no guarantees that someone is going to hire you for the next one. I am very fortunate that I have only had a couple of days where I haven’t had any work since I got my first gig, and I certainly don’t take it for granted.

But now that I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up, I have to say that I’m having the time of my life. I never get up and go to “work” because it doesn’t feel like work. And the worst day I’ve ever had as a freelancer beats the heck out of any day I spent in an office. It just wasn’t the right place for me. What I do now feels right.

Often when I tell people that I freelance and work at home, they say, “Oh, you’re so lucky, I’d love to do that!” And the thing I always warn them about is this: when you freelance, there are no days off, there are only deadlines. And when you do have a day off, chances are that means you’re unemployed and you better be trying to do something about that. When I say I’m not working or am in between projects, people tend to assume I’m going to museums or the movies all day. No, I’m trying to save money and looking for work.

Another thing I point out is that when you freelance, you’re always “auditioning.” Let’s be honest–when you work in an office, you can coast to some degree every so often. Maybe you don’t have the most important role in a project, maybe your company is in kind of a holding pattern during a slow season. No matter what, you’re still getting your paycheck. When you’re a freelance writer, you are always the most important person doing your assignment. If you don’t do absolutely top work or don’t get it in on time or have a difficult relationship with the person you’re working for, you’re not going to get hired again by that editor. Worse, if someone else asks that editor about hiring you and that editor just shrugs and says, “Well…” you’re not going to get that job either. So there’s a lot of pressure to always be perfect, I find.

That said, I couldn’t stand working in an office. I like working on my own and being responsible only to me and one editor. I’m glad not to constantly be dragged to meetings when I have other work to do. I’m thrilled not to have to deal with the trains during rush hour. Yes, it would be nice to have a steadier income and a more predictable schedule, but I hated more what I left behind than what I’ve found.