Is Freelance Writing Only a Work From Home Job?
May 7, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Freelance Writing Business
My friend Anne Wayman at About Freelance Writing only posts what she calls the “true” freelance writing jobs. Anne feels that if you can’t do it in your bunny slippers, it’s just not freelance. As much as I respect Anne and what she does, I have to beg to differ. I feel a freelancer is someone who isn’t tied down to one job or employer, it doesn’t matter if one works at home, on site, in the park or at the local coffee shop. The dictionary agrees:
Also, freelancer. a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.
When I worked in publishing, we employed all sorts of writers. We had staff writers and freelancers who worked both in house and out of their home offices. I admit, I was envious.
I was envious of the freelancers who only came in to drop off work because they didn’t have sit in a boring cube all day listening to the girl on the other side gossip incessantly about the boyfriend she was going to break up with – but never did. These freelancers did the job from a remote location, took time off any time they wanted and didn’t even have to work for us anymore if that’s what they wanted. It was the good life and where I wanted to be.
I was envious of the freelancers who worked in house too. Whether they came in to work on a project for one day, one week, or a couple of months, they weren’t tied down to one job and could change scenery as often as they liked. If they didn’t like a project, they could move on, not do the same tedious chore day in and day out. I found that appealing as well.
Get out of the house, people! There’s a whole world of writing out there!
Nowadays when many writers think of freelancing, they wouldn’t dream of leaving their homes, but there’s a whole world of writing opportunities out there! Imagine being able to leave your home for a couple of hours to work with others while the kids are in school, or taking a break from your day to drop off an assignment. What better way to learn more about your client and his needs?
I know of one freelancer who turned down a very lucrative opportunity because she “just didn’t feel like” meeting a potential client for lunch to discuss his project. If she couldn’t do it via email and her kitchen table, she wasn’t interested, even if it did pay well.
Now, I know many freelance writers prefer working in the comfort of their own homes, and that’s fine. My point is, don’t discount jobs where you can work inside an office for a week or two either. Just because you’re not working from your home office, doesn’t mean it’s not a freelance job.
- Why We Include Jobs for On-Site or Local Freelance Writers
- For Clients, Hiring a New Freelancer is Like a Box of Chocolates: They Don’t Know What They Are Going to Get
- The Freelancers I Called First
- 10 Work at Home Truths (That No One Will Admit)
- Oh No She Didn’t! A Small Rant For People Who Don’t Get It
I’m not against leaving home for work on principle, my only problem is time. Two hours is not a lot of time to do anything considering that it takes a minimum of 30 minutes to get anywhere. But you make good points and pretty soon my time will free up. Then I’ll just have to get over my anxiety of dealing with people face to face.
I actually describe myself as a writer/consultant, for the reasons you mention. “Freelance” does have that bunny slipper connotation, while “writer” and “consultant” have a more businessy feel.
I certainly do leave the house – sometimes traveling for clients. And the reality is that my work is 90% writing. I’ve realized, though, that the fact that I actually know a lot more about my product and process than my client does makes me a consultant as well as a freelancer. My clients do rely on me to know, for example, how to put together a grant proposal; how to engage a 10 year old reader; how to interview a scientist and put his responses into standard English.
Lisa
I agree with you completely Deb. There’s nothing stating that freelance equates to “work at home”. I think writers are among the rare freelancers that are able to work solely from home. If you’re a freelance photographer or IT professional, I don’t think the idea of working solely at home even crosses your mind. There are many freelancers that need to go into an office or outside working environment. While working from home is a nice comfort that I prefer, if the job was worthwhile, the pay was good and it was within reasonable commute, I would definitely consider going in to an office to work.
One thing that is more of a sticking point for me is to maintain control and flexibility. When I see “Needs to work/be available from 8AM to 3PM” or whatever the specific time frame may be, I turn the other way. If I have to have hours and working conditions dictated to me, I might as well go work at an office again. Any job that is to demanding or controlling in this fashion doesn’t seem like a good freelancing opportunity, imo. Being able to plan my own schedule and take a few hours off if I want to is one benefit of freelancing that I’m not willing to give up, unless it’s very lucrative to do so.
Good points made by all. As Chris says, why is it that in other freelance jobs people wouldn’t assume they’d be at home all the time? I’ve done long contract jobs where I was working in an office and taking meeetings with other people on the project – but, except for deadlines (kind of a big exception), my time was my own, and I got a lot of creative say which was satisfying.
I think this does raise issues not only of dealing with people but of having to choose whom you deal with face-to-face, especially on a long project. Although I must say it seems as if I’ve been stiffed on a completely-in-home project where I had fun exchanges with the people and was getting good feedback – right up to the minute the project was done.
Hi Deb, thanks for the link… as you can see on my blog I’m pretty stuck in my ways
I’m glad others enjoy working in offices… those offices need people!
I love working from home – or on the road – or at the ballgame – or where ever I happen to be at the time. It makes living the life we’ve been dreaming of possible (and I can write of a portion of the trips we take)!
Many freelance writers live in areas where there are no ‘office’ freelance opportunities (obviously this depends on the type of writing you do). As a rural dweller I’m not into a long 3-4 hour commute just to go where the publishing and writing jobs and clients are. I think many freelancers who can take advantage of having ‘local clients’ tend to offer full consulting and add-on services that many work-from-home-only freelancers, like myself, are unable to do – simply because of location.
I disagree that “Freelance” has a bunny slipper connotation. The only place you’ll find that phrase is on Freelance Writing advice sites. Your clients are not thinkling about bunny slippers when they hire you. If your client should happen to mention feelings, issues or concerns about what you are wearing when you work from your own home – I would suggest finding a new client.:)
Freelance doesn’t so much describe your place of work as it does your employment status. The term originated in Europe when landowners hired personal fighters, or ‘free lancers’ who fought on any side. For some freelancers (and I agree with a previous comment that ‘writer’ or ‘consultant’ may garner more respect), location is a key factor. For myself, the ability to work from home, outweighed the extra effort of being my own boss that regular office work provides. As consultants, we regularly make office visits to work with clients.