Comments on: Top 10 Ways to Tell You’re a Freelance Writer

By: Raechel

Raechel — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:59:07 +0000

This is all so true and so funny! I have been known to chant a new idea while driving until I get to a light and can write it down. In my purse and all over my house are little scraps of paper with ideas I have written down and sometimes at the store when I pull out my wallet a few forgotten ideas are uncovered. Lol!

By: 8 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Weight for Freelance Writers : Freelance Writing Jobs

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:15:49 +0000

[...] Often freelance writers mention that they have gained weight over time, in fact it was just listed as one of the top 10 ways you know you’re a freelance writer. [...]

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:53:57 +0000

I know I am a freelance writer when no one seems to understand what I do for a living. I tried to explain but somehow they don’t understand. I also know that I am a freelance writer when my only commute is going to the room next to my bedroom for work.

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:14:06 +0000

I had to go check out my house for hidden cameras, because I swear Deb wrote this after spending a week watching me at home…so glad it’s not just me! Now I feel like I am officially a freelancer. Thanks for a great pick-me-up, Deb!

By: Wayne Key

Wayne Key — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:13:22 +0000

Sorry Jennifer but I am thinking you are right…my wife had trouble with that even tho she was not freelancing at the time…

By: Jennifer L

Jennifer L — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:57:02 +0000

>“You know you’re a freelancer when your caffeine bill exceeds your utility bill.”

Sob. This is why it’s so much harder to be a pregnant freelancer: no caffeine! Argh!

By: Wayne Key

Wayne Key — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:24:55 +0000

LOL… I have to say this post was a lot of fun to read. I kept imagining it with a pic to illustrate each point, some a bit scary…

On the serious side. I get more done, when I keep a schedule, and get dressed reasonably, and the like. Sometimes just getting out to a coffee shop helps my productivity a lot, enough that I am thinking about trying a co-working space in my community here in Austin.

ahhh, it occurs to me that you forgot one point: “You know you’re a freelancer when your caffeine bill exceeds your utility bill.”

By: Jim Lochner

Jim Lochner — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:07:49 +0000

He breathes a sigh of relief.

By: rebecca subbiah

rebecca subbiah — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:39:40 +0000

Jim: no worries no carrot sticks in there

By: Jim Lochner

Jim Lochner — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:08:58 +0000

Since I’ve been home the last 4 months and finally said “no more temping!”, I think I’ve done laundry twice, maybe three times. Sweet!

Since I also gave up my cable, the 5 snowy channels I get aren’t enough to bother with background noise. After all, I have Twitter and Facebook for that.

My dog also reacts strangely when I leave the house now. Even if I go to the store, when I come back he has the energy of a puppy (he’s 10), greeting me like I’d left him for dead. Though he does spend most of his time in the bathroom away from the clacking of the laptop keys. He’s never sure when he’ll hear the unique timbre of Ctrl-Alt-Delete (which always means I’m pissed off at the computer). To him, that aural signal is a sure sign he better hightail it out of the room to get out of the path of my wrath.

By: Jim Lochner

Jim Lochner — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:07:20 +0000

Rebecca, if your pitch to Deb contains the phrase “carrot sticks” in there anywhere, I’m outta here!

By: Jim Lochner

Jim Lochner — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:06:39 +0000

Jennifer, ugh, the “glaze over.” I just wrote a post about that very thing today (though it’s about my interest in music, which also just happens to what I write about). You just want to slap them out of it. (Or is that just the angry, jaded New Yorker in me?)

By: When are you “officially” a writer? « Happy Coffee

When are you “officially” a writer? « Happy Coffee — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:33:46 +0000

[...] are other ways to tell if you’re a writer besides the size of your bank account. Deb Ng at Freelance Writing Jobs has posted an amusing [...]

By: Jennifer L

Jennifer L — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:17:08 +0000

I also get “Oh, so you’re writing a book?”

Which is not offensive, just an interesting assumption. Then I have to disappoint them that I’m not a future famous-author-to-be.

“Um no, I write articles and er, stuff like that. Yeah, like this one article about H1N1…”

And their eyes glaze over…

By: JulieF

JulieF — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:27:53 +0000

[snorts]

I don’t know how many times people have said I didn’t have a ‘real’ job. Those same people like to borrow the ‘fake money’ I make, too.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:17:32 +0000

Didn’t take me long to figure out my dog was telling me to “step away from that computer and take me for a walk!”

By: rebecca subbiah

rebecca subbiah — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:10:53 +0000

oh thats a great idea Deb, I will draft something for you to look at and email you

Rebecca

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:08:01 +0000

I once worked late into the night because a Top Chef marathon was on…

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:07:25 +0000

Thanks, I forgot to include the part where you learn to fluently speak “dog” because he’s the only one to talk to sometimes.

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:06:33 +0000

Feel Free to pitch an article about keeping healthy as a freelaner, Rebecca!

By: rebecca subbiah

rebecca subbiah — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:58:30 +0000

this is great I am a dietitian so i can help you all prevent the weight gain LOL Rebecca

By: P.S. Jones

P.S. Jones — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:54:06 +0000

And my dog freaks out every time I leave the house now because I do it so rarely. Every time I go to Walmart, she acts like I’m abandoning her.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:52:27 +0000

Great post Deb! 1,2,3 and 9 are so very true

By: P.S. Jones

P.S. Jones — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:49:18 +0000

So, so true. Especially the part about all the reality tv shows. My friends don’t understand that it’s not my fault that Real Chance of Love comes on just as I’m getting ready to work. They also don’t understand that working from my laptop means that Twitter and Facebook are never far away. So what if I update my statuses 50 times a day? The things I post there, they get to say to the guy in the next cubicle. I don’t have a cubicle or a coworker so I gotta tell somebody!

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:47:58 +0000

And…

Your wardrobe budget is much smaller. Working in comfy pajamas is awesome.