What the Freelance Writing Business Community Gives You that No One Else Can

I asked the question last time whether or not you could operate a successful freelance writing business in a vacuum. I talked about the three major benefits of being part of a freelance writing community that are often touted: socialization, education and networking. I also pointed out how you can get all three of those things rather easily without ever meeting another freelance writer.

While I stick to that theory and fully believe you can run a successful freelance writing business without belonging to a community, there is one question that remains:

Why on earth would you want to?

You see, there are some things you can get from us (the community) that you can’t get elsewhere. What are they? Coincidentally, there are three of them:

1. Camaraderie

Yes, you can socialize with other small business folks. But are they really going to understand when you vent about a client whose attorney insists you ban the word “will” in favor of the word “might?” Will they get it when you complain about someone on a freelance writing job site who’s offering to pay 50 cents for a 500-word blog post? Real kinship and camaraderie comes only from those who do what you do.

2. Backup

If you come down with the flu two days before a rush job from your best client is due and you know that the client was counting on the work, you don’t want to have to tell the client “Sorry. Got sick. You’re screwed.” By being part of a community of freelance writers, you have access to a wealth of resources to help you out in a pinch. Sure, you can find someone like that outside of the community, but you can’t find them fast. If you happen to have your own protégé, (and I have a couple of my own) you may still need to bring them up to speed on how to produce a given type of copy. Inside the community, you have near-instant access to true experts.

3. Street Education

Yes, you can learn how to write good copy from a book or from a college course. What you can’t do is learn how to convince a client why quality web site copy costs so much more than those $3 articles they’ve been importing from overseas. Being part of a community can also keep you on the edge of the latest freelance writing business trends, which is not something you can get if you’re outside of the industry. You need to instead wait for those trends to trickle down.