Writing and Stuff by Anthony Chatfield

When you’re just getting started as a freelancer, which I know a lot of you are doing, there don’t seem to be many options. You can either work for $0.50 an article on Elance or roll the dice on Craigslist and hope someone accepts your email out of hundreds they’ll get for that single post. It’s a tough road.

I, on the other hand, kind of stumbled into it by working on so-called “micropay” sites like Associated Content and Helium where I generated my own topics, wrote at my own pace and got paid only if the content I wrote was useful to the site. Of course, that was also in 2007 when Associated Content’s stringent guidelines were not quite so hard to get around and you could get the occasional $20 offer for an article.

And to round out the story of my flirt with Micropay, it only lasted the better part of 6 weeks. I got up to about 20 articles a week with Associated Content and promptly realized that Elance was a far better place to test my talents – quickly obtaining a far greater supply of work per month than I would have been physically capable of writing on the Micropays.

So, Does it Work?

I will say yes. It might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but over the course of the first few weeks as a freelancer, you need something to do. You might spend 2+ hours a day carving out a name for yourself on forums, on your blog, or at Elance with bid after bid, but if you don’t actually sit down and write an article or two, you’ll never gain the experience you need to succeed.

It’s hard to be good at this job. You must not only be a good writer, you must be a fast writer – capable of adapting to numerous styles and tones instantly while shifting between dozens of topics. Only practice will give you the skillset needed to succeed.

So, where does that leave us? If you need a jump start to your career and some practice writing content that will help you hone your skills, get on the micropay sites. Until you actually get a real paying job on Elance or Odesk, it’s your best bet for getting some experience, feedback and much needed pay.

Don’t Forget Blogging

Regardless of your decision on micropay, though, don’t forget the value of a good blog. If you haven’t done so yet, get a blog started on Blogger.com or WordPress.com. You may not get a single reader, but the chance to sit down and write something that is dear to you and send it to the world is as good a way to build confidence as any. Just take a look at how many posts on this blog are from 2007 when I first got started. Whether you’re getting paid or not, you have to be writing, so stop reading and start writing.

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I took a big leap back in February and set myself up with an office space in a neighborhood a few miles north of our apartment. It’s in a fantastic location, close to the city but still in Brooklyn and right on the water. And while everyone I know is excited for me to have my own space, the people I meet wonder why I would bother spending that money each month when I get to work at home and make my own hours.

The truth is that working at home isn’t quite as amazing of an experience as you would think. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. It’s pretty amazing to get up each day and get to decide in the moments after a shower whether I will trudge to work or sit on the couch and watch soccer between articles. But, there’s something draining about being home all the time, almost like there’s no gap between work and home.

The Gap is Important

If you’re new to this business or are still working your day job, you still have your gap. You leave the house at least 3-5 days a week and whole heartedly enjoy the time you get to spend at home relaxing. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I was exactly the same when I first left my job and started writing. I would brag almost daily when my roommate got home from his job.

But, after getting married and moving to New York, I found that sitting in the house all day is rough, especially when my wife gets home and wants nothing more than to relax on the couch and all I want to do is get up and go out.

It’s also very hard to draw a line and say “I’m done working”. Most people, when they’re done working, go home. I’m already home, so instead I have to physically remove myself from my computer and draw the line. It’s tougher than you might think.

A Space of My Own

Basically, the office is an excuse to leave the house when I want to. I can get work done in a quiet, personal space out of my wife’s hair  where I can meet other people and enjoy the city between projects. Yeah, it’s a big add-on expense, but it’s totally worth it.

Freelancing

When I got started in this business, one of the biggest perks I saw was being able to sit back and relax on the beach with a laptop, because I had the freedom to travel where I wanted and when I wanted.

It’s been a few years since then, and I’ve learned a few things about travel. Yes, it’s possible to go somewhere whenever you want, but even more so than when you have a job you need to plan EVERYTHING out perfectly if you actually want to enjoy your trip.

1. Lost Pay Adds Up

First up, you need to save up money for a trip. When you only go on vacation once every year or two, it’s not a big deal. You have a fund in a jar on top of the fridge and everyone knows you don’t go until it’s full. When you’re a freelancer with itchy feet, you want to get out there as much as possible, but you still need to pay for the trip.

To top things off, you don’t get vacation pay. It seems obvious enough, but too many people neglect his little detail. Sure, you can go away whenever you want, but if you do, you don’t get paid because you’re not working. And if you plan on working while you’re gone, trust me – it’s not going to happen.

2. Juggling Clients During Vacation

Another toughie is figuring out how to juggling existing, ongoing, or new clients while away. I’ve learned, over time, to tell my clients about my vacation at least 1 month before I go away…then I remind them weekly in subtle ways so they don’t forget.

The first trip I took, I spent three hours a day in the hotel room replying to emails and editing documents. The second trip, I forgot my laptop at home and came back to a dozen irate emails. By the third trip, I had a system in place where I worked my butt off for 10 days before I left to get EVERYTHING done early.

However you do it, make sure your clients A) know you’ll be gone and B) have a lot of time to unload whatever they need on you beforehand. If they don’t, it becomes their problem, which 99% of them will recognize.

3. Having Work to Come Back To

Here’s why I don’t try to get everything done before I leave, and actually build the trip into my schedules. It’s because, when you get back you don’t have anything to do. I’ve been in this trap twice before – once after a 2 week trip to New York City in 2008 and last year after I got married.

Both times, I took extended leaves of absence (two weeks and three weeks), having planned ahead to cover the lost time and get everything done early. Unfortunately, when I got back, I had nothing to do – no edits, no projects, no responses from those clients.

They hadn’t moved on – they’d just taken a break themselves and I lost another whole week finding work on Elance. The lesson here is to always bid out in advance of leaving and try to convince your regular clients to have stuff waiting for you when you get back.

Ideally, you’ll eventually have regular monthly projects that you can use to fill these gaps, but for now, a good bit of pre-bidding or even a day or two mid-vacation spent bidding, can help stave off the lost week.

4. Enjoying Your Trip Properly

Enjoying your trip is important. What good is all that travel if you’re miserably thinking of your email the whole time. If you’re traveling with family, it can be even worse as you drag down your spouse and kids with you.

So, instead of worrying constantly, be realistic and set aside at least 1 hour a day to check email, hash out work details and make sure everything is okay. The rest of the day, leave your phone at the hotel. A blinking BlackBerry can be the death of a good vacation and your clients should already know you’re away.

If it’s important, they’ll leave a message and you’ll have your hour at the end of the day to deal with whatever comes up.

5. The Best Time to Get Away

So, with no boundaries on when you travel (unless you have kids), when is the best time to get away? I don’t have any preferred times, but I have been very lucky in offseason traveling. For sure, consider taking a trip in December. It’s the slowest month of the year for most freelancers and offers tons of opportunities for cheap travel if you go in the first two weeks.

September-October and April-May are also great times because of the pre and post seasons discounts at resorts in areas that are still quite nice. Avoid mid-summer travel like the plague if you can get away with it, and keep a close eye on nice weekends in the later winter and early spring.

My wife and I had a fantastic weekend in the Redwoods two years ago in April. No one was there but the weather hit a balmy 75 degrees. Last year we did the same thing in Vancouver, Canada in February. If you can time it right, you can get the entire destination to yourself.

The key to successful travel as a freelancer is to cut out as much of your work life as possible. I made the mistake on this one more than once and it can be extremely frustrating. Do it right, though, and trust me – you’ll have a blast and your friends will be super jealous (which is always fun).

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