@ Lis: Happy holidays you lucky thing you. Don’t stress too much, knowing you work will flow to you once you are back in your writing seat. Meanwhile, enjoy your time off!

@ Friar: There is nothing wrong with your dream. And you are 100% correct. I did write about the negative aspects of a freelance writing business and unless a writer learns to juggle work, life and family, it is very easy to fall into that hole.

I had to learn this the hard way too and in my eyes it is the single hardest part of running my business. But when I look at my other options I happily stay where I am.

I’m sure that you will launch your book one day and with the plan you have it sounds like it will be a step by step progress which is the best thing anyway. Just don’t forget me once you are famous.

PS: No, you didn’t put anything in the links. It is a new Plugin I’m trialing to earn some revenue.

@ Cath: I can sympathize with you on working things out. It took me a long while to do that myself. It sounds though that you are on the right track and been VERY busy of late.

In fact, I think you did the right thing by mulling over decision making to assure you make the right ones for the time being. All to often we rush into something only to lose time and energies chasing the wrong dreams. Good on you for being brave enough to NOT do this.

@ Vered: WOW, thank you so much for sending someone here. You are right of course. It does take a LOT of hard work running any business, but so does working for a boss. The benefit of that is that one can knock off at 5PM.

No temptation to stay back and work another 4 hours.

@ SuperSkyRockets: You are welcome, I’m glad you found the info useful.

@ Jim: You are certainly correct and I appreciate your slap on the hand.

No.

“It’s” is a contraction — “it is”.

You meant that a writing business has ITS dark sides. No apostrophe.

I don’t make a practice of going around correcting peoples’ English, but we’re all writers here, right?

Your posts are always so informative and helpful. I just sent someone I know to check your blog out – they’re looking for info on freelance writing and I told them you’re the most knowledgeable person I know.

It’s so important to know what you’re getting into, and to realize that you will need to work very hard – but you will also have flexibility and will not need to report to an obnoxious boss.

Having passion for what you do definitely helps. It’s taken me quite a while to work things out, since I went off track. I began planning another business that would have involved employing a whole heap of people. But I kept getting stuck because I really don’t want to employ folk again yet.

So, I’ve worked out a way to solve the same potential customers problems without having to build a huge business and I’ve got quite a bit done recently. I’m nearly finished two short ebooks that I’m going to give away and I’m also working on a bigger product that I’m hoping will help a lot of people.

But – I’m so stuck on my novel. Since I changed the plot, I’ve written so much stuff that sucks and I can’t seem to get it back on track again. Oh well, I can’t have everything at once, I don’t suppose.

By the way – I emailed you yesterday but I’m wondering if I might have gone in your spam filter because of the links in my signature.

PS. I don’t’ know how that “Freelancing” link got on my comment. (I didn’t do it!) (???)

“Sitting by the harbor with the sun smiling down on us and seeing the boats bustling about was reason enough to never ever go back to a regular job.”

When I read statements like that, it sounds great and I’m jealous.

But I also remember reading about your putting in 18 hours a day and not taking a vacation in years. (And you’re not the first blogger I’ve read who’s admitted to working this hard….)

I’m not knocking full-freelancing, but when I read that kind of stuff, it scares me off. I don’t think it’s for me.

I’m with Vered, in defense of the 9-to-5 grind.

My dream is to become an author and eventually earn enough income from my book(s) that I dont’ have to work for a shitty company. Then I can do what I want (travel, ski, paint, etc.)

I know that takes time…but I have plenty of opportunity to follow this passion every day, after work. I can write and do my artwork from 5:00 PM till bedtime, every night, if I so wished. Plus weekends.

But because I don’t have to depend on this for a living, I only have to work at it when I WANT to, not when I have to.

That gives more of a sense of freedom and control…it becomes FUN instead of work. Because I don’t have the pressure of deadlines, I’m more creative and more relaxed. And I think it’s actually helping me progress towards my goals FASTER, rather than delaying them.

This is a good post; succinctly written in a powerful manner. Your comments derive their power in part by your avoiding the trap entrepreneurs frequently fall into of claiming entrepreneurs are the superior lot, when addressing the divide between the brigades of 9-to-5’ers and entrepreneurs.

You and I may prefer the entrepreneurial life but, as you imply, it is not necessarily the superior way for all people. Some people, for instance, do not like too much freedom. It makes them uncomfortable. Why freedom might make someone uncomfortable is not so much a riddle as it might first appear. There could be many reasons for perfectly bright, success-oriented people preferring to following orders, rather than having the freedom that comes with following their own orders. Some may simply fear too much freedom for fear of how they might utilize it. Others may prefer the life of being a 9-to-5’er, not so much because they really like it, but because, knowing they have no concept of how to go about starting and running a business, they prefer not to try, for fear of losing what they already have in the process. The many reasons for preferring the life of being a 9-to-5’er are legion.

Your way of painting the entrepreneurial life, with of its pitfalls, is, for those of us who are so inclined, beautiful and titillating: erotic, even.

Thanks for the post.