Things Can Only Get Better
Assuming we all make it into 2013, I’m looking forward to the world economy picking up. Not that I expect that to happen in 2013 – I think we have some tough years still ahead of us – but, as and when things do improve, I am hoping the freelance writing landscape will also change.
The economic downturn has caused a whole bunch of shanty towns to spring up and encroach on my ivory tower. It’s all very upsetting for me. Masses of plebeians who would never have loaded Word onto their laptop when times were better have settled in my back yard, erected flagpoles, and unfurled their hastily-painted old T-shirts, daubed with the insidious lies with which they aim to steal my livelihood from me: Freelance Writer for Hire.
Oh, I know times are tough, and – to shift my land-based analogy to a maritime one – any port in a storm, but this is my port, that’s my yacht, and I’m getting sick of all these $20 kids’ dinghies rubbing up against my hull, leaving unsightly orange scuffs.
Yes, I know: you heartless bastard, Pepper. I’m kidding. It’s a free world and you do whatever it takes to put food on the table, even if that means you have to bluff your way into work with forged (and poorly spelt) credentials. Like it or not, freelance writing is one of those professions you can wander into without any checks or qualifications or even any discernible talent.
The global economic crisis has left many people with little option but to try and work from home, because the job they used to leave their home for no longer exists. A laptop and an internet connection and you’re all set: you’re suddenly a freelance writer. Our ranks have swelled, and those extra voices crying out for work have inevitably made it more difficult for all of us to be heard.
A better economy should also see an increase in the rates offered for our wares. Clients will have more money to spend on their businesses. They won’t have to write the content themselves or farm it out to someone in a dinghy, or offer amateur prices to time-honoured professionals. And those clients who never stopped having the money will no longer be able to hide behind a veil of bogus poverty, using the economy as an excuse to also drop their rates.
With the dark times behind us, the T-shirts can be run back down the flagpoles, the shanty towns can be deconstructed and returned to pasture, and the dinghies can be deflated.
Now, let’s just hope the North Koreans and the Iranians don’t screw it up for us.
About the Author: I have two novels published hardback and paperback by Hodder & Stoughton - The Short Cut and Man On A Murder Cycle. I live on the Murcian coast of Spain with my beautiful wife and daughter. For the past five years I have been working in corporate intelligence for some of the largest companies in the world.
Justin P Lambert | Apr 14, 2012 | Reply
Mark,
This is an awesome post: hilarious but poignant as well.
I started “writing” back in 2003 when I stumbled across Bob Bly’s “Secrets of a Freelance Writer”, then very soon thereafter paid way too much money for AWAI’s “Six-Figure Copywriting” course.
Much like the $20 dinghies you describe, I hung out my shingle and was thoroughly amazed that I couldn’t immediately quit my full-time job.
Needless to say, many years, much education and hard-won experience have finally turned my dinghy into a yacht and, since January of this year, I’ve been able to support my family solely with my writing.
So, of course, at this stage of my life and career, I completely agree with your sentiments, and I look forward to things improving for all of us.
Thanks again,
Justin
Karen Silvestri | Apr 14, 2012 | Reply
Amen and amen!It is harder and harder to get work with clients who pay what I am worth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had clients hire someone at a much lower pay school and then come back to me saying, “That writer screwed it up.” Duh!! You get what you pay for!
Phil | Apr 14, 2012 | Reply
I am not one of those “Masses of plebeians who would never have loaded Word onto their laptop when times were better” since I no longer use Word or Windows XP. And if times where bad, I could not afford word.
I use a real operating system, Linux, and whatever writing tool I need, other than (never) Word.
Enjoy! – Phil S
allena | Apr 15, 2012 | Reply
As a social justice writer, I’ll take a pass on this post. Plus, your biography says that you’ve been in corporate work for the past 5 years? So maybe your yacht is encroaching on my houseboat and view, which has been here for 7 years. Also, I hate the European use of ‘spelt.’
Much of this comment is tongue in cheek, by the way.
Mark | Apr 15, 2012 | Reply
Justin, thanks for sticking your oar in. Geddit? Dinghy? Oar?
Always warms my heart to hear from someone who’s cracked it and deserves to. Nine years may seem like a long time to some outside the profession, but it’s par for the course, I think. Just shows the dedication and persistence needed. Well done, mate.
Mark
Mark | Apr 15, 2012 | Reply
Thanks, Karen. I like the “pay what I am worth” bit. It’s very important to have a sense of your own worth and not to be shy about saying so. Nice to have that “told you so” moment, eh?
Mark
Mark | Apr 15, 2012 | Reply
Phil, you’re showing me up. What is this Linux of which you speak? I thought that was a character in Snoopy. Anyway, are you saying there’s something better than Word? Damn, and I only just upgraded from Microsoft Quill. But you’ve really crossed the line besmirching my beloved XP (you read my last post, I gather?) I’ve a good mind to unapprove your comment.
Mark
Mark | Apr 15, 2012 | Reply
Allena, where do I start …?
A social justice writer? What on earth is that?
So you’ve had a houseboat for 7 years, have you? I knew that. My yacht is but the visible manifestation of my subterranean lair (precise square footage undisclosed to prevent attempts to trump it) from which I have been monitoring your activities since I started writing 21 YEARS AGO, and since my novels were published 15 YEARS AGO.
Fair call, though. I have not really been a freelance writer for hire for quite a while.
Fair call also on “spelt”. I know “spelled” is correct, and I would use “spelled” in formal writing, but, yes, to my European ear it just doesn’t sound right.
Just a final word of warning: You, like Phil, are verging on being unapproved. I need you to put aside your own personal opinions, fall in line, and start unconditionally praising my posts forthwith. I need love. Thank you.
Mark
pawan | Apr 16, 2012 | Reply
Hello friends,
Greetings from India!
For me, freelance writing has really opened a door of tremendous opportunities in our country. Though I have not been consistently involved in freelancing my works, yet whenever the fancy takes me, I do some and get paid well. So far, I am content with my work. What else do I need more when clients are satisfied with my works?
Yeah, sometimes finding a right client becomes a “hard nut to crack” experience, but I don’t mean representing freelance writing as “a risky” endeavor for the potential writers. Thank God, I have not experienced problems so far from my clients.
Thank you very much gentlemen!
Mark | Apr 17, 2012 | Reply
Hi Pawan,
It sounds like you are smart and personable, and both qualities go a long way towards making this career work. Yes indeed, the bottom line is making your clients happy, and anyone who does that is a welcome addition to the profession. Good to hear things are going well for you. Thanks for your feedback.
Mark