• By Ant Onaf
• Published 05/25/2008
• Writing

Freelancer is someone who pursues his/her profession without any long-term commitment to the employer. The fields that are common for freelance writers are journalism and any form of writing. The reason why many people opt for freelance profession is that they can choose their work schedule, unlike those who work in full-time jobs. Freelancers also have the privilege to choose as many clients as they want, as long as they are providing quality service. As a freelance writer myself, I can say that there are many benefits in doing this. But of course, it has also its downside. When I first started as a freelance writer, I had experienced not being paid for the articles I had written. I no longer heard anything from my estranged client, and my long hours of working in front of the computer were a simple waste of time. Of course I was disillusioned with that unfortunate experience. Because of the informality of my work relation to my client, it was hard to make any legal move.

Also, during my first few projects as a freelance writer, I was disheartened to know that most clients were only looking to pay under market value for my writings. The competition is so thick in the world of freelance writing that it seems almost impossible to get paid

fairly, but in essence those small budget jobs is what helped me excel as a freelancer. I took on the projects knowing that it wasn’t paying much, but soon enough I got my name out there which lead to bigger and better projects which lead to me eventually getting paid larger sums. I am now able to charge higher for my work because I have a brand name, many samples of my work to point to, and many clients who I use as references plus my clients bring me a fair share of work and new business. It all worked out! One thing I can advise to people who aspire to be a freelancer is to always be prepared to encounter swindlers (those looking to get over on you). When I apply for a client who is looking for a writer, I send him/her only my sample articles that have already been published. At least, if ever the person attempts to use my work, he/she may be penalized for plagiarism. Freelance writing is all about building trust between you and the client. You trust him/her to give you the agreed payment; and the client trusts you to provide quality service, and not a mediocre one.

I have a professor in literature who told us that the best thing about being a writer is that people will pay you for something that you can easily do. She may be right for saying this, albeit it is easy for us, it still takes a lot of time and effort to come up with a good story.