Why I Didn't Order The Vitamin Soup - And Stuck with Copywriting

I’m a freelance writer, and I telecommute from wherever I am at the time of the assignment. That’s what's allowed me to travel for longer periods of time, and consequently, that’s what enables me to write this little blog about the places I fall for.

When I say I’m a freelancer writer, most people ask, “What publications do you write for?” Then I have to explain that I’m not a freelance journalist, but a freelance copywriter. That I write websites, newsletters, emails, ads, brochures and “marketing stuff.”

At this point, their expression usually turns to one of disorientation or disappointment. But it's okay - I don’t take it personally. I understand that journalism has more romance than copywriting. It’s just that I like being paid on an hourly basis rather than per word.

Five years into my freelance adventure, I’m still okay with why I took the direction I did. I’m still self-employed, after all. I’m still getting to travel. And I even managed to buy a house…with another freelancer. (Different industry, same glorious uncertainty/flexibility.)

And if you’d like to know even more about why I didn’t pursue travel journalism after flirting with it, I’ll directly you to this painfully amusing excerpt from a former freelance journalist (now a staff newspaper writer). Sure kills the romance, doesn’t it?

Excerpt from “Seven Years As A Freelance Writer, Or How to Make Vitamin Soup" by Richard Morgan:

Freelancing is pitching two ideas to a new editor at the Times, after having written for the publication for five years, and being told (quoting exactly here): “I think you’d have better luck pitching your stories elsewhere.”

Freelancing means walking from the West Village to the Upper East Side and back because you don’t have enough money for the subway. Freelancing means being so poor and so hungry for so long that you “eat” a bowl of soup that’s just hot water, crushed-up multivitamins and half your spice rack (mostly garlic salt).

Freelancing is being woken up on a Monday at 8 a.m. by an editor who gives you the following assignment: “Put together everything interesting about all the city’s airports by Friday,” doing it, and then not getting credit when it runs… as an infographic.

Freelancing is having your mother send you a book called $ix-Figure Freelancing which lists as helpful resources, on page 198, the dictionary, thesaurus, and sree.net.

Freelancing means your editor will reject your pitch and then, seven month later, run the story you pitched—with the same language as your pitch—and then have it submitted for a National Magazine Award.

Freelancing is having an editor tell you that he really loves the story you’ve filed and wouldn’t change anything, and in fact suggests you expand upon the characters a bit—and also cut the story in half. Because, in an editor’s world, it’s possible to expand upon characters and not change the structure while you also cut the story in half.

Freelancing means having to chase down checks every time, even when that means waiting two years for $1000. It means having stories killed and being told that the editor-in-chief gave no reason, but that the same editor would love to work with you some more.

A Lifestyle Choice? Or Simply the Future?

As you may know, I'm a freelancer. I work for myself, and I work from home. I took the leap in 2005 in attempt to create a lifestyle that fulfilled me. I'm still refining exactly what that is - words like "freedom" and "balance" and "travel" often tumble out when I describe it - but I know that what I want does NOT involve commuting, workaholism or rigid schedules. A tall order, yes, but I've avoided all three more weeks out of the year than I ever did previously.

What's interesting, though, is how the traditional workplace has evolved in some parallel ways during this same time period. Three years ago, telecommuting was a novel concept. Today, it's the next cost-cutting frontier. Similarly, freelancing was seen as an alternative career for risk-taking or niche tradespeople. Now, even "full-timers" are turning to freelancing as a stopgap, supplement or entirely new path during uncertain economic times. Freelancing has hit the mainstream, you could say.

After talking to some friends at career crossroads recently, I sense that the workplace is poised for big change, as are traditional gender roles. With men constituting 80% of those laid off since 2007, and more and more women taking on the breadwinner role, something's gotta give, right? How can breadwinning women (especially mothers) work insane hours and still handle 75% of "domestic engineering"?

I don't know how it will all shake out, but I see "flexibility" and "lifestyle" being the key words moving forward. For evidence, I humbly submit a few headlines that caught my eye this week. Take a gander and let me know what you think the future holds.

Freelancing: A Real Option (Miami Herald)
As times get tougher, many are turning to freelancing and contract work, transforming a trend that was once a lifestyle choice into a matter of economic survival.

Telecommuting: Once a Perk, Now a Necessity (Business Week)
To cut costs, companies such as Capital One are pushing more employees, including even top managers, to work from home.

The Increasing Call for Work-Life Balance (Business Week)
Work-life balance is now the second most important driver of employee attraction and commitment, says CEB research.

As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force (NY Times)
With the recession on the brink of becoming the longest in the postwar era, a milestone may be at hand: Women are poised to surpass men on the nation’s payrolls, taking the majority for the first time in American history.

Career Women at Midlife: Sadder and Sicker (Business Week)
While women are securing greater power in the workplace, they are also growing less satisfied with their lives as they age.

I've Seen The Future - And It's A "Deskmill"

A desk + A treadmill = A "deskmill"

One of the things I like about working from home is that I can take exercise breaks when I need them. I’m not confined to lunch hour.

These days, I take exercise “time outs” when I’m frustrated, experiencing writer’s block, unable to concentrate or feeling sluggish. If I want to go to the gym mid-afternoon, I can, time-permitting. Other times I go on a jog, take a quick walk around the block or run an errand on foot. Getting off my tush even for just a few minutes helps me reenergize and refocus.

So things are a much better than when I worked in an office – from a flexibility and blood flow standpoint – but the sedentary nature of my job still bothers me. Like many, many people, I sit in a chair and look at a computer screen 40 hours or more a week. It’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it. Our bodies were designed to move, not sit still. But unless I’m going to change careers and become a tennis instructor (I wish) or a landscaper (yeah, right), what to do?

That’s why this article about “walkstations” (or "deskmills," as I prefer - sorry, occupational hazard) really grabbed me. Thanks to Scott Elder for the forward. I’d never heard of upright workstation-treadmill combos that allow you to walk at low speeds while you work on your computer. The idea sounds a little preposterous, even challenging, at first. I mean, what if I drop my pen, it gets stuck in the treadmill belt, and I go flying?

But upon further reflection, it’s not nearly as crazy as workers sitting motionless all day, letting their muscles atrophy, their spines get out of whack and their weight balloon to the point of illness and disability.

On that note, I'm going for a jog.

Potential Deal Breaker #2: Unreliable Internet

This entry is the second in a series. You can view Potential Deal Breaker #1 here, which can be summed up as "I don't want to die." Potential Deal Breaker #2? It can be summed up as "I don't want to lose all my clients and become destitute."

This one's a no-brainer for freelancers and telecommuters who have deadlines. It is also probably the only “absolute deal breaker” I have. To put it plainly, I must live somewhere with reliable high-speed Internet (which as I’ve now learned, requires continuous electricity). After all, my virtual office - and my livelihood - are dependent on it.

How dependent? Well, I use the Internet to speak with my clients (my business telephone number is an inexpensive, portable SkypeIn number that rings through to my laptop), IM/email with clients, send and receive electronic faxes, conduct research, fact-check, pay bills, produce monthly e-newsletters and submit writing assignments.

This is the deal breaker that put the kibosh on San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where I lived for a few months in 2006. The Internet was passable (it was a rapidly developing tourist area), but the real problem was that the electricity was out several times a week due to rolling blackouts. Therefore, Internet was down several times a week, and always on an unpredictable schedule. Not workable, period.

So despite its rock bottom cost of living, much of the Third World is out, and I can’t go too rural even in the US. (Dial-up won’t cut it. I need to be close enough to a city to have DSL or cable Internet.)

Crunch On These Numbers

Number of telecommuters to quadruple by 2010
“The International Telework Association and Council estimates that within the next two years, the number of U.S. employees teleworking will increase from the current 26 million to 100 million.”
From Bricks to Clicks (Gainesville Times)

Save $3,000 in gas a year by telecommuting
“If you commute five days a week, 60 miles round trip each day, you pay about $56.25 a week based on a per gallon price of $3.75 and an average gas mileage of 20 per gallon. That’s nearly $3,000 you’re spending on gas per year, compared to $2,100 a year when gas prices were $2.75, for example.”
Gas Gouged? Try Telecommuting. (MSNBC)

Is there a correlation? I think yes.