4 Benefits to Freelance Writing

 “Don’t quit your day job.” That has been said to countless artists (including writers), probably since artists and day jobs existed. If you are an aspiring or beginning writer, you may very well be struggling with your day job (which is even more of a struggle in this economy) and desperately trying to find time to write.

While quitting your day job may not be an option any time soon, changing your day job to something that might help you with your writing may be both possible and beneficial in the long run. Let’s look at a few benefits to working as a freelance writer, whether as a professional blogger, ghostwriter, or whatever other kind of writer-for-hire.

Work when you want and as much as you want.

When you have a nine-to-five job, flexibility isn’t exactly within reach. As a freelancer, however, you have the ability to move your schedule around to fit your needs, even if your needs change from week to week. You may choose to work evenings, nights, mornings—whatever time is best for you and your other responsibilities. Most freelance jobs don’t come time-specific, which means your employer doesn’t care when you work, as long as you meet the predefined deadline. That flexibility can be very liberating.

Write every day and write to a deadline.

Speaking of deadlines, being a professional writer means you can write regularly and put out new material when the publisher wants it. Publishing has gotten even more dog-eat-dog in the last couple of years than before, and things will only get tougher. So the writers that are more likely to succeed are the ones that can produce on command. Being a freelance writer can help you get used to working and producing regularly. You get experience dealing with clients and acting professionally about your craft.

Get lots of writing practice.

An obvious advantage to freelance writing is getting paid to practice your craft. Your writing will naturally improve the more you produce, and as a writer-for-hire, you can produce paying work while preparing to be a better writer. Practicing on your free time after coming home from work will help you too, but wouldn’t you prefer to get paid to practice? True, the work you’re hired to produce may not be the same as what you want to write on your own, but anything will help. For example, you may want to be a fiction writer. Writing for tourism blogs and academic papers may not seem like good practice for an aspiring fiction novelist, but as your language skills improve, you’ll be surprised how your fiction gets better.

A boost in confidence.

The fact that, as a freelance writer, you would be getting paid to write is a huge boost for your self esteem. Even if you’re writing for a blog about eye care, if you’re getting paid to do so you can proudly say to others that you’re a working, or professional, writer. You’re no longer an amateur, wanna be, beginner, dreamer, or whatever else people like to call not-working writers. With your first freelance job, you can say that you write for work. And, if you can support yourself on your writing, you can proudly call yourself a professional in the writing field. That boost in confidence will help you be more determined than ever to write, not only what you’re being paid to write, but also what you want to write.

There are many benefits to “quitting your day job” and becoming a full time freelance writer. Four of them are stated above. True, freelance writing isn’t for everyone, and you certainly need to think long and hard before making such a drastic career change, but for many, writing for money is simple a step in the direction that they want to be moving. It may be the right move for you!