Thriving as a Freelancer

by Sherri Schultz, independent editor for 25 years

Feedback is welcome and invited: WordsWithGraceEditorial@gmail.com

Overall philosophy: Treat your freelance career like a business, not like an aesthetic reverie, social work, a hobby, or a pin-money pursuit.

Epigraph:

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

--Maureen Dowd

GENERAL

Treat your freelancing like a business (because it is one).

• Try to think like your own business manager when considering offers of work, negotiating rates and other conditions, etc. If you're a woman, here's a statistic to ponder: Women negotiate 14% higher pay for a third party than they do for themselves.
• Set your target monthly income based on what you would like in order to live comfortably (not just the bare minimum). When you accept a job, record it (and the projected income) in an Excel spreadsheet that keeps a monthly running total, so you can tell when you've reached your quota (and also when you're about to overcommit).
• Try to set your rate so you can afford to book only 20 hours in advance, as suggested below.
• If that's difficult, make it a priority to find some higher-paying clients and/or regular clients you can count on; this may mean diversifying or stretching outside your comfort zone.
• Ask for a higher rate than you absolutely need, so you have room to come down if necessary.
• Don't assume that your clients have no money, and don't immediately give in if you get some push-back on your rate.
• Deliberately seek, and keep an eye out for, some higher-paying work that can balance out aesthetically pleasing but lower-paying work.
• Make it a priority to set aside an emergency fund with 3-6 months of living expenses to tide you over through challenging times.

GETTING NEW CLIENTS / MARKETING

Make friends with self-promotion.

• #1 way to market yourself: Do excellent work and be easy to work with (see below), and your clients will do a large part of your marketing for you by passing along your name to others.
• Be aware that 75% of most freelancers' new clients come via referrals from current or past clients, professional colleagues, friends or relatives, or someone else who knows you and/or has met you. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work, and give them the URL of your website, LinkedIn page, or other professional page, so they can easily pass it along to anyone they may know who is interested.
• Join professional groups (such as the Northwest Editors Guild or the Editorial Freelancers Association), attend meetings or otherwise become involved in those groups, and seek advice from more-established freelancers.
• Attend meetings/events that attract your potential clients (for example, businesspeople, scientists, academics, or authors); chat with those around you and offer your business card as appropriate.
• Wherever you go, have business cards and give them out freely. You never know who has a novel in their closet.
• If you don't want to invest in a website, put your best foot forward on LinkedIn (or Upwork, or another such site where clients can post reviews of your work and you can share the URL with potential clients). On LinkedIn, write recommendations for people you've worked with successfully, and ask them to recommend or endorse you in turn. Put that URL in your email signature and on your business card.
• For more specific advice on finding freelance work, visit this page.

If you're an introvert (as most editors are), use these tips when you attend events.

• Remember that 80% of success is just showing up.
• Set low goals (e.g., talk to 1-2 people), or don't have any expectations at all (just going is a success).
• As an ice-breaker, pretend you're a reporter and ask other people questions.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

Paint a positive portrait/vision that people want to be part of.

• Don't complain in any public forum (including Facebook and Twitter). Save it for a few close friends (not colleagues).
• Look polished in public; your look represents the quality of your work.

Be easy to work with, especially on your first assignment with a new client.

• Don't bring any drama, lateness, or flakiness; be the rock that your clients can count on.
• Don't engage in gossip or negativity.
• Demonstrate interest in others, be kind, and ask for advice.
• Send a thank-you note or email after you complete the work and are paid.

MAINTAINING WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Give up the notion of a fixed, regular 40-hour work week.

• One of my experienced editor colleagues books only 20 hours a week in advance. This allows space for slipping schedules, irresistible last-minute projects, recurring work, projects that take more time than anticipated, and so on.
• I accept only one book or large project per month, with smaller jobs to fill in around the edges.
• If you feel overcommitted, remember that deadlines are sometimes flexible. Now and then, it's OK to ask an established client for a short extension -- especially over a weekend -- rather than stay up all night.

Saying no is OK, especially to a repeat client.

• Graciously saying no enhances your desirability by signaling that many clients want your services. Suggest that clients contact you XX weeks in advance, or that you will be accepting new clients beginning in a certain month.
• Offer the name of another freelancer whose work you respect. Ideally, that person will do the same for you down the road. This is a painless way of expanding your client base without marketing.
• Stay in touch with the client. Let them know when you are available again, and that you enjoyed working with them and want to do so again. (I try to take a job if it’s a new client, even if it’s a little inconvenient, because I want to get them “hooked” on my services. Sometimes first-time clients will bend their schedule to accommodate yours, so ask.)

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Visualize your dream work-life balance.

• Be strategic -- devote time to actually achieving your goals.
• Adopt a one-a-day approach to marketing: Do one thing per day, whether large or small, to advance toward your goals.
• Set new goals each year -- for instance, five (or two!) specific clients to acquire in the year ahead.

Take chances/risks to make your life what you want it to be.

• Say yes to new opportunities -- meet new people, attend new events, learn new things, travel.
• Step outside your comfort zone.
• Regard "no" as a step on the path to "yes."