When I attended Her Conference 2015 in New York City this July, I got to hear two amazing women share their successes in the world of journalism, hear advice from young women in entry-level journalism positions and learn about freelance writing. One particular panel entitled “Freelancing Fiends” struck me as the most fascinating part of the day. Freelancing consists of writing articles independently and then sending them to editors of magazines or websites that publish and pay you for your piece. These eight reasons are what made me most excited for a career in freelance journalism.
1. You can have two jobs.
You can freelance on the side of the regular job you already have. And therefore have two sources of income. And who doesn’t love a bigger paycheck?
2. Or it can be your only job.
If you are good enough at finding editors to pay for your work, freelancing can be your only job and you can never have to wake up early and go to an office ever again.
3. You make your own schedule.
You can decide when you write best, whether that’s early morning or late at night.
4. You can write from your house.
You don’t even have to get out of bed or put on pants while you write your next article. Sounds like a pretty deal to me.
5. Or you can write from a coffee shop.
Who doesn’t love the chill vibes of a cute coffee shop?
6. You can write whatever you want.
Whether you’re interested in punk rock, ballet, environmental issues or weddings, you can write about whatever you’re passionate about.
7. You don’t have to be tied down to one audience.
Like reason five, you can write about anything you wish and then you can figure out your audience later when sending it to editors. This differs from working for a certain magazine where you have the responsibility to write articles geared toward the specific gender and age of the average reader.
8. You can even have “co-workers” who are other freelancers.
Writing on your own might sound lonely, but turns out freelancers like to congregate together in coffee shops. A job that allows you to actually choose who your co-workers are seems pretty sweet.
If I can make a job out of two of my favorite things, writing and sitting at coffee shops, I would be pretty happy. Freelancing may be a difficult career to stand on its own, but the hard work that it takes to be successful in the field is definitely worth it for all the benefits.