Can you make a living as a freelancer?

that might be the catch, he's a walker countian at heart. means heading to the river instead of the ocean and eating catfish instead of lobster. and he doesn't have to wear khakis to the office.
he's definitely made stringing an artform in alabama.

 

Been free for 14 years, magazine and books. Here's my 10 cents.

Had a SMALL steady gig which helped when I started and still do, but I took my retirement from the previous job that gave me about a 12-18 month window to get above the surface. Made 9 K in year one, steady rise ever since, and money in the bank.

Being good helps, being lucky helps more, didn't have many connections at all. In the first few years take EVERY job offered - you never know who you'll meet and what it will turn into. I was offered one small job that I thought was a one-timer that, over ten years, has turned into a 8-32K annual gig, which really helped.

Hit every deadline, in fact, separate yourself from the crowd by being early, way early when you can.

Be prepared to be turned down. A lot. Be prepared to have a drink and go forward.

Realize that unlike a day job, you never really arrive in a comfortable place where you can kick back and cruise. But then, that's why you quit in the first place.

Some small $ gigs increase your profile, remain worth it, and insureyou don't sit around not using words for too long. I still do a column for less than $100/a month just for that reason.

Insurance is a bitch - by far the biggest detriment. Now I'm married.

You might be isolated from peers. That's what the phone is for.

Office use of home is the greatest tax break out there, but be squeaky clean.

You have the great advantage of being able to throw every idea up against the wall to see if it sticks. Don't waste people's time with dumb shit, but do that. Some of it sticks. You'd be surprised.

Couldn't ever work for anyone again. Zero regrets. Home almost every day. Seeing my daughter grow up. Can go to work at 4:00 am and be done by noon, or start at noon. Or work the weekends. Or not. Or go for a walk.

Could you do it the way I did? Probably not. But there are a thousand ways to make this work, probably a million ways to make it fail, but at the end of the day, it's up to you and no one else.

There's a great scene in a Henry Miller novel when he first made the decision to be a writer and walked away from everything he hated. I read that every once in a while.

 

A question for those more experienced in the arts of freelancing, and planning college football coverage:
How far in advance would you recommend contacting papers to pitch your services on a gamer?
I live near a minor D-1 football school that plays a lot of other minor D-1 football schools that I'm guessing no one travels with. Is it too early to contact SE's about covering games in October and November, or are they starting to think about this by now?

 

Well, it seems to me that the important thing is that you're thinking about it now. I'd go for it.

 

I've offered my college football and NFL stringing services for a month now.

 

You have got to be a real hustler to make it as a freelancer. I mean, you've got to call every newspaper, lifestyle magazine, trade publication, wire service, etc. in your area and let 'em know who you are. Be prepared to network.
I know a guy who tried to do it as a freelancer, and less than two years later, he ended up going back to the job he left. And he was happy to get that job back, because the alternative was moving to Kansas and living next door to his in-laws.

 

Definitely chat up anyone else you see out shooting or covering the things you're freelancing. They might be the editor at a weekly or small daily and could be looking for freelancers, or they could be a staff writer who could tell you whether their paper is looking for stringers or not.

 

You have to understand one thing if you're attempting to do newspaper stuff: The first thing that goes these days (and it happens quite often) is the stringer budget.

The SE will give up a big chunk of that before he gives up a part-timer who comes in and does a lot of grunt work for the agate page or willingly writes junior high basketball previews.

Yeah, the paper likes to have road coverage of State U's basketball games. But if push comes to shove, they'll have that part-timer slam together a game story based on the call from the SID.

So even if you're doing exceptional work, don't be surprised if you get an e-mail from one of your papers with the subject line "bad news." Just the way things are going these days.

 

It can be done, but you might have to sacrifice yourself to an advertorial or two every once in a while.
The most important thing is to be good. Most big metros have one freelancer they rely on more than the others. Be that one, and you'll be much better off. Rock their socks off when you get there. Certainly don't mail anything in at the start. You can be like the last reporter on their staff -- only without the benefits.
Also, talk with the editors. Ask for their help. Joke with them. Make them keep you in their lives, letting them know you're available along the way. Eventually, there will be something a staffer doesn't have time to do. And that way, when the other papers call them wondering who to go to, you're there.
I never made great money, but I never made myself do anything I absolutely didn't want to do. I sacrificed jobs sometimes so that a feature I was working on would be better, because the clips are the important thing. They not only help land bigger freelance jobs, they help land bigger jobs period.