A Bit of Encouragement and Ethics

Well, of course AC didn't want to pay me for a piece of very, very local interest. I put it up for free, anyway although it's stuck in processing, whatever that means. I'm still entertained by the whole thing.

As I was wandering about this morning, I did run across the Well-Fed Writer, a.k.a. Peter Bowerman. He had some encouraging stories and motivation in the June issue of his newsletter. You can subscribe or just pop in and read the latest issue.

There was some reference to cold calls, which is not something I would have thought a successful and resourceful freelancer would need to do. Definitely not in these days of craigslist and elance! I believe his focus is more on large, continuing clients than on taking smaller, one-off jobs.

It's something to consider. When does your 2-year writing gig turn into being an employee? How do you keep your autonomy? As a freelancer, these are important questions. I'd hate to be so excited about landing a big contract that I forget to cover the basics. My focus will need to be producing quality work and making decisions about jobs and content that are good for both the client and for me.

What's the point of quitting my day job if I turn around and take on two or three bosses with no benefits? Although I think it would be a lot of fun to write copy for Coca-Cola and Pepsi on alternating days.