The Start of Something New: First Steps to Freelancing

     On July 29, 2022, a 114-year-old newspaper ceased publishing. I worked on this paper for the last year and a half of its life and it was one of the greatest experiences of my existence. It taught me a lot of things. I learned a bunch of programs like InDesign and Adobe Photoshop. It taught me formatting and AP style of writing (which I had the basics of before I started but rarely used). To steal a description from John Green, the paper's end came upon us like sleep, slowly at first and then all at once. Those of us that worked there knew the paper was in trouble. There were times we'd compare it to a sinking ship and ourselves as sailors using buckets to scoop water out of the vessel. I loved that paper, though. With every fiber of my being. 

    The Gothenburg Times was the first place to give me a writing job full-time. I never met the owners, but I worked closing with its publisher, who mentored me and taught me a lot about publishing and presses. As I learned new things, I applied them outside the paper to my author career and vice versa. 

    This blog is called the Anxious Author for a reason. As many of you know, I've been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Depression is more of a symptom of my anxiety, but we treat it like it's separate because medications help keep it at bay and once I get into a depression funk, my anxiety worsens. It's a vicious cycle that tears me apart from the inside out. However, my anxiety causes me to create contingency plans. I hate change. I hate unpredictability. So, when I feel that something big might happen I come up with contingency plans for different scenarios. 

    I had a contingency plan for the paper closing. I started work on my contingency plan in April of 2022, when I requested to go freelance for the paper. I didn't want to give up my lead reporter position, but I knew I needed to start figuring out the world of freelancing because after doing what I love full-time there was no way I was going back into the workforce in search of a 9-to-5 that wasn't writing-related. I'd found out that my passion could be applied to the real world and pay my bills. So, no matter how many times I was told, "You should come back to school, the kids miss you", "You were my favorite library teacher,", "You'd make a great secretary with your organizational skills", or "I have a position open at the daycare if you want it", I couldn't go back. Once you find your niche, doing anything else is self-sabotage. 

    In May of 2022, I went contract. Meaning I didn't have set office hours and was paid a contracted rate (like a salary) every two weeks, so long as I produced 3-5 stories for the paper each week and maintained communication with my sources. I discovered rather quickly that I had dormant workaholic tendencies. 

    When I started contracting a few of my family members made passive comments about how I'd need to make sure I leave the house and do my job. It irritated me because I felt like they thought they knew how to do my job better than I did. They didn't, they just grew up in a different generation. Their generation is 9-to-5 workers. You get a job, work hard, come home, and repeat. Whether you like the job or not doesn't matter. Jobs pay bills and to have a job you have to be dedicated and sign away 8 hours of your life a day for pay. 

    The world of writing works differently. The world of newspapers especially. I work when the news happens. I work when inspiration strikes. I work when my contacts can meet for interviews. I don't have a set schedule because flexibility is a key component, but I also hyperfocus. 

    Since May I've discovered that I hate my cell phone. Every contact I use for stories has my number and email address. My phone is almost constantly lighting up with messages and being the polite human being I was brought up to be, my first instinct is to automatically answer them, which leads to me being constantly on my phone. To an outsider, it might look like I'm being lazy as I'm lounging on the couch with my computer in my lap and my fingers typing away on my phone, but inside me, I'm going 1,000 miles per hour. I think the biggest generational gap between millennials and X-ers is the form our work has taken. X-ers like my parents expect physical exertion from their work environment. They are laborers, and trade specialists, and leave it all behind you when you step out of the office people. Millennials expect mental exertion. We are influencers, and customer service specialists, and believe that work never stops. Both have their values, but they are different kinds of work that cause different kinds of exhaustion. 

    August of 2022 has been crazy for me. When the paper closed, I was ready. I put my freelancing contingency plan in full gear. I expected maybe a week of breath because outside of the town, my legal name (not my pen name) wasn't far spread. I've never been happy to be so wrong.

    I gave myself two days in between finding out the paper closed permanently and launching my freelancer career. On Friday we were told to stop work and that no more papers would be published. On Monday I sent out 15 resumes, created a profile on Freelancer.com (I've gotten a few hits from this sight but not as many as the resumes), and made a post on my social media platforms that I would be expanding my services to include editing, blurb writing, cover creation, and social media post creation.

    Flash forward two weeks and I'm busier than ever. The same day I sent out those 15 resumes, I heard back from three papers. One paper and I have entered a freelancer agreement, another is discussing using me with their publishers, and the third disappeared into the woodwork. I've had authors contact me about editing services, people looking for help with writings on Freelancer.com (I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of this site), and my planner has become even more important. 

    Let me break it down for you. At the time of this writing, my upcoming schedule was (does not include some interviews I was waiting to hear back on times from):

Friday, August 12, 2022:

-9:00 am meeting with the Gothenburg Leader newspaper to discuss a new project.

-1:00 pm memorial golf tournament pictures.

-2:45 pm interview with a softball coach for a preview of an upcoming game.

-Send out emails in search of pictures and interview times.

-4:00 pm I'm leaving town to go visit my grandmother for her birthday. I will be taking work with me.

Saturday, August 13, 2022:

-Back to school shopping with the family.

-follow up with emails that I sent regarding interviews.

-Return home from visiting family.

Sunday, August 14, 2022:

-This is my me day. I'm going to be hyper territorial about it. I'll check emails, but that's about it.

Monday, August 15, 2022:

-1:00pm interview with a football coach and write the story that comes from it.

-Special project from the Gothenburg Leader is due this day by 5:00 PM. 

-Send out the first invoice to clients.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022:

-A project for author Megan Kuykendall is due this day.

-I also need to make sure I've been editing my book, The Wordsmith, which releases this month.

-I need to finish planning a book release party for The Wordsmith.

    Needless to say, freelancing has kept me busy. I am completely exhausted mentally, but I'm also mentally stimulated enough that I can't stop working. I fell into a groove and it's one of those that's like the wake of a boat. I'm enjoying myself, even though I wish I was getting more than four hours of sleep a night right now.

    I'm planning on keeping you all updated on my freelancing journey. You see, I'm kind of a rarity in my author tribe. Most of the authors I chat with have husbands, who have jobs and do the majority of the financial supporting of their family, letting their wives write and take care of the kids. I'm a single, massively independent, demisexual woman who is taking on freelancing to pay her bills. Writing is going to be my primary source of income, which is a scary concept since royalties are so fickle. It's going to be a grand adventure, though, and I want to share what I learn so that any others out there who want to embark don't eh journey themselves have a place to start. It's terrifying jumping into the unknown and though I know a few freelancers I don't have any mentors in this area. I'm learning as I go and I'm hoping that by sharing my experiences with you, you'll be able to get a head start in this field.