On the (Freelance) Road Again

And now to talk about my other favorite topic, freelancing. As I seldom forget, I'm graduating in less than a month, and will then be back in my hometown striking out with all I'm good for after cash. I'm working with a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing here; this is not a degree that carries a good deal of weight in terms of getting a job (and anyone upholding the delusion that it does should drop the idea as soon as their conscience allows).

Long story short, I don't have one. What I do have is three or four freelance gigs lined up, from which, by themselves, I could scrape together rent and food if necessary. Needless to say, I haven't stopped looking. These contracts are no replacement for a real job, but they do take the edge off when it comes to finding one; chances are I'll either be combining them with a more low-maintenance part time job or taking on about twice as many freelance contracts at once. (I'm also publishing a book, but the profits from that will most likely go toward publishing other books)

Question 1: how did I find these jobs, and how can you (and, hopefully, I) find others like them?
Answer: Craigslist. Not even kidding. Mind you, I have been surfing several actual freelance job boards, such as Guru (which I'm not particularly fond of) and iFreelance (which I like a little better). However, those sites and similar ones tend to host projects that are presently a little beyond my reach. They generally involve "bidding" on freelance projects with rates and credentials. You have to be a paying member to bid, and are usually competing with professional firms when you do.

The advantages of craigslist are that it operates on a local rather than national or international level and often hosts employers that are more friendly to relatively inexperienced professionals. The flipside is, of course, that people on craigslist often don't pay as well and there are just less of them.

I won't pretend that looking for jobs on craigslist is a good idea for just anyone. I have the advantage that my hometown is a major metropolitan area with an expanding job market. Others looking to freelance might have an easier time seeking out telecommuter-friendly positions on one of the larger job boards. A larger board might also be better if you have (as I'm sure more people than I know of do) more credentials coming out of school than I do. If your internship was at Simon & Schuster, you probably get your start in greener pastures.

What I'm doing is also somewhat risky. Taking freelance contracts requires a good deal of caution and close reading of terms. As of now, I'm only accepting on job from a startup operation, and probably won't take any more from unestablished sources unless there upfront pay involved. NEVER work for free, even for purposes of "resume building," unless you're taking a very prestigious internship. If you're not getting anything in return for your work, then... well, you're getting NOTHING in return.

Most importantly, freelancing requires heavy self-management. As I've said before, saving all your documentation and knowing how to file taxes for yourself is a must, and it's likely you'll have to seek out your own insurance coverage too. Such is the world of self-employment.

But I will say this: working for myself, even if I just do it part of the time, is gratifying. As is the value of my career, I'm doing what I like, and if I'm presented with work I don't like, I can turn it down. And in spite of the hassles, that's nice.