Do you get paid for that?
Yesterday, my doctor asked me what I do for a living. From there, I explained that I was a freelance writer and that I worked on other online related projects, etc. Much to my surprise, she replied, “do you get paid for that?” I nicely explained that I studied journalism in college, and that there are a lot of freelance writers and online professionals who are earning good money.
Do any of you guys and gals ever get questions like this? I always wonder why so many people think that freelance writers work for free. It seems as if more and more people are beginning to believe this myth for one reason or the next. And by the way that my doctor phrased the question, it really sounded as if she believed I had no chance of ever making money.
Keep one thing in mind: it does not matter what other people think of your career. I could have easily become frustrated yesterday, and in turn told my doctor that she has no idea what she is talking about. Instead, I explained what freelance writing is all about and hopefully opened her eyes to what this career path has to offer. From where I sit, being a freelance writer is better than being a doctor. Of course, she probably believes that being a doctor is the best job in the world because of the money or the ability to help people.
There are many benefits of being a freelance writer, and getting paid is one of them. How often do you field similar questions? And do you ever get upset after hearing them time and time again?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I don’t think that the attitude your doctor had regarding your career is limited to freelance writing. This country doesn’t celebrate writers of any kind, and humanities students in college get mocked for not going into the sciences or business and finance. If you were a technical writer, you would have (likely) been peppered with the same questions.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am
justelise - I have to disagree with you on one front. When somebody hears the term “freelance” they know that you work for yourself, not a company. In turn, they may equate this with low income in many cases.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I’m not a writer enough for people to ask such questions yet. However, when a friend recently heard that I get paid for blogging for a tech site, he was surprised that such a thing can be possible. Amateur blogging might have contributed to such myths.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:54 am
It’s bad enough when the general population doesn’t think that writers get paid. The real problem comes in when the EMPLOYERS don’t think that writers need to get paid. Too much of that idea can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Whenever I see people I worked with in the legal profession, they assume I have no money and that being a writer means being unemployed. They forget that I was a journalist in a past life and do not realise that I’m smart enough to be able to resume my career strategically (as I’m currently doing with good progress). I just smile and think about my work and the cafetiere of freshly-ground coffee that starts my day against a soundtrack of three or four favourite CDs selected each time to make my new work life even more enjoyable. The less they know is fine by me.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:59 am
It’s my theory that many people believe writing must be a “god-given” talent with which someone is born. In that case, it can be turned on and off like tap water and doesn’t require work to improve.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Good points from all! I guess this is something that freelance writers simply have to deal with. It’s not so bad…
July 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I get sometimes questions like this, unfortunately i have the impression that also many editors think the same way, and this is far more dangerous than what “outsiders” think.
And yes, if I’m already in a stressing day I can get upset and for 5 minutes I can even think that I’ve done it all wrong and I’d better get myself a “proper” job. After those 5 minutes I start thinking how it would be my life if I spent it sitting 7 hours a day in an office monday to friday and then going back home with the only strength to veg on my sofa. And I happily go back to the original and insecure plan of freelance writing.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:17 am
I’m lucky to have a good support (i.e., my family) surrounding me and they understand what I’m doing. Others think I’m doing it as a hobby. Yeah, right, a hobby.
I have a full-time job along with making a living as a freelance writer so I don’t really get the urge to leave freelance writing and getting a more stable job.
@justelise: i went through the same situation in college. i was a humanities major and other majors thought my course was a dumping ground for the people who failed management and science courses. it really hurt me when people thought that and i vowed that when i made a name for myself, i will uplift the humanities profession (and humanities department of my university) and bring it to a higher level of thinking. no wonder people think humanities majors are snobs. we’re not snobs, we just understand each other and we stick together.