Many creative writers aspire to make a living from the written word. But while producing scripts, stories, poems, and the like is often the ultimate goal, financial pressures mean it’s rarely something creators can explore full time from the outset.
With that in mind, freelance writing can seem appealing for budding writers, offering them a chance to earn money from their craft while maintaining the autonomy and flexibility required to pursue creative endeavors.
Unfortunately, the reality of freelancing sometimes doesn’t quite match up to what many people envision. And writing for businesses and digital publications can inevitably put the writing you do for yourself on the back burner.
Thankfully, you can learn to strike a balance between the two once you’ve got some know-how. And here, I’m going to show you how you can go about doing just that so that you can achieve all of your writing goals.
The Pitfalls of Being a Creative and Freelance Writer
There are several reasons why writing creatively alongside content writing or copywriting can be challenging.
For starters, writing can be mentally taxing on the brain. And even the most prolific writers can only put so many words to paper (or a word processor) daily. As a result, a non-writing-based side-gig or day job can seem more appealing to some.
Many writers also don’t consider the business side of freelance writing, such as all the required marketing, networking, and contract-negotiating. And because you don’t have set work hours, running a freelance business can soon wreak your work-life balance and, therefore, your creative writing time.
Now that we know the obstacles to running a freelance writing business while pursuing creative goals, let’s look and how you can overcome these obstacles.
Do the Unpaid Work First
How you split up your creative writing time and content writing is entirely up to you. But as with most things, it’s generally a good idea to do at least a little of each daily if you want to master your craft.
Since your freelance writing is what’s paying the bills, it might initially make more sense to make that your priority and first task each day. But in practice, things often work out a little differently.
If you do your freelance work first and don’t get round to your creative work, it won’t result in any instant ramifications regarding your life or livelihood. As a result, it can be easy to push the creative work aside. But, on the other hand, if you do your creative writing first, you’ll be more likely to make yourself do the content writing, too, because if you don’t do that, you won’t get paid.
To put it another way, if you had a regular day job and did some creative writing in the morning, you’d hardly choose to skip out on going to work afterward. And if you’re running a freelance writing business, there’s no practical difference.
Of course, you might prefer saving your creative projects to the end of the day as a treat to reward yourself. But, if you find that you are skipping out on finding time, make the first thing you do every day the thing you’re least likely to do later.
Charge a Higher Rate or Find Better Work
Too many novice freelance writers undervalue their worth on the market, and freelancers with creative side gigs or hobbies are no different. As a result, many are liable to take on any work no matter how poorly it pays. The result is long and tiring days full of endless low-paying commissions that leave writers with no free time or energy for much else.
The solution: Do you find this happening to you? Raise your rates.
Learning how to say no to poor-paying work can be scary at first, but even novice writers shouldn’t be working for anything less than a living wage. And though raising your rates will put you above the price range of many publications and businesses, the increased income means you won’t need that lost work anyway.
More to the point, however, when you start working for more money per word, you’ll have more free time to pursue your other interests. And for creative writers, that means more time for more writing!
Lower Your Expenses
One of the great things about freelance writing is the seemingly endless earning potential. However, one downside is that this earning potential can become addictive fast. And when lifestyle creep begins to set in, expenses can soon rise to match any surplus income you make when your freelance writing business is going well.
Of course, you don’t have to and shouldn’t live like a starving artist to pursue your creative goals. But if you’re serious about creative writing, there will come the point where you will have to ask yourself if earning a bit more cash from your work is worth sacrificing the time you could be spending on your latest WIP.
Being purposeful with your time and understanding its value is key to making your writing dreams come true. So don’t let the hustle and workaholic culture get in the way of your story or poem. Instead, learn how much money you need to make to live the lifestyle you require and invest the time left over into your passions.
Make Yourself Accountable
As mentioned before, a common obstacle to achieving a balance between creative and freelance writing is that it’s often only natural that you’ll prioritize the one that pays the bills (i.e., freelance writing). After all, you can always bank on your stomach to hold yourself accountable when there’s no food in the cupboards. But you can’t always say the same for your brain when your writing dreams don’t materialize.
Thankfully, there are many techniques, tricks, and strategies you can utilize to hold yourself accountable for your creative work, including:
- Using habit-tracking apps
- Joining online challenges Like NaNoWriMo
- Practicing your writing projects in public to an audience
- Finding a writing mentor or an accountability partner
- Joining a writing group
Whatever methods you choose, remember that potential losses are often a more significant motivator than potential gains. So while putting yourself in a position where you are liable to let someone down or lose out on something may be daunting, it can also help you rise to the challenge.
Final Thoughts
If you think back to why you originally got into writing, chances are that making money wasn’t the prime motivator. But when writing becomes your work, then it’s all too easy to put your passions to one side and become laser-focused on the financial and business side of things.
But the act of writing can fulfill your life in so many more ways beyond financial gains. And regardless of their aspirations, all freelance writers can benefit from putting aside time to write for themselves.