Freelance writing doesn't offer a person a guaranteed amount of money each week. On top of that, it doesn't pay that much when it does pay. While millions of people trudge to their places of employment each day, there are others that sit at their desk in hopes of catching a break. These are the people we call freelance writers.
Why would anyone choose to be a freelance writer when the promise of pay isn't that rewarding? Here are a few ideas on what drives the heart of a freelance writer.
Freedom
Taking up a career as a freelance writer is a difficult task. You have to find the work. It isn't laying on your desk when you come into the office in the morning. What it does do for you is give you the freedom to choose your work. The freedom of working as few or as many hours as you choose.
Being Your Own Boss
You won't have to punch a time clock, get in trouble for being late or for calling off. There are no more worries about who will take care of your kids if it snows and schools or daycares close. If you need to change your shift, you are free to do so at anytime. The best part of being your own boss is that there are no more company meetings to waste your time.
Love of Writing
Being a freelance writer allows you the freedom to do what you love to do. Writing takes a deep love for the craft in order to do it well. Being stuck in an office crunching numbers when your heart is really on some subject that you would love to write about is excruciating. Being a freelance writer lets your dream come out in ways you could never imagine.
Choice of Work
No one tells you what you have to write. You can choose the jobs you would like to take. No one will get upset or angry that you didn't choose to do certain types of work. You will not be asked to perform tasks that don't pertain to your job as most people are that have jobs outside of the home.
That is not to say you may never take work that you don't particularly care for. It just means that you can be much pickier about it. You won't be forced into doing, for example, product returns when your real job is accounts receivable.
Teaching and Learning
Writers love to teach people. They also love to learn. That is what makes them so good at their jobs. There is always something new to learn and writers are the fortunate ones that get to pass that information on to others. Some of the issues that a writer covers can affect the entire world.
Making people aware of issue or taking an unpopular stand on an issue is not unheard of by writers. That is what keeps a subject alive and it makes people stop and think about what they are saying and doing. If you can cause someone to stop even for a moment and question what they once believed to be the truth, you are a good writer.
No More Workplace Doldrums
Becoming a freelance writer means no more dealing with having to be in one place all day long. You don't have to sit tied to your desk. You can get up and move around or you can do your research, which can mean traveling from place to place to get the information that you want or need.
It also means that you will not be susceptible to the germs that co-workers inevitably bring into the workplace, which will keep you healthier. You will no longer find the environment too noisy to concentrate on your work.
The best thing about being a freelance writer is that you won't get bored with your job. Because you won't be writing about the same thing all the time, there is not time to get bored. In a full-time permanent position in any company that you work for, you often find that you get into a rut because you do the exact same thing, day in and day out. There is no break from the tasks. With freelancing, you can change the job and the subject at every turn. This keeps you on task and you do a much better job at it.
These are the reasons that many people who love to write have taken the path of freelance writing. The stress level that you save alone is worth the effort and struggles that come along with it. That is why someone would want to be a freelance writer.