by Kate Johns

Created on: September 19, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2012

Do you want the saccharine-sweet view of what it is like to be a stay at home writer? Or do you want the real lowdown on what it is really like to stay at home writing, marketing and researching for your business?

Being a stay at home writer is an okay gig.  But be forewarned, being a stay at home writer isn't all roses and bon bons.You, the writer set the hours you want to work. You work from the comfort of your home. Your time is all yours. You don't have to put up with annoying co-workers. You may become seriously lonely, being at home alone working. You have to get used to rejection. You don't have to spend long hours in time consuming meetings, and you don't have to participate in office politics to get ahead.

You can write what you want, when you want and where you want, but there are some areas you may want to consider before leaving a good full time job. In other words, there are pros and cons to everything, including being a stay at home writer.

Cons

You will not have any health benefits. Unless you are working a good full time job, or you have a life partner who has a good job with health benefits, you will have to pay your own medical bills. With medical costs rising, it may be wise to keep your job  that has medical benefits. Health care costs are astronomical. Staying in the hospital for over a week will run your medical costs into what most homes are going for these days.

You have to pay double the taxes, now, than you paid while gainfully employed. When you write for yourself, or own your own business, you must pay twice the taxes. At least that's the way it goes, living in the United States. A stay at home writer has to pay taxes as a worker, and as an employer.

Being a stay at home writer can be a very lonely gig. There isn't any office socializing. There isn't anyone to ask how your weekend was, unless you meet with prospective clients in person, or socialize on websites. There aren't any office parties such as a Christmas party, or a going away party. On the plus side, though you don't have to give that office happy person five bucks every week to contribute to a communal fund to give gifts, and to throw parties.

Pros

Scheduling time for yourself to see friends and relatives, is a necessity to a work at home writer. You will need to maintain some much needed personal time. You will need to take frequent breaks to enjoy yourself and let off steam. When you work, you can let off steam by going to lunch, or going out with co-workers after work. But when you are a stay at home writer, you don't have that luxury. When you are meeting a deadline you may call running errands, and volunteering, as time off

You are your own boss, and you can determine how much work you will take on. You can write many articles for the Internet for small pay, and sell your services to local and national businesses for larger paying gigs. You can take time off for a vacation when there is downtime in writing. You, the writer can also schedule your day to take a walk, go to the beach, have friends over at night, or spend time with your partner and children.

What may look like fun to a full-time employed worker may not be an attractive proposition when done five to seven days a week.There are good and bad aspects of every job. You must decide if you can handle doing all of the work. You have to plan your job; after all you are the boss. You don't have that long commute to work anymore. You can dress as casually as you want and work by the pool during the summer.

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