Freelance, Schmreelance

Why can't I get excited over freelancing?  I know it's a perfectly respectable way to make money, yet I continue to shun the very notion of applying for -- or accepting -- a freelance proofreading assignment.  Maybe it's the seeming lack of commitment on the part of hiring companies.  Or maybe it's the lack of long-term commitment on the part of the party who accepts freelance assignments.  Or maybe I just have a bad attitude in general regarding freelancing.  I don't know.  Personally, I prefer the permanence of a regular, full-time job.  It probably has to do with the fact that I enjoy structure, routine, working in an office, socializing on a professional level, et cetera.  But for some, freelancing lacks an anchor they don't wish to be weighed down with and allows for flexible scheduling around other pursuits.

Having never freelanced, I'm really in no position to pass judgment.  So, I figured if I'm going to write about freelancing, I may as well research it first.  So I jumped on Google and (to quote my buddy, Margaret) went "in search of" articles on freelancing and the apparent joys thereof.  My first stop was at http://www.wahm.com/, a website for mothers who work from home while raising terrific tykes, teenage terrors, and everything in-between.  According to their article, An Introduction to Freelance Proofreading Jobs, business is booming for proofreading freelancers.  Proofreaders who work at a good clip can earn up to $20 an hour, your working hours are flexible, and you're more or less the captain of your own ship -- unless your client deems that you must walk the plank for whatever reason.  The downside of freelancing is covered as well, which only seems fair.  Proofreading freelancers must constantly work their own public relations by getting out there and selling themselves, usually as cheaply as possible.  Benefits aren't part of the package, and there's also the business end of freelancing which entails bookkeeping and administrative chores.  I would assume that most proofreaders are people such as myself who tend to be more creative than mathematical, and for whom the logistics of accountancy would be a minor nightmare.

Jan K., author of So You Think You Want to be a Freelance Proofreader, shoots that aforementioned theory to complete hell on http://www.absolutewrite.com/ by unintentionally sliding into the freelance life when she doesn't win the lottery and lands an assignment which requires a combination of accountancy and proofreading know-how.  Fortunately, Jan K. possesses the skill set, having served in the corporate world for well over twenty years when circumstances conspire to send her in a different professional direction rather than the regular, full-time world that she knew so well and for so very long.  She begins her accidental freelance career by signing with a temp agency for a gig with a firm which lasts for nearly a year until she and her husband decide to relocate.  She continues to freelance off-site for that same firm, and eventually builds a freelance client base by simply shopping her talents and expertise around.  It's an approach that she recommends to anyone considering freelance proofreading.  She encourages proofing wannabes to take stock of their surroundings and scan out proofreading possibilities in their immediate area with the help of a little shameless self-promotion.  Websites, business cards, and brochures are her weapons of choice amongst other things, and she believes they should be yours, too.  Patience -- that elusive virtue I'm desperately attempting to master -- is also key.  Jan K. counsels fledgling freelancers to be prepared to wait... to build up a client base... for paychecks... and patiently between assignments when things are slow until the next freelance opportunity turns up.

I am less impressed with the advice I receive at my next stop at http://www.ecopywritingjobs.com/.  Their article, Freelance Proofreading Jobs: The Big Secrets of Sucess immediately rubs me the wrong way as Sucess is misspelled.  How can a proofreader -- or anyone writing an article on proofreading -- expect to be successful if they can't spell Success?  Since spelling is an issue, therefore compromising their professional credibility, I really can't be bothered much with the article.  I understand that proofreaders are human beings and typos are an unfortunate part of the process on occasions very few and far between, but a titular misspelling is unacceptable.  Perhaps the author would've been more successful as a proofreader if he/she had actually proofread their own work prior to publishing it online.  Oh well.  The article does offer some advice on finding freelance work through websites such as guru.com, elance.com, and odesk.com.  I have not yet paid these sites a visit, so I'll reserve comment for the time being.

In my Google travels on freelance proofreading, I have come to learn a few things.  Not all proofreaders are created equal, not all proofreaders should freelance, and some proofreaders shouldn't proofread at all.  As for my own position on freelance proofreading, I'm starting to reconsider.  Maybe someday I'll wade into the freelance pool, but for now, I still think I'd rather swim in the regular, full-time sea.