Everything I've learned about freelancing
Five tips for surviving and thriving as a freelancer
One of the biggest fears we have around freelancing is money. Not being able to earn enough money, not knowing where the money is coming from, and not getting paid.
Freelancing is like stocks and bonds. With stock, you have the power to earn limitless money, but also to lose it all. With bonds, you know exactly what you’re getting, but the potential to earn is limited. The risky option vs the safe option, if you will.
In life, I have almost always taken the safe option. I’m a saver, not a spender, and I’m not big on investing in shares. In my 17 years of working life, I’ve worked for three big companies, averaging about five years at each.
But when I got cancer, all that changed. I was suddenly willing to take more risk because I knew it could all end, just like that.
So I went freelance. Eleven months later, the global pandemic hit, and things were hit and miss for a little while, but I’ve always made it work, and I’ll never regret the career move. It’s now three years to the day since I became self-employed, so I thought I’d share a few of my learnings.
Five tips for freelancers
As a freelancer, you have to learn to say no. You’ll be tempted to say yes to everything for fear that clients will stop offering you work if you say no. But the opposite risk is burnout, when you find yourself working through what was meant to be your holiday. I was two years into freelancing before I started to say no to things, and I can safely say the work didn’t dry up. Most companies need freelancers more than ever, but if you’re so burnt out you can’t work, you’ll be no use to anyone.
There’ll always be someone you envy. Whether they’re earning more than you, getting better work than you or going on better holidays than you, there’ll always be that person you wish you could be. My advice is to stay in your lane. Think of it like athletics – if you look around at your opponents when you’re sprinting, you’ll lose time and fall behind. That translates well to any creative career too. If you need to, channel your envy into pushing your own career along, setting clear targets of what you want to achieve.
You will not work less than you did as an employee. In fact, you’ll probably work longer and harder a lot of the time. The key is to remember why you went freelance in the first place, and seize the opportunities for flexibility. Sure, you might be working all evening or weekend, but can you go for a swim mid-week when it’s quiet, or book a trip outside of the school holidays and work from Copenhagen/Madrid/Mexico City?
Your friends will always assume you’ll be free for coffee. It may take a while for the people in your life to truly understand that being a freelancer doesn’t mean being free. I have learned that meeting people for lunch or coffee in the middle of day is rarely a good use of my time when you factor in the travel and everything else. Don’t be afraid to say no.
You will still need colleagues. I am an introvert and I thrive on working alone, but I gain a lot from working with colleagues and batting ideas off others. While social media can make you feel like you’re chatting to colleagues, I recommend joining a closed group of people with similar interests, eg a writers group. Find your tribe, and hopefully they’ll be there to support you when you’re struggling with creativity, grappling with burnout or deciding whether or not to say no to the latest job.
Ultimately, you won’t know what sort of freelancer you’re going to be until you’re a while into freelancing, so let your work-life evolve and develop naturally with time.
I loved this tweet that the podcaster Sara Tasker did a few years ago. Sara is a great example of where freelance earnings can be limitless (and her podcast is excellent).
I shared a little more about the transition from employee to freelancer in my podcast episode with Ollie Henderson, who I worked with briefly at the very start of my career. Ollie’s podcast, Future Work/Life, is all about finding that balance between success and happiness in life and work.
Have you recently gone freelance or are you thinking about taking the leap? I’d love to know your tips, questions or the one thing that’s holding you back.
What does success look like for you?
All this brings me to my latest podcast episode with Sian Meades-Williams, founder of the Freelance Writing Jobs newsletter and author of The Pyjama Myth: The Freelance Writer's Survival Guide. Sian is a bit of a freelance guru, so we had a really interesting discussion about what success looks like when you’re self-employed. (And because it’s the Life in Food podcast, we also talked about banana sandwiches and Hula Hoops.)
Also on the podcast, I interviewed the sensational Nikki May, author of Wahala, about the power of food in friendship, the under-representation of Nigerian cuisine and her plans to be an extra in the upcoming TV adaptation of her book.
Finally, don’t miss my episode with world-renowned chef Dominique Crenn, who talked to me about being adopted from an orphanage as a baby, falling in love via Instagram and getting through breast cancer with the help of her partner, Maria Bello.
Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, please do give it a rating or review as these help other people to discover it.
The crumbs
A rundown of the stuff I’m loving right now.
What I’ve been reading:
— Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. A sort of cross between Malibu Rising and The Vanishing Half, this is a stunning debut and I can’t wait for the telly adaptation.
— The Red of my Blood by Clover Stroud. A moving memoir on Clover’s experience of grief after her sister’s death from breast cancer. I’m thrilled to say Clover is joining me for an episode on Food and Grief so make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast.
What I’ve been eating:
— Trivet. Wonderful food and wine from ex-Fat Duck duo Jonny Lake and Isa Bal.
— Sunday roast at Fallow, which is fast-becoming my new regular.
— Sushi Atelier. Really decent sushi at really affordable prices, a rarity in London.
What I’ve been listening to:
— Marian Keyes on The Adam Buxton Podcast, where Marian talks about sex, London in the 80s and not becoming a mother. I didn’t think I could relate to her more until I heard her say this:
“The happiest times of my life are late on a Saturday afternoon when I get a text saying ‘tonight’s off’.”
What did you think of Single Bald Female?
Have you read and enjoyed my book? If so, please leave me a review on Amazon (regardless of where you bought the book) as these really really help! It has a 4.7-star rating at the moment and I’m absolutely thrilled and grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to write a review.
Meet me on the Single Bald Female tour!
I LOVED talking to readers at my first northern event at Read bookshop in Holmfirth last weekend, and the good news is I’ll be speaking and signing books again in May and June, with an exciting event to be announced for October too!
Let me know if I’ll be seeing you at any of the following:
SAT 21st MAY – Signing at Waterstones Huddersfield. (No need to sign up. Just pop in between 12 and 2pm.)
THURS 2nd JUNE – Vanguard Readings at Margate Bookie. (Free entry, all welcome).
THURS 16th JUNE – Talk and signing with Maldon Books at The Blue Boar Hotel, Maldon, Essex. (£5, sign up via Eventbrite).
TUES 28th JUNE – TLC Being a Writer Festival for the most excellent Confessions of a Debut Novelist podcast. (Online event).
That’s it for now, but I’ll leave you with this pic of me outside Read in Holmfirth, before my giant sign fell down in the wind. Bye!
Hi Laura. I just discovered your writing. And just finished chemo/radio for stage 3 breast cancer and started hormone therapy. Also embracing the freedom of freelance writing alongside being a doctor. Really enjoyed this article.
I’m about to start a campaign for better follow up after breast cancer to find secondaries more quickly. I read about the delay in detecting yours. It would be great to talk to you about it.
Very sensible advice. Couldnt agree more. Keep up the excellent work.