No permanent boss. No rush to get dressed in the morning. Home for the kids after school. Sounds ideal, but freelancing is anything but sunshine and lollipops. Freelancing is tough. You have swapped the corporate safety net for autonomy, and you are now 100% responsible for your income and expenses.
Welcome to the world of telecommuting where, at first, you'll love the idea of not having to punch in, but soon realize that you are on the clock round the clock. You don't punch in because you never really punch out; when you work at home, there's a danger that you never leave the office.
To avoid rapid burnout, learn time management techniques.
Working at Home
Conference calls in your pajamas. Two-hour lunches. Unlimited vacations and endless sick time. Indeed, working at home is every writer's dream.
The truth is, writers and non-writer's alike tend to glamorize the notion of working at home. And the obvious perks don't always outweigh the unique challenges of being your own boss. In fact, many work-at-home writers I know share the same complaints: disorganization, isolation, and lack of motivation, just to name a few. But none of these challenges is insurmountable. Here are just a few suggestions to get your home-based writing business on track.
1. CREATE A WORKSPACE
Lots of writers take their workspace for granted. This is especially critical when you work at home. If you don't have the luxury of a separate office in your home, make the most of the living space you do have available. Avoid high traffic zones like the kitchen. A wall in the bedroom will do - even a corner in the foyer or laundry room if all else fails! But you need space to work, and at least one set of filing cabinets to stay organized. A phone is a given, but you can probably get away with not having a fax-machine at first, as long as you have email.
by Chris Stewart
I know, you're brilliant, you don't need any touchy feely advice on how to create an altar to your writing. You're doing just fine, thank you. If this is true, great! But I hope you'll read on anyway, because I may say something interesting (it has happened at least once that I know of).
It's important to have a space set aside in your home for writing. It can be a big cushion in a corner of your closet with a notebook and pen, if that's all you have room for, but it should be all yours, waiting for you whenever it's time to write.
