Last post of the night, as it's 1:30 a.m. and I'm drifting, but I got to thinking about something that bothers me about many of the freelance writers out there: they just don't seem to want it badly enough.
If you have a goal in life, you do everything you can to achieve that goal. If you can't run, you walk, and if you can't walk, you crawl, and if your legs are amputated and all you can do is pull yourself along, then that's what you do. Why? Because you want to reach your goal.
Let's say you have a family to feed. Now, I'm a bit jaded in the sense that it's just me and my wife and no plans for children, but let's just say that you do. Wouldn't you do anything in the world to provide for your progeny? Anything at all?
So why do so many freelance writers struggle? Do they simply not want it badly enough? Or does it have more to do with working outside of your comfort zone?
Let me give you an example. Let's say you are a manager of a bank, making 50k a year. Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that you lose your job, and there are no other bank jobs to be had. The only jobs available are to clean porta-johns for 38k a year, or to work part time in your particular niche market and make 15k a year. You are married, have two kids, and you need to make at least 30k a year to combine with your spouse's income to hit at least 50 or 60k and have a livable amount of income.
This is an exaggerated example, but the point I'd like to make that is that it seems to be there are a lot of freelance writers out there who claim they want or need income, but they are unwilling to do work that they deem beneath them, or out of their comfort zone. The question I have to ask is: how badly do you want it? I regularly see writers refusing work because it's not what they "want" to be getting paid, yet in the same breath complain about how they are unable to pay their bills. I'm sorry, but that's just moronic. There is work out there. Sure, it might be comparable to sucking human feces from a porta-john with a giant vacuum, but the fact is, the work is there, the money is there, and you have the capabilities.
You can either put food on your family's table, or they can starve. Me, I'm not afraid to don a pair of gloves and wear a respirator.
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2 comments:
Very pertinent post in this time of economic turmoil. Or "creative destruction" as Schumpeter would have put it.
But then I'm in the U.S. Not familiar with Bulgaria!
-Steve
Well, I think the same things are relevant regardless where you live. I can remember when things first started to slow down for me in the States, when I dropped below 50k for the first time in years. I had a three month period of work, and rather than complain about how badly it "sucked" that I wasn't able to find work, or curse everyone who was willing to do the work for less than me, I went out and did supplement work for 12 dollars an hour building fences on a ranch. Was it way below my normal 75 dollars an hour? Yes, but it kept food on my table and kept our bills paid, and that's what matters at the end of the day.
I honestly believe that the only barrier between an individual and success is their own desire. If someone doesn't want it badly enough, then it won't ever become a reality. I like toys, I like vacations and adventures, so I work as hard as I need to in order to make sure my wife and I get to enjoy those things.
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