10 Myths Of Freelance Writing

Wherever you go on the Internet, you’ll find certain myths about freelance writing. Some of them are true, others aren’t. Some are in that undefined middle ground where things are still uncertain. Here’s a list of ten myths I’ve run into and my experience (and only mine) with them as fact, fiction or folly:

1. Anyone Can Write

Just like anyone can think, use a computer or play chess. I can do all those things, too – but I really suck at chess. I mean really suck. The same goes for a lot of “writers” out there who are freelancing: yes, they can write – but yes, they suck. Some of them even write books and still suck. Incredible.In my experience, a lot of the people who are paid for their writing – even the people who are paid an awful lot - regularly produce ugly, badly-formed prose. OK, so I’m a vicious, evil editor, but the number of supposedly top-rated sites I see every day with awful copy is quite frightening.

Use a spell-checker. Re-read your own work. Read it aloud. Realise the awful crap you’re about to inflict on your readership. Re-write it.

Judgement: Folly – although anyone can write, writing well is a skill that’s worth more (or worth paying for the editing to make bad writing better). And that leads us nicely on to…

2. Writers Need A Huge Vocabulary And Perfect Grammar

You know I want to say this is true. I’m dying to say it – but I can’t. The fact is that it’s not necessary. Some of my favourite blogs and web pages are authored by people who make many mistakes or who quite simply produce work that borders on the unintelligible. It doesn’t matter because they write well and they have something to say.

Let’s face it: unless you’re running the GrammarCops web site or you happen to be Grammar Girl herself, a mistake or two is not significant. What’s important is the meaning.

Judgement: Fiction – provided you can communicate your meaning, precision is less important. So what if you’re an expert writer? Ah, experts…

3. You Need To Be An Expert To Earn

What’s an expert? Who gave these people their titles? How many total noobs do you see every single day with “Social media expert” on their profile, but who have been on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for less than a month?

No one would deny that being a real expert in a particular field is a big advantage, especially if you happen to be a publicly-recognised expert or, as far too many marketing whores say, a “certified expert” – which sounds (appropriately) like they live in an asylum.

The thing is, you don’t need to be an expert. There’s plenty of work out there for folks who can do some research and post intelligent commentary. You don’t need years of experience – you just need Google, Wikipedia and a bit of time. You may not earn as much as the real experts, but you’ll still earn.

Judgement: Fiction – research and an active, interested mind count for a lot. And that leads nicely in to the fact that…

4. Everyone Has To “Pay Their Dues”

“You have to work for slave wages at the start,” they say. “Everyone does it. It’s just paying your dues.”

Well, that’s crap. It’s a point of contention, of course, because it involves money – and we are all aware of the eternal, ongoing debate about how much writers should be paid!

Purely from my own experience, this is true and false at the same time. The vast majority of people I’ve run into have taken lower-paid jobs at the start of their freelancing career. For some of them, the better-paid jobs take a long time coming. Others are luckier and either earn more quickly or – in some cases – refuse to take lower-paid gigs and set their rates at a “professional” level from the first day.

But none of them had to take that work. They could have refused and aimed at better-paying offers. The thing is, we’ll never know if they would’ve got those nicer jobs, because they had bills piling up and took the lower salary to pay them.

Judgement: Fact & Fiction. It depends on where you look and what you’re willing to accept, not some global necessity to pay intangible dues. Of course, this one ties in with…

5. Bid Sites Only Have “Slave Labour” Jobs

All the bidding sites for freelancers are filled to the brim with scamming scum who offer $1 per article or less, or want 500 shoddy articles a month. We all know that, right? They’re just full of crappy jobs no one wants.

“Crap,” I say, and you can quote me on it, “is where you find it.”

There’s plenty of slave labour work everywhere on the web. On Craigslist. On bidding sites. On article directories. On magazine submission sites. On sponsored or paid blogging sites. On AdSense. On human-generated, researched writing opportunity job-lists (yes, it happens, they do slip through).

Bidding sites have an enormous range of work. Some is $1-per-article. But then, I recently picked up a $30-per-article job from Elance. So don’t tell me it’s all junk, or I’ll laugh in your face. Loudly.

Judgement: Fiction. You just need to filter out the rubbish – and, unlike human-generated lists, you have to do the filtering yourself. Speaking of those lists…

6. Anyone Can Land A $100-Per-Article Job

Just the other day, Deb posted an article about how the “paying your dues” thing sticks in her craw (love that expression). She also listed 40 sites that pay a heck of a lot better than most web content gigs. Possibly the coolest freelancing post of the month, in my opinion!

Deb and I disagree intensely (and respectfully, I should add) on the issue of pay and the writing market. But that’s OK – it makes for some good blog posts, after all. She is firmly of the belief that anyone can land the better-paying jobs. I think that’s a crock of something smelly: I totally agree that it’s possible, I just don’t think a lot of people have the skill or experience that a lot of those jobs want.

Realism dictates that someone with several years’ experience and a bunch of published works to their name ranks a heck of a lot higher on an employer’s list than Joe Public does with his three-month-old blog and email address of JoeDoe@CheapDomain.

Judgement: Fact. Anyone can land the big-money jobs. Just be prepared for massive pressure, a lot of competition and the feeling that…

7. Freelancers Need To Be Creative And Original All The Time

This is my favourite myth. “Oh my God,” says the freelancer. “I have to be clever and witty and creative and innovative and entrepreneurial and smart and funny and satirical and…”

Balderdash. Poppycock. Hogwash. Have a closer look at all the really big, popular blogs. Every single one of them regurgitates the same content (under a different title) all the time. They all have slack periods where they have nothing to say – people think they have something to say because they’re famous, but in fact they’re just talking the same crap as everyone else 90% of the time. It’s the other 10% that makes them popular.

If you struggle with creativity, get a paid blogging job posting the news. That requires absolutely no wit at all. In fact, a sense of humour could even be a negative.

Judgement: Fiction. The need to be creative all the time is a myth generated by marketing whores trying to sell you their creativity courses. OK, it helps to be creative and original, but you don’t have to do it all the time, alright? On a similar note…

8. Publications Need To Be Original And Different To Sell

Utter twaddle. From what I can see, everyone’s writing the same half a dozen books over and over again. All they do is change the title, update it with a couple of new web site references and publish it under their own name. Just do a search on a place like Lulu for “how to blog” or “creative ideas for writers” or something – you’ll get thousands of results.

What really matters when you’re trying to sell a book is the marketing. If you happen to be famous, that helps, too. Originality? Overrated.

Judgement: Fiction. You can easily sell twice as many unoriginal books as original ones. Just ask any literary agent. Of course, this comes in part from the idea that…

9. There’s Only One “Right” Way To Earn As A Freelance Writer

Another wonderful myth. “My way’s the right way!” they shout. “You shouldn’t be doing that – you’re (a) ruining it for yourself, (b) digging yourself a badly-paid grave, (c) never going to get anywhere or (d) ruining it for everyone else!”

Blah, blah, blah. Show me a successful person who follows all the rules or even other people’s advice and I’ll show you the Magic-Happy Unicorn Smile Land Of Ultimate Joy. Do things your own way, learn from your own mistakes and don’t take anyone’s advice. We’re all talking nonsense, anyway. Just because something worked for me doesn’t mean it will for you.

Judgement: Fiction. Whatever way works for you, works. And that leads us, finally, to…

10. More Risk Means More Money And Success

It’s often true, but it’s also tripe, vomited by people trying to encourage you to buy their book. More risk does not necessarily mean more reward, no matter how many video games or entrepreneurs try to convince you otherwise. We’re not talking bleeding-edge gadget manufacturing here. It’s writing.

A couple of solid, regular clients and you’re on your way. Add a few more jobs here and there and you have regular income. Sure, taking a risk and trying for a big contract can boost things enormously, but if you’re happy with a steady income, why not stick with it? Because you want more? Take the risk, then.

Do what you feel is right for you: take the risk if you want, grow steadily if you don’t. Or don’t grow. I don’t care, as long as you’re satisfied. You’re the one doing the work, after all, not me!

Judgement: Fiction. More risk can mean those things, but it can also mean more stress or, quite simply, more rejection. If you’re a risk-taker, go for it.

What other myths of freelance writing have you come across? Have they turned out to be fact, fiction or folly?