Is freelancing a lonely business?

[Chris Wheal]

I saw this and was reminded how big a part Fleet Street Forum played in my early days as a freelance, providing banter, a sounding board, a professional peer review network and so much more.

Just thought I'd say thank you.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/work-blog/2014/jul/22/freelancing-lonely-business


Chris Wheal
+447831268261
Sent from my iPhone

[PJ White]

On 22/07/2014 07:29, Chris Wheal wrote:
> I saw this and was reminded how big a part Fleet Street Forum played in my early days as a freelance, providing banter, a sounding board, a professional peer review network and so much more.

I'll second that. I hate to think what I'd be like if I hadn't used it
to keep up my social skills.

PJ

[Martin Cloake]

Nice thought, Chris. I was relatively late to the board, but always found it a useful source of discussion and advice conducted by people who didn't feel the need to kick lumps out of each other. Although you still had to be on your toes ;-)

One element I always remember from a freelance life I enjoyed but found stressful was that I worked longer hours than I ever did, or do, in a staff job.

Martin Cloake
blog.martincloake.com
www.martincloake.com
Sent from my iPhone

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[Simone Castello]

Freelancing is lovely for a few years and great if you have young children to mind but homeworking has lost its shine for me. I used to be an inhouse freelancer for several years, who dreamt of working from home, got my wish when I moved out of London and now I am trying to find employment. 

I have been temping in marketing/office roles and realised that it is fine, provided I get out of the house. I am not worried by the insecurity of freelancing, it is a question of lack of social interaction and not seeing the full picture when working on projects (weirdly I do love meetings).

The past six years have been challenging for freelance journalists. I switched to marketing/copywriting pretty soon after I left London. Still, most of the time I am in front of a computer, being managed via email, raking my brain to come up with decent copy from a meagre brief and often dealing with morose clients/agencies - no change there!

I remember a few scraps on FleetStreet, I suppose you've got to vent somewhere!

Simone Castello

http://www.simonecastello.co.uk/

@simonecas

http://www.linkedin.com/in/simonecastellodigitalstrategy

[Guy Clapperton]

Been freelancing for 21 years now and still loving it. I agree about FleetStreet - a massive source of encouragement and support and I'm still in touch with many of the people I contacted at the time, it's still bearing fruit.

Regards

Guy

"The Smarter Working Manifesto" - book now available, by Philip Vanhoutte and me. http://amzn.to/1j2ovZO

[Marc Beishon]

During 23 years of freelancing I spent quite a lot of time doing shifts/inhouse jobs and then setting up a family publishing business in an office and then sharing an office. For the past five years I've been only at home and having a family is a major compensation. The things I miss ares not doing face to face management work and going to the pub. 

 

[PJ White]

This autumn I'm celebrating my 24th anniversary of freelancing. Margaret Thatcher was prime minister the last time I turned up to paid employment.

I have no idea how to behave in an office. I make outlandish observations to very straight people.  I am clueless about the power structures and dynamics. I transgress organisational cultures in plenty of ways I know about and probably dozens more that I don't.

This is a problem (shhh, we don't use that word here). This is a challenge. It's alienating not to belong to a tribe and to be denied that security and comfort. But it's also liberating. It allows me to deliver fresh, original, thoughtful copy that in-house writers could never do because their ram is filled with departmental feuds, factional struggles and figuring out who's next to go off with stress-related illness.

I understand Simone liking meetings - if by meeting you get  a chance to understand how organisations work and get some warm, nourishing human contact. But I'm beyond that now. I'm better off keeping away and using the vantage point of an outsider to produce copy that's a bit different. In a good way.

PJ

[Bryan Betts]

Like PJ, I've done 20-odd years of working from home now, and like Simone, I found it lost its shine several years ago. At times I've had part-time stints in offices and increasingly I find I'm more productive there than I am at my home desk, where there are just too many distractions - and of course no colleagues to motivate you or bounce ideas off.

I try to get out of the house at least once a week to a press conference or some other work-related event where I'll meets other hacks, but even that is a bit tough at the moment, especially with the demands of a young family.

And yes, it's been a challenging decade or two work-wide. Rates are much the same now as they were 10 years ago, if not longer, and there's fewer publications, with smaller budgets. Corporate work is there, but it can be a tedious business.

Bryan

[Mike Wilson]

Somewhat to my amazement, I find that I've been freelancing for 28 years now, and I wouldn't have missed the bumpy ride for anything. Although there have been times when my old staff job at the FT might have seemed financially tempting, and a lot more secure, the relative benefits of not having to trek into London every day have easily made up for it.

I'm lucky in that I edit our financial magazine and website from home, so I'm not chasing other work. It also helps that I can head for the garden rather than the fridge when I need a break and a change of rhythm. But I do still find myself occasionally making excuses to go into town, just for a bit of non-family social interaction. And driving 20 miles to a planning meeting can seem almost like a pleasure. Weird.

I do find, though, that I just can't find the time for my LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, and that's becoming a bit of a business liability these days. If you don't keep up your presence in the parallel universe, your image starts to suffer. But it really scares me how easily social media can hoover up all your waking hours.

Still, one post to Fleet Street every six months is hardly an excessive sin, is it?

Mike

[Manek Dubash]

I've been freelancing for almost 15 years now and, like most here, see the benefits outweighing the downsides. I'm quite happy with my own company most of the time (which certainly helps!) and the thought of never ever having to commute again helps keeps me sane; everything's relative, though. The lack of office politicking is a big boon too - I never was very good at brown-nosing.

The journalism's taken a back seat to the corporate stuff which is dull but pays much better - as Bryan (and almost everyone here in recent times) notes, rates for proper journalism are static or falling.

But to Chris' initial point, I'm glad to have been a tiny part of the group therapy here - it is good to know there are other minds around to bounce off, as it were.

On 22/07/2014 07:29, Chris Wheal wrote:

[Nick Ryan]

My own experiences reflect several of your own, and those in the original article: too much "own" time gets a bit stir crazy.

I do now rent a separate office space, rather than work at home (once I week I grab the laptop and work at home, often when I've had to collect kids from school or do some sort of errand which disrupts my normal working day): this kinda helps with the sense of "going to work" and then "coming home". The only downside of that, aside from additional cost, is that it's not really a media hub kinda place where I am, which I would like (having somewhere to grab a coffee/beer with likeminded souls)

Usually a day, or two, out of the office for meetings or research helps break the routines. My biggest disruption is being summoned by my wife to help out with collecting children, or doing stuff that's "domestic" -- I only "mind" when it's deadline time (i.e. always) whereas if I was stuck in an office that wouldn't be an issue. Well, she'd shout at me but I wouldn't be able to leave :)

Does anyone use any other form of online, or offline, community to help 'stay sane'?

Btw, on an unrelated note, I've been using an app/desktop piece of free software called Slack (http://slack.com) which I find very useful for staying in touch with clients, creating project-specific 'channels' and so on. Worth checking out.

cheers,

Nick

[heathwel%blu...@gtempaccount.com]

The answer to the question is 'yes, sometimes'.

I, too,  love meetings.  Brush my hair, put a bit of slap on, think about what shoes to wear, try to cut a dash....!

I have had a mix of some contracted work, where you are sort-of-freelance but not totally, and the occasional stint working  occasional days in an office which is a mixed blessing - I hate the fact you might be sitting in the wrong chair, or not knowing what the coffee/tea protocol is. One BBC office I worked in had a system whereby there'd be a rough turn-taking at going and *buying* teas and coffees from the canteen and bringing them back (is that a BBC thing? I have never come across it anywhere else) . I never knew if it was my turn, or if it was ok for me to order a drink or not, how long to spend away from my post on the drinks run....all that sort of thing. Oh, and getting logged out and having to beg someone to log me in again.

I have been freelance for over 30 years, and had the internet for probably 20 of those years, and that of course is the basis of social interaction now, professionally and to a large extent personally.

 I now have a two-day a week writing job for a charity, which pays average white-collar wages,  but I am still based at home.  I have other writing gigs but rates are low and  the market place is crowded with wannabes. I would not advise anyone to be a freelance journalist now, unless they can manage the peaks and troughs of income.

I briefly used the old Compuserve forum, but John Diamond said something very scathing to me and I scuttled away, to lurk only from then on :)

Heather Welford

[Chris Wheal]

On 22 Jul 2014, at 17:06, heathwel%blueyond...@gtempaccount.com wrote:

John Diamond said something very scathing to me

He did that to everyone, all the time. Often he was right.

Chris Wheal
t: +44 20 8694 9412
m: +44 7831 268261

[Chris Wheal]

He did that to everyone, all the time. Often he was right.

I just realised that sounds like I remembers what he said about you and it was correct. I don’t remember that. He said scathing things about me and about my copy (when we reviewed each other’s work) and I remember what he said being useful and true and I immediately wished I’d though t of it before.

Chris Wheal
t: +44 20 8694 9412
m: +44 7831 268261

[heathwel%blu...@gtempaccount.com]

Oh, I am sure he was right to be scathing. I probably deserved it for the crime of idiocy  :)

Heather Welford

[Manek Dubash]

Yes, I know what you mean about driving out occasionally to a planning meeting actually being a pleasure!

--

[PJ White]

On 22/07/2014 17:06, heathwel%blueyond...@gtempaccount.com wrote:
>
> I have been freelance for over 30 years, and had the internet for
> probably 20 of those years, and that of course is the basis of social
> interaction now, professionally and to a large extent personally.
>

And creeping more and more into professional processes. I agreed to do
writing workshops for a client. Which would normally stock me up with
human interaction for months. Or years. But the more we plan it,
timings, availability etc, the more it makes sense to do at least a big
part of it online. So instead of engaging, chatting, stimulating and
having fun - all those dreadful humanoid things - I'm writing a website
course. Doomed.

PJ

[PJ White]

On 22/07/2014 16:32, Nick Ryan wrote:
> Does anyone use any other form of online, or offline, community to help 'stay sane'?
>

I go for a bike ride by the river. Watch a kestrel, a heron or listen to
a reed bunting. Say how-do to folk I bump into. On the way back stop off
at the market, pick up veg & chat to traders.

Works better for me than any artificial solution - networking events or
"there's a lot of freelances & homeworkers round here we ought to get
together for coffee on a regular basis" initiatives.

It's a zen thing. Like what you've got, rather than trying to get what
you think you like.

PJ

[Chris Wheal]

I used to work on my own, predominantly, in the spare room (then the loft when first child moved in the room). I worked almost rigidly 9.30 to 5.15, closing the loft as I departed. This was timed around the paid-for nursery. I got a bit more flexible as the kids got older, picking them up from school and playing with them. I had days off on school trips and got involved with parents groups.

Very rapidly something changed. It was not just my family circumstances. There was a point when there was no point phoning anyone on Friday afternoon as they would either have gone home, be in the pub or be back from the pub and too squiffy to make any sense. 

You could safely offer to be available outside normal hours because hardly anybody ever took you up on the offer. Suddenly, every waking hour is potential work time. An email on Friday at 5pm would be answered Monday. 

Now an email at 7pm Friday will be answered that night, or Saturday morning. So it’s not just me who is available more hours, but all the people with whom I need to interact to get my job done (with the exception of anyone who works for communications company - BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone etc - as they are available less and less of the time and never when there is a fault).

Nowadays I might be out in my garage, tinkering with motorbikes when a call comes in. I can check emails on my phone (wiping my oily hands first, of course) and so on. But also, my wife has done fewer and fewer shifts and more home working, so we spend many weeks side by side all day. We get up from the same bed, walk the dog together, then spend the day next to each other, lunch together,  walk the dog again, have dinner together and veg out for evening together with a final dog walk then bed. That would probably put a lot of strain on many couples but it seems to work for us.

FleetStreet started the idea of meeting sometimes. On other fora (I’d normally says forums but here I’d be picked up) we started this too and I have made life-long friends among motorcyclists I have initially met online as wells journalists. A noisy neighbour dispute brought lost of neighbours together in my street so there dis a community here that meets and pops round for tea and coffee regularly too. Working in the garage, on the street, means I get to meet people and strike up conversions (having a zebra-striped motorbike tends to prompt complete stranger into conversation).

I still do trips away and some shifts and some days teaching etc. I ran a website for AOL using entirely freelances. It was an interesting experiment and we did a good job but ultimately, as a management experiment, it failed and AOL eventually took the editor role in-house. I didn’t want the job, so I went in several days a week for a while, helped merge the site, set up the new one and even launched it before handing over. There’s a lot to be said for an office environment and I’d certainly consider it.

But a balance between the home and office would be important.

[Jim Mortleman]

14 years here. This about sums it up for me:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/working_home

Jim Mortleman

[Suzanne Bosworth]

Like others here I don't thrive in office environments. I get so tired of the politics and the factioning. Freelancing suits me every which way including loose, and I've never, ever been happier. Yes it can be the old feast and famine but that's because I'm not very organised about lining up work for a steady stream, but every day is different. I talk to people thousands of miles away and I love the freedom of structuring stuff to suit my energy. There are some times I work like a demon for 48 hours when I'm on a roll, and others when I work "sensible" hours and catch up with my social life. I love it.

Also, I keep my work separate from my social life. Hardly anyone I know understands what I do and they think I'm some night creature that scribbles away in the flickering light of a guttering candle, sending strange runes to far flung countries. :-)

[Steve Gold]

I've freelanced from a home office for nigh on two decades, and enjoy the flexibility.

In theory I can take the odd morning off, but I never do, and I tend to work until around 7pm many evenings when the work demands.

I wouldn't swap it for the world - especially since I'm involved with external public and private sector organisations, and never ceased to be amazed at the politicking that goes on in meetings, thus wasting a lot of time.
 
I've also learned that working at weekends is something of a no-no, although I do drift into the home office on Sunday PM if the need arises.  

Would I work in an office again? Possibly, if the job was attractive enough. And the money, of coarse...

+Steve :)
 
Steve Gold, Business & IT Writer
PO Box 1014, Sheffield S10 5YG, UK

[PJ White]

On 23/07/2014 10:56, Steve Gold wrote:

Would I work in an office again? Possibly, if the job was attractive enough. And the money, of coarse...

Money's always coarse. Nasty, uncultured stuff. Just look at the people who've got it.

PJ

[Manek Dubash]

Good point about the discipline, Steve. If it's a working day, then I try to be at my desk at 0900 and leave by 1830, taking an hour for lunch. I never work weekends unless absolutely on deadline - and if I can I will designate Fridays as part of the weekend. This all helps me get stuff done rather than faff about. I never procrastinate.

Oh, wait...

Manek
--

[Bryan Betts]

Oh yes, absolutely - and yes, FSF has helped in that it has reminded me
I'm not alone, provided a place to discuss shared concerns (such as
loneliness and the freelance life). It's not a complete replacement for
the watercooler or office kitchen, but it's a lot better than nothing!

Bryan

[Bryan Betts]

Yup, another flash of recognition here....

[Malcolm_W]

It may sound odd, but I quite welcome this weird sort of "always on" world we're in.  And it's not just journalists and PRs -- it's everyone.  A teacher friend is nearly always online until 11pm.  I've been freelancing from home for 24 years now, and communicating has never been easier.

And would I go back to the daily grind at the office?  No.

Malcolm

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 6:10:12 PM UTC+1, Chris Wheal wrote:

Now an email at 7pm Friday will be answered that night, or Saturday morning. So it’s not just me who is available more hours, but all the people with whom I need to interact to get my job done.

[Louise Bolotin]

I like the switched on-ness but in the past two years I've got fairly strict about switching off outside "normal" office hours. I hover on the edge of workaholism and I feel much healthier now I deliberately walk away from actual work at around 6pm. Of course, I'm still switched on in that I'll check my email on my phone while I'm watching TV but I won't reply to business calls out of hours unless absolutely urgent and to do with something I'm on an urgent deadline for. If I'm out for the evening, the phone goes unchecked unless I'm posting pics on Facebook.

That said, I'm actually working this evening! Disclaimer - it's an urgent job for a new client.

I left quite a few comments BTL on the Guardian article - my username on there is Wordsmith For Hire if you want to read them.

Louise Bolotin


Tel 07708 634135
Twitter: @louisebolotin
http://louisebolotin.com
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/louisebolotin


http://plaintext.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/LouiseBolotin/196239043752185

[PJ White]

On 23/07/2014 20:43, Louise Bolotin wrote:
> I left quite a few comments BTL

Funny that. I always thought lettuce took precedence over tomato. Must
be a regional variation.

PJ

[Mike Wilson]

Oh help, I'm doomed! I don't ever check my emails on my mobile - although that's got more to do with the fact that I get around 300 a day, including a load of pics and docs, and they'd take a bit of handling on a three inch screen. When I'm out of the office on business, I take my netbook with me, and when I'm out and not on business, that's my own time. I'm up most mornings at 6.30 for a long day, so I don't feel too bad about fighting my corner for the work/life balance thing.

I'm afraid I'm a dinosaur in other respects as well. I don't think I've ever sent a text during dinner - an awful habit which both of my daughters seem to regard as normal. Mind you, I'm not a typical freelance, because these days most of my work is for the one company, so I can't compare my situation properly with others. I do try very hard to keep my social media life in a well-enclosed box, though. Am I unusual, or is this normal for an old (sixtysomething) fart?

Mike

[heathwel%blu...@gtempaccount.com]

I only check emails on my mobile if I have to - I use the iPad a lot these days, and lug my laptop around with me, too. Going away for leisure or business is awkward - laptop, iPad, iPod, phone, Kindle, all with chargers :(

I think sending a text during dinner is horrendous manners, but I don't think my kids agree with me, or at least they don't feel quite as strongly. When they were at home, we banned the use of phones at the table.  You can't do that with children in their late 20s-early 30s, especially if you are having dinner at their house...


Heather Welford

[Mike Wilson]

LOL, surely a case for a multi-charger there?

Speaking of which, I bought one of these Maplin 12v converters for the car a couple of months ago - it charges the netbook (19 volts) and all the USB fittings obviously, and it has plugs for all the major equipment manufacturers and somehow adjusts the voltage automatically for each appliance. There's only one review, which said it was rubbish on a plane, but I've had no probs with it. No complaints for twenty quid.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/12v-auto-voltage-carair-laptop-adapter-with-usb-socket-21a-with-9-charging-tip-a84la

On Thursday, July 24, 2014 9:45:14 AM UTC+1, heathwel%blu...@gtempaccount.com wrote: