I read Brooklyn a few months ago and then went on to Long Island which I just finished. Loved them both. Your description of designing vs self publishing is very true.
Sandi, this was so informative. At one point in my working life, I considered becoming a freelance editor. At the time I recalled how, as a grad student, I had nicely supplemented my paltry research assistant stipend by editing for other grad students, and without marketing. All my clients came through word-of-mouth. So when I found myself miserable in a full-time job, I thought I should give freelancing a try. I bought a book on how to be a freelance editor, and it stopped me cold. It was all the things you mentioned in your essay: all the fees, insurance, and overhead. And the risk of clients who, for whatever reason, don't pay up. And taxes! I am, by nature, risk-averse. It didn't take long for me to realize that me and self-employment would not mix. But I love reading about people--such as yourself--who are self-employed. At least I get to experience it vicariously. As far as reading, I was gifted a novel written in free verse by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. The story takes place in Lisbon in the late sixties and is narrated by a teenage poet whose family loses their middle-class status for perceived disloyalty to the government and whose boyfriend is arrested for anti-government activities. I believe it's available in audio, too. The narrator, Sonia, is a fierce character.
Being self-employed as a freelance worker isn't for everyone. It definitely requires a tolerance for instability, along with a good deal of discipline and self-direction. Fortunately, I rarely have to deal with clients who don't pay. The only time I've ever dropped a client is when I had to repeatedly chase them for payment.
And yet being self-employed was something that kept coming up for me after I took a weaving class in 1976. My weaving instructor even remarked that I was the only student she’d had who wanted to know how to make a business out of weaving. (She made it abundantly clear that it would involved attending a lot of craft fairs.) Over the years I tried spinning and selling naturally dyed cotton yarn from my apartment. When that fizzled, I tried designing and selling knitting patterns. This was all back in the late 70s to mid-80s. That eventually fizzled when I decided to go back to college. I let my “dreams” fizzle, but my dreams were never clear to me anyway. What I’ve learned from your posts is that I never had any real idea of the mechanics of being a freelance worker. I had dreams but in hindsight they were pretty vague. By the way, when I decided to “liquidate” my yarn business, a bunch of my friends got sweaters knitted with those yarns 😄
Thanks for the book recommendations. You've just added to my already exceeding long TBR list. If only I could live so long to get them all read. lol! Interesting, too, about the process of designing knitwear. I think I'll stay on the knitting side of things... but you keep doing what you're good at. We all appreciate it.
I read Brooklyn a few months ago and then went on to Long Island which I just finished. Loved them both. Your description of designing vs self publishing is very true.
Hello Candi! I hope all is well with you. It's lovely to see you on Substack.
Sandi, this was so informative. At one point in my working life, I considered becoming a freelance editor. At the time I recalled how, as a grad student, I had nicely supplemented my paltry research assistant stipend by editing for other grad students, and without marketing. All my clients came through word-of-mouth. So when I found myself miserable in a full-time job, I thought I should give freelancing a try. I bought a book on how to be a freelance editor, and it stopped me cold. It was all the things you mentioned in your essay: all the fees, insurance, and overhead. And the risk of clients who, for whatever reason, don't pay up. And taxes! I am, by nature, risk-averse. It didn't take long for me to realize that me and self-employment would not mix. But I love reading about people--such as yourself--who are self-employed. At least I get to experience it vicariously. As far as reading, I was gifted a novel written in free verse by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. The story takes place in Lisbon in the late sixties and is narrated by a teenage poet whose family loses their middle-class status for perceived disloyalty to the government and whose boyfriend is arrested for anti-government activities. I believe it's available in audio, too. The narrator, Sonia, is a fierce character.
Being self-employed as a freelance worker isn't for everyone. It definitely requires a tolerance for instability, along with a good deal of discipline and self-direction. Fortunately, I rarely have to deal with clients who don't pay. The only time I've ever dropped a client is when I had to repeatedly chase them for payment.
And yet being self-employed was something that kept coming up for me after I took a weaving class in 1976. My weaving instructor even remarked that I was the only student she’d had who wanted to know how to make a business out of weaving. (She made it abundantly clear that it would involved attending a lot of craft fairs.) Over the years I tried spinning and selling naturally dyed cotton yarn from my apartment. When that fizzled, I tried designing and selling knitting patterns. This was all back in the late 70s to mid-80s. That eventually fizzled when I decided to go back to college. I let my “dreams” fizzle, but my dreams were never clear to me anyway. What I’ve learned from your posts is that I never had any real idea of the mechanics of being a freelance worker. I had dreams but in hindsight they were pretty vague. By the way, when I decided to “liquidate” my yarn business, a bunch of my friends got sweaters knitted with those yarns 😄
Thanks for the book recommendations. You've just added to my already exceeding long TBR list. If only I could live so long to get them all read. lol! Interesting, too, about the process of designing knitwear. I think I'll stay on the knitting side of things... but you keep doing what you're good at. We all appreciate it.
Until I hit 70 and max out my Social Security, I'll keep doing what do :-)