Financing Freelance Writing – It Can Be Costlier Than You Think

Credit: Elenathewise on Photodune

Compared to other businesses, freelance writing seems a lot less costly. It’s relatively much easier and considerably less expensive than opening a brick-and-mortar store, or running a restaurant.

After all, you basically need your laptop and a fast internet connection (stuff you probably had anyway), and a quality printer/fax/scanner combination. Then if you are serious about promoting yourself, you might think about a website and a domain name. Finally, you are set, right?

Well, not really. There are many more expenses than people first consider when they start thinking about freelance writing and the budget they might need. They overlook the recurring costs of improving their craft, managing and promoting their business, networking, transportation and more.

I hadn’t really considered all this when I first started freelancing as a writer. The goal here is to prepare you for the potential expenses, offer tips to avoid excess spending and help you set your finances accordingly.

The Beginning: Laptop, Internet and Website

It’s true that you probably won’t experience a significant monetary setback when you first launch your freelance writing career. You can set up a home office, purchase that domain name and hosting service, and you are good to go. However, this is where your expenses actually start. They grow from here.

Expenses of the Craft (Writing, Editing, Saving, Sending and Improvement)

Now that you’re your own boss, you are responsible for making sure your office is fully equipped for a writer.

Office Supplies. You will be writing a lot; making drafts, printing stuff out, editing, filing…Oh, and you will need hard and soft copies of your work. So you need to have your stationery, printer cartridges, and whatever else you need for your projects, such as white boards, bulletin boards, binders and more.

Sending your work. You will need to spend on stamps, envelopes and posting fees. Unfortunately, not all publications have embraced the e-mail revolution when it comes to receiving queries and completed work from writers.

Education through courses. When you are a writer, education never quite stops. If you haven’t studied Writing and/or English in college, you might need to improve your writing, grammar and proofreading skills.

On the other hand, those who studied English or Writing might also need to forget what they learned if they want to write for the web, or if they want to pick up copywriting gigs. The expectations of a literary magazine and a copywriting client are quite different.

So there is always a skill you need to hone. After all, a freelance writer usually is alone in creating, improving and promoting her work.

Luckily, you have a lot of options. You can take classes online, go to your local college, or the university you graduated from, join workshops, attend seminars…You just need to make sure these courses are held by credible professionals, and that the cost won’t cause astronomical holes in your overall budget. Also pay attention to the content and the methods. Is the course a fit for you?

Educating yourself. I am a big fan of learning by myself. So I invest a lot of time in finding the right books that will help me enhance my knowledge and career further. Some of the greatest resources are free, and many are not.

When the resource comes with a price tag, the advice is the same as above: analyze the content. Read the excerpts. Read reviews. Read the writers’ credentials, and their other work. Many writers/editors/publishers and agents are blogging these days. Check their content out.

Learning is a lot more effective and lasting when it is fun. If the excerpt is making you yawn, or there’s not a single thing that impresses you about the writer’s resume, then obviously it is not the right resource for you.

So do your research, and assess your needs, weaknesses and strengths. Then start shopping.

Saving your work. You need to save your work in multiple places. And while printing stuff out is a good idea, it is not enough. You need more back-ups. You can opt for flash discs, external hard drives and websites that are designed to save your work in the cloud.

You will also spend on photocopies and print-outs for saving your work, distributing it, making it easier for you to study the e-books you buy.

Sometimes getting discounted services from a nearby copy center can be more economical than constantly renewing your print cartridge.

Expenses of Finding Work: Finding Jobs and Markets

Market listings. There are websites that offer market listings for free. Unfortunately, not all of them are up-to-date or comprehensive enough. You might need to invest in an e-database (as print publications are more likely to include out-of-date information).

Some listings are much more detailed, even including the reader and advertiser profiles. Wooden Horse Magazines Database is one such directory.

Job boards. Various websites list freelance jobs for free, but this also brings lots of unrelated, low-paying jobs, along with a discouragingly vast number of competitors. If you find a free job board that works for you, great. But be sure to develop a schedule to monitor the boards productively.

I’m not a member of any boards yet, but I’m considering subscribing to one. When you decide to pay for a job board, make sure you check the credibility of the site, as well as what fellow writers are saying about it. Have they benefited from it?

Buying the print magazines you want to write for. You need to study the publication
thoroughly before you can come up with article ideas. But before buying every issue you can find, see if the magazine issues are online (offered for a smaller fee) or preferably, available at your library.

However, if the only way to find recent issues is going to a newsstand or bookstore, there is not much you can do to protect your wallet.

Marketing Expenses: Promoting Yourself, Branding and Networking

Business cards. There’s no getting around this one. Ensure that they reflect your business, and the brand image, and that they have high quality. My first set of business cards were very affordable, but the ink wasn’t as permanent as it needed to be.

You can also use online services such as Vista Print. Many writers recommend them, and they mostly charge for shipping.

Having a card makes it easier for you to network.

Website/Blog. A website on a blogging platform is ideal, as you can easily edit and update it. A static website is so 90s, and a definite no-no.

The consensus is that a website looks more professional when it is self-hosted, as opposed to a URL saying yourwebsitename@platformsname.com. But of course, self-hosting means you need to pay for a domain and a hosting company (although with hosting deals you usually get a domain name as well.)

Depending on your needs (such as extent of customer service/storage space/etc), you can choose between a variety of hosts. Still, it doesn’t hurt to start small (and inexpensively), until you know what your website exactly needs. Many writers switch their hosting company after they are established.

And you can always run other sites on free platforms (such as Blogger, WordPress, or TypePad) until you know your goals about those sites.

Web design. It is a major advantage if you know about design yourself. Even if you don’t, you can learn how by yourself through studying and experimenting. Plus, learning about web design has its benefits, as you can add it to the list of topics you write about. And you can always hire a professional after you start making a full time income from your writing.

Autoresponders. You need autoresponders for updating your readers, and you can use Google’s free RSS subscription service Feedburner for this. However if you want customization and better information keeping, you might want to consider a paid service. This decision depends on your budget. Some paid-services offer free trials, or free membership options with limited services.

Networking via conferences/workshops/seminars. In addition to self-improvement, these types of activities give you a chance to meet people in the industry. Again, choose the events according to your needs.

Press releases. They enable you to inform people about your services or new products. There are free and paid sites to submit your press release to, as well as many resources on how to pen a compelling press release.

Remember that if you get good at writing them, you can also be hired to compose press releases for others. Talk about efficiency.

Brochures. You can create brochures for your business, but of course this will cost you.

Paid Advertising. You can advertise both on the web and in print, but it is usually better to create great content and let word of mouth (and search engines) do the work for you (for free).

And Coffee Shops…

Being a coffee addict usually comes with the territory of being a freelancer. And I prefer my favorite coffee shops’ coffee to the ones I make myself.

The taste of the coffee aside, coffee shops are great places to work. They allow you to interact with other freelancers, and a venue change can do wonders for your productivity.
You can work, relax and meet new people all at once. Naturally, you spend money on coffee and probably on food, since you get hungry after hours of working.

I don’t recommend on cutting too much from your coffee shop experience, but surely you can choose not to order the most expensive stuff. You can also choose a place where regular customers get discounts and perks, and go there right after you ate at home. This way, you can reduce on your spending in food, without cutting back on the socializing and caffeine.

Some freelance writers prefer co-working spaces where you can rent a place of your own for a specific amount of time. You can read how they compare to coffee shops.

Transportation Expenses

You need to get from your office to the post office, coffee shops, stores, events and other places. You probably will need a vehicle as not all of your destinations can be walked to.

Transportation costs. You will spend on gas and public transportation fares.

You can walk if the places are walking-distance. This will save you money, and give you a chance to take a break, and exercise.

Freelance Writing Business Expenses

Any freelance business will have additional expenses as well, such as dreaded taxes, a super-reliable accountant, and yes you may even need to consult an attorney at some point.

Now we have pretty much covered all the expenses freelance writers face. While freelancing is still one of the cheaper business forms, dealing with its expenses can be frustrating.

You can use this list to allocate your budget. You can also choose to stay at your job for a while longer and build your savings account, easing into freelancing is a good strategy.

There is no need to feel overwhelmed. You just need to evaluate your needs, and spend wisely.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Elenathewise.