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Taking the plunge with your writing career.
Taking the Plunge - With Tips for Those Who Might Want to Do the
Same
By David Geer
Four years ago I was an employee with a regular job - for the
last time. Why did I take the risk, take the plunge and go it
alone with a technology writer start-up company? The drivers for
me were job security, necessity and desire.
I was working as a technician for an ISP. I also wrote for a
company newsletter, the technical support database, and a
technical training manual while there. Some months after another
company bought us out, we were all laid off. It was difficult to
find another technology job, and nearly impossible to find one
that paid a living wage.
I had been writing online and for a small magazine on the side
in addition to my writing at work. When I got laid off, I got by
on my retirement investments, savings and severance pay, and
started proposing articles to consumer magazines, business
magazines, trade publications, websites and online publications
that I thought would pay. I was writing mostly about technology
because of my previous work, which I had enjoyed. This
eventually helped to establish me as an expert technology writer.
As time went by, I was more and more determined to make a living
as a full-time freelance writer. I also had to pay the bills,
and the longer I was off work, the harder it would be to be
re-employed. The need for income, the desire to be my own
guarantee of steady work, and all the pride and emotional
rewards of business ownership kept me going. I'd say that there
was definitely a strong push and pull going on, moving me in the
direction of independent business success.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this way of life.
Advantages include:
* Cutting out the middleman. There is one paycheck and it goes
to me. What I earn I get. After taking care of expenses, the
rest is mine. * Overtime whenever I want it. If I want to make
more, I can decide to work longer. If I don't have additional
work, that overtime can be spent finding it, and then doing it.
* Feeling more secure and in control of my destiny. I can work
weekends or not, take off a little early or work late. I can
take a vacation or take a working vacation that pays for itself
(work a little, play a little). So long as the customer is taken
care of, all is well. * The pride and power of business
ownership. I and those around me respect it as an
accomplishment. Friends admire it as a way of life.
Disadvantages?
There are none. I have no regrets. I miss nothing about being an
employee. Believe me, if there were any disadvantages, this
would be my chance to share them with someone who might listen,
and I'd gladly tell you.
Others may feel differently, complaining about:
* Having to pay their own medical premiums * Not feeling as
secure as they would in a regular job * Not being able to count
on the same paycheck at the same time every given period.
Not me. I'm where I want to be and well on my way to more of the
same.
Here are some more advantages:
* I can introduce my thoughts and my talents to hundreds of
thousands of readers. * I can go to Google anywhere, anytime and
type in my name and produce samples (also called clips or
clippings) of over a hundred articles, as well as other
references to my work. * Through my work I provide important
input, I make a difference.
The only difficult thing about my profession is that no matter
how hard or long I work, or how established I get, some risk
will always be there. But I assume, expect and accept that part
of it, so I still have no complaints.
Here's Some More Background and Tips to Help You Along.
Having a Web presence is an important part of self-marketing. My
most recent Web design was outsourced to Pamela Sinclair, who
did a wonderful job. I wrote the content and she provided an
appealing, professional design. I'm very pleased.
I started out designing my own site, working from a template and
design done by my friend, Carl Rief. I picked up skills and code
from him, from others I had worked with at the ISP job, off the
Web and by using Arachnophilia's HTML (version 4) editor. All
other tech knowledge I got from being a technician (DSL,
routers, simple business networking, etc), from working on my
home network and on friends' computers, by reading and through
personal interest.
People find my site through Google, online business directories
and the Open Directory Project. Other sites have linked to my
site. I proactively contact people for work. As part of
assessing my skills they often visit my site, which is linked in
my e-mail signature. People find me through online articles or
personal recommendations. I have also been quoted in a few books
on writing. Some of my articles about writing have been used in
college coursework as well. Others have quoted me online or used
my articles to promote their corporations.
My top tips are:
* Plan it - If I had it to do over, I'd save a great deal more,
get a business loan or grant, then go into business full-time
when I had enough money to live and work on for three to four
years. * Do it - If you never start, you never succeed. * Take
Risks - Use your best judgment and take the necessary risks. *
Persevere - This gets you through when you take the wrong risks
and suffer loss.
Expect to learn more by doing than by anything else. If you
start out knowing nothing about your new profession, you are
just about guaranteed all the failure and humiliation that comes
with not knowing what you're doing. But if you persevere, you
will learn, and you will succeed. You can't really learn what
you need to know to succeed except by failing time and again in
the attempt.
About the author:
David Geer writes for national and international publications
like Computerworld, certain IEEE Computer Society publications
and dozens more. E-mail him at D
avid@GeerCom.com, call him at 440-964-9832 or visit his Web
site at www.GeerCom.com.
David Geer
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