Freelance Writers And Business Bullshit
September 15, 2008
I’ve read a lot of articles lately suggesting that freelance writers should start a “proper business”. And some have even gone so far as to suggest that you should just outsource all your work to other folk and pay a manager to run it all. I believe this is complete bullshit & I think the “Everyone Should Start A Business” brigade have gone too far.
It’s apparent that many of these people have not actually done what they advise themselves – they’ve probably been reading too many books like the E-Myth or The 4 Hour Work Week.
Some Good Reasons Why Freelance Writers Should Ignore This Advice
1. I’m guessing that most of you are freelance writers because you love writing. So why give up and pay other people to do the work for you instead?
2. Starting a business, just to make more money – especially when it’s preventing you from doing stuff you love to do isn’t a particularly smart move. You’ll probably spend a lot of time resenting your business for taking you away from doing what you love – writing.
3. If you’re a non-fiction writer, there’s easier and more pleasant ways to create an automated stream of income. What about non-fiction books for a start? Once you’ve written one, you’ll benefit financially for as long as it stays in print. And you could probably write several in the time it takes you to set up a business that runs by itself.
4. You can still outsource and automate mundane tasks and even things like marketing, to free up your time to write. And if that marketing brings you more work than you have time to do, you could outsource some of it to other freelance writers and take a percentage of their payment.
If you do want to start a business instead of writing, then that’s different. And if you’re starting a business which will eventually run on it’s own, to free up your time to write later – prepare for a long hard slog. Few people are able to build a business overnight, which will run without them – you could spend several years trying to achieve that goal.
What do you think? Are you a freelance writer who wants to start a business? Are you doing it because you actually want to start a business, or for some other reason?
Comments
47 Responses to “Freelance Writers And Business Bullshit”
Got something to say?
Cath Recommends
Change Your Life
Make Money
Talk To Me
Successful And Outstanding Blogger
I’m not a freelance writer….
But I do have to agree with you. Not everyone wants to start (or run) a business. Some people will be happier managing their own self employed career (be that as a writer of some other profession).
However writers are also well positioned to do both – expanding on point 3 above they could blog about their topics of interest and build a business on that.
John’s last blog post..7 Mistakes To Avoid When Asking A Blogger To Write About Your Business
Hi John – your alternative idea seems to be another good option for a freelancer to consider.
As a freelance writer, you certainly can’t avoid the “business” side of things. Frankly, it is the part I like the least.
I think each to his or her own. If you’re in it for the writing business then off you go and get your Trump haircut. If you’re in it for the writing business, get yourself a lucky writing hat.
Either way you’re covered.
Great thought-provoking piece!
~Graham
Graham Strong’s last blog post..Lipstick on a Pig or “Hog-Tied Marketing”
I’m not a freelance writer either and know what you’re saying, Cath. Thus far I’ve experienced some freelance writers who outsource their work and thought, “hey, I wanted you to do it.”
However I do understand like in any business, there are a few reasons why you wouldn’t do the work yourself:
- you don’t want to
- you don’t know how
- you don’t have the time
Those are the basic guidelines I go by when designing websites and renovating investment properties.
I’m curious what brought about this post? Did something happen?
John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post..An Internet Scam, When To Listen To Your Emotions, and Africa
Cath:
It’s me again! I read both books and I like it. I don’t remember seeing them asking you to start your company. What I see is how they suggest you to run your business.
Personally, no matter what you do, you are liable in certain degree to what you do. In other words, you need protect yourself from potential damage. A business entity can give you more protection.
I am glad that I was protected with one of my consulting business. Running a business is not easy and you have to take it seriously. It, at least, gives me one very good excuse not to quit, because it is a real business.
There are 2 million new small business start every year in USA, 85% of them fade out after the second year. Why? They don’t take their business seriously. 45% of those 85% losers are running their own business as sole proprietorship (free lancer).
One successful millionaire told me this.
“Most likely, you will fail if you just want to try a new business without taking it seriously”
Just my 2 cents.
Terence Chang’s last blog post..Entrepreneur Story – Bloggers Launch TrainforHumanity.org Humanitarian Initiative
Whilst I agree with most of what you say, as a freelance writer I feel that I have to add, that anyone wanting to make a career out of writing must approach it with a business-like head.
It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of working from home and assuming that you’ve got it made. Freelance writing is an ever increasingly competitive marketplace. It’s no good getting up in the morning, lounging around until mid-day, then deciding to do half an hours worth of writing before picking up the kids.
Far too many writers fail due to this attitude. Freelance writing needs just as much time devoted to as any other career.
Jon’s last blog post..DIY Writing
I agree with the others that if you love writing, then you should keep writing and maybe outsource the business side. If you enjoy building a business and are not much into writing, then it makes sense to outsource the writing.
Vered – MomGrind’s last blog post..Hate Mail: Apparently, I’m a Bad Mom
Hi Graham – Definitely – either way is possible. I just want folk to realise that if they really prefer writing – taking folk on and building a business that will run by itself won’t be that quick and easy.
Hi John – it must be annoying when that happens. What brought it on is – I keep reading posts by folk by people who’ve never ran a business, encouraging writers to do this sort of thing. But they make it sound far more simple than it is.
Hi Terence – The E-Myth and Four Hour Work Week both show you how to build a business that will run without you. Agreed – they don’t tell freelance writers to do this. But I’ve seen a few bloggers advising folk to do this and I’m guessing they got the idea from one of the above books.
Agreed lots of folk don’t take their businesses seriously – but there’s a lot of other reasons why businesses close up too, including – lack of cashflow, burn out of owners trying to do everything themselves, lawsuits, folk trying to run more than one business before they get the first one of the ground, fall out among partners, banks calling in overdraft during recession, illness of owner etc etc.
Hi Jon – I agree completely. I guess a lot of freelancers don’t last for that reason. That’s not exactly the same as outsourcing the writing though.
Hi Vered – that sounds like a smarter idea.
Having just finished reading the 4-Hour Workweek, I have to point out that the author clearly states that the point isn’t to not work. The point is to do the work that you love and also have the time to recharge your batteries. That is the main purpose of the book – to teach people how not to be slaves to their jobs, a common obstacle for freelance writers.
In fact, Tim (the author) stated at one point that if you suddenly find yourself with nothing to do, chances are that you’ll be miserably unhappy (or something like that).
Writing is a business from the minute you sell it for money or create it with the intention to sell it for money. If you love writing, all the other aspects of operating a business may overwhelm you and create the situation of you eventually hating writing as a job, because you now know all the add-ons that come with that.
If you want to do what you love, then you need the financial means and the energy to do so, I believe.
I think it all depends on how you define business in your mind.
If you think of a business as incorporating, hiring employees, the whole big deal, then I agree that most folks I know aren’t cut out for it and wouldn’t want to do it even if they were.
But if you think of a freelance business as a sole-proprietorship (which technically, you are, at least if you’re in the US and earn enough to pay taxes anyhow), then that’s really more the style of most freelancers I know.
Amy Derby’s last blog post..Let’s Talk Success: Men with Pens Edition
Hi James – sorry, maybe I should have put it in bold – I wasn’t criticising the 4 Hour Work Week. I was talking about the folk who read about it then tell freelance writers they should be doing it.
And I think it’s bad advice because folk may hate it for all the reasons you’ve given. Mind you, you’re good at marketing and writing, so you could outsource everything else – but not all writers have your skills.
Your last paragraph reminds me of something Daphne Du Maurier once said, “If you want to be a writer – marry someone rich.”
Hi Amy – I was talking the first kind. And I agree lots of folk ain’t cut out for it and should stick to the second kind – outsourcing the mundane stuff, if they were able to make more cash than it cost, with the time left.
@ Cath – Bah, everyone tells everyone else what to do. Can’t avoid that one. You do it, I do it… that’s the way the world works. Even ‘just suggesting’ is a more subtle ‘do this’.
As for marrying rich people, hell yeah! I’m workin’ on it!
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
James – I know – but it’s irritating when the advisor hasn’t even done it themselves – it misleads folk.
I thought you were already married??
@ Cath – Alas, no, just shacked up in my trio of Pen Men
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
LMAO – some people will do anything to get famous. And I was going to say get someone to rub some Vicks on you – but I don’t know if it would be appropriate.
Hey Cath, when I planned to self publish all of my books, I went the route of starting a business PGPublishing, got my business certificate, registered with the IRS…I only did this because I didn’t want to be told “no” and didn’t want any reject letters, I was going to be published if I had to do it myself. I looked at a lot of publishing companies as well….Well that “business” is gone and I haven’t really published 1 book. I have, but an ebook…that’s crappy. I’m still working on something. I will be published, I just won’t be doing it myself. I just want to write and leave the publishing business to someone else.
Natural’s last blog post..EntreCard Therapy
Hi Valerie – I’ve heard a lot of folk talk about self publishing. It used to be frowned on, cos it was seen as a bit like vanity publishing.
Mind you, some folk are recommending self publishing as the way to go now.
But like you, I think the idea of self publishing sounds tempting but it also sounds like a big hassle.
I think you’d write a really good comedy – your posts always make me laugh. I got a really good book ages ago about writing non-fiction. It was called “Damn – Why Didn’t I Write That” and it shows heaps of book titles and how many copies they sold etc. Some of the least likely books had sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Cath:
What a great discussion here.
The following comment are all based on my personal experience.
owning a business and running a business are two different things.
A business is like an image of your success. Without being serious about your image, your business don’t go anywhere bigger. Unless you want to work alone FOREVER and let your business fade out when you are not working, you are limiting your potential. Running a business without a real business is risky.
Forget what E-Myth and 4HWW says. We have to ask what do we want in our life? Don’t give yourself excuses NOT to turn your passion into a cash flow. Many of you are so passionate about writing. You need to have growth plan to turn that into a cash flow so you can still write your own thing while on vacation and still own the business that generate $$ when you are not writing.
You don’t have to be expert to run your business. As I said earlier, that you want to own the business but running the business.
Is it possible? Yes. There are many people out there who hire CEO to run their business, so then can do something else in their life.When it’s time to make decision, he/she will just jump in and do what he has to do. It’s like hiring a stock broker to make money for you, but you still have 100% control about your investment.
I handed my second company to my partners hand and let him run the show. I only need to make sure that the money is well spend. Now I only work 1 hours a week on that business and got full time to start my new one.
Do you need a business to be a freelancer writer? I do think so!
Terence Chang’s last blog post..Entrepreneur Story – Bloggers Launch TrainforHumanity.org Humanitarian Initiative
Hi Terence – Good point, but I still think a lot of freelance writers would be better off being freelance writers. Do you ever hear anyone tell JK Rowling or John Grisham they could have started a business themselves?
You need to get a long way before you can have a CEO or Director in running your business and make a profit from it. I reached the point where I was making quite a lot of cash and I could go on vacations, take time off etc etc, because I employed quite a few people. And I would still have had a good couple of years to go, before I could have handed my business over to someone else.
Cath:
Don’t get me wrong. Starting a business has never been easy to me. I am actually still learning from it. I agree with you that we don’t want people to think it’s easy to just work 4 hours a week.
What I am trying to say is that no matter what your business size is. You should have a real business to protect yourself and even your most valuable assets – your families. For tax purpose or legal protection, you should use different identity (tax ID) for your freelance job.
You don’t have to grow your business just because you have a business to run. It’s up to you to run one man enterprise.
I am not saying that you have to go to the route to work only 4 hours a week in the future. I bet 99% of business owners in the world can’t reach that goal. However, it will be nice to have that as your business goal to motivate you.
All I am saying is that a freelance writer should at least have a LLC to start with. Having a small business won’t hurt passion. It makes no difference than running your own studio. There are few good things about that.
1. It’s easy to set up.
2. You have limited liability to protect yourself.
3. It’s building the image of your one man business.
4. It gives your a better chance to grow and get a business loan.
5. The longer you have your business, the better business credit you are earning.
6. Easier to grow into real corporation. Without LLS or S-Corp (better for investor), most of the investors will not even talking to you.
7. Paying less for liability insurance with LLC than your own name.
8. It caan be sold for a greater profit.
It’s not hard to setup a small LLC business at all. It will be very hard for you to deal it when lawyer knocking on your door, if you don’t have a LLC or s-corp as your first line of protection.
@ Terence – That’s not applicable for residents outside of the U.S., though. LLCs don’t exist in Canada or Great Britain.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
@ Terence, as James said, we don’t have LLC’s in the UK or Canada. In the UK we do have something called a Limited Company, which protects your assets. But I wouldn’t advise anyone to choose a particular business structure without speaking to a tax expert. Over here, a limited liability company can cost you a lot more in tax unless you’re turning over a certain amount per year.
For some reason this reminded me of the story of the business consultant who went to a small fishing village and found the fishermen tranquilly sitting in their boats fishing. He started telling them all the ways in which they could start a huge fishing business and leverage their work. After a long explanation of how to set up their business one of the fishermen asked: why would we want to do all that? And the consultant answered: so you can sit around all day doing what you love, such as sitting back in a boat tranquilly fishing.
Marelisa’s last blog post..30 Things to Do in the 100 Days Left in 2008
Hi Mare – I love that story too. And I don’t blame the guy. If you were already happy already doing what you wanted – it would be totally mad to go through all that hassle.
Not quite. That fisherman who loves fishing? He’s sharing a boat with his buddies. His wife cleans the fish. His son goes out at night and digs the worms. His little girl might sort his hooks.
Business? Mmhm. And all he’s doing is what he loves – fishing. But someone else is doing the rest.
That’s what people lose sight of and forget. There is more to writing, for example, than just writing.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
Hi James – Yeah I’m betting his wife gets all the crap jobs. And like the fishing guy writers have to do lots of other crap jobs, unless they have a really generous wife.
I’m guessing a lot of writers get tired of writing too, just because of all the extra things they’ve got to do. The question is, would they be able to outsource everything apart from the writing, if they had enough work to keep them busy – or would that depend on the person?
You can outsource anything you want, down to buying pink underwear, if you have the right person for the job. Depending on the desired goal of the individual (more money, more free time, choosing only the interesting jobs, whatever), that individual can find people to take over whatever he or she doesn’t want to do – and thus accomplish the desired goal. Yes?
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
James I’m just wondering if most writers could do that I guess? I know you can. But I’ve heard lots of writers saying recently that they’re in a catch 22. They don’t have enough time to look for more work because they’re always busy.
Then when they lose a regular gig, they don’t have enough work and they have to go out and start looking for it again. If you were in the same situation, which bit would you outsource first James? Or would it depend which job the particular writer liked least?
Hehe, I can do anything! (Kidding. I can’t fly.)
When anyone starts to say, “I’m too busy to do XYZAB,” even thought that XYZAB would benefit their lives or is something that the person wants to do in the first place, then I think it’s time to step back and take a look. It’s good to be busy; it’s not good to be so busy that you have no time for better things, I think.
If it were me, here’s what I’d do.
First – I’d cut back to the point where I’m comfortably busy and also have some free time. I would then look for extra hands to help out when things get too busy again. I’m still not 100% busy, so I’d take that extra time to look for work. When the work comes in, I would outsource it – and still not be 100% busy.
Or, I would outsource anything that is outside of my skill set. Bookkeeping. Paperwork. Customer service. Marketing. (Yes, you can hire people to market for you.)
Or, I would outsource anything I don’t like to do.
The key is that regardless of what you choose to outsource, you are freeing your time. Then you use that time like you’d want to, and if finding more work is the most pressing, then I’d go look for that.
Just hypothetical situations, really.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
I definitely agree with what this article says. Not all freelance writers truly want to set up a business. There is so much other work involved in the setting up of one. It is possible to get increasingly bogged down with the marketing and promotion aspect rather than the writing and creativity.
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..Blessings For Healing
Hi James – This sounds like a smart way. I wish you’d told me this a few years ago, because I waited to employ folk until I was way past too busy and you can kind of imagine how much crap that got me into.
That is interesting that writers can outsource marketing. I’d wondered about that, as a few of them have mentioned they don’t like doing it. You seem pretty good at marketing yourself though – I wouldn’t have guessed it was out of your skill set.
Hi Evelyn – starting a business is not for everyone is it? And I would hate to see writers wind up in a sticky position because they thought it was going to be. I like James’s ideas on outsourcing tasks instead. The way he describes it seems to be a really sensible approach.
@ Catherine – Oh, no, I wrote that poorly (blame my cold). I meant to use me as an example but not ME me. Just… me as if I was anyone, hypothetically speaking. Marketing’s definitely in my skill set – flying is not, alas.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..What to Do When You Can’t Write
Hi James – you did have me thinking there, because I’d noticed you’re good at marketing. I’ve even heard other writers say they’d like to be as good as you at marketing their business.
Love the give and take happening here! (Way more spicy than “great post!”) What I’m getting from this (perhaps in a roundabout way) is that the grunt work matters. You can picture yourself swinging in a hammock all day long, but you can also choose the most amenable way to get there as well.
If you (the collective you) wants to write, then write. If you want to be a CEO, build something. You can probably get to your goal both ways with enough talent and luck, but why create a torture device when there may be a pleasant alternative (like the book revenues you mentioned)? I’m taking the bottom line as: think for your damn self and choose the best of the many paths available to you.
Sara at On Simplicity’s last blog post..Keep the Clutter from Returning: Five (Mostly) Easy Ways
Hi Cath – I earn a living from writing. The money side of things is handled as a business, simply because tax in Australia is handled in a way that registering a business number makes things easier.
It’s not a business in the sense that I might build up the business, have less personal involvement with the creative product, and then sell it.
I think the main thing is that we take what we do seriously (in the sense of believing it’s important), and then find the way of dealing with the money side that bests suits us.
Robin’s last blog post..Insects Versus Mother Theresa
Hi Terence – don’t worry about offending me cos I sank a business. It was my own decision and I didn’t see it as a failure. I made a mistake choosing something which went against my gut instinct. The only failure would have been failing to see my mistake and carrying on.
And you will do the same too, if a business goes wrong. The only failure is to give up and do nothing.
I like 4HWW book too – although some of the stuff isn’t practical for me personally. Your liking it doesn’t offend me. The problem is, people read books like that, then write posts telling people to try those things, but they haven’t tried them themselves. And that is why I wrote this post.
700% is a huge profit margin – I wonder how they were making that much? I’m happy with 25 to 30%.
I think passion matters to a lot of people but not everyone. Lillie commented the other day about a billionaire who had no passion for his business – his only passion was to provide money for his siblings.
And passion doesn’t have to come from liking the technical work either. It can come from being interested in that particular field of business.
It sounds like you’re positive about your new business and I hope it will do well for you.
Hi Sara – I do think it’s best if people choose what’s right for them isn’t it? I read so many books that advise the right way to run a business but, people are all different, so there can’t be a one size fits all. As you said – there’s usually many different paths you can choose from.
Hi Robin – exactly, it’s about personal choice. I think the right way is whatever feels right for you.
Cath,
Some writers want to and are successful with building a business employing other writers or outsourcing work to other writers. That may be a good choice for them; it’s not the right choice for me. As you said in your post, freelancers have to decide for themselves if they want to run a business with employees or contractors or if they want to work as a self-employed individual. Either way is fine as long as the individual has looked at the options and made a deliberate and informed decision.
Interesting discussion! I treat my writing as a business, but I intend to keep it a one-person business. I owned a company for many years with up to 18 employees and 300+ customers. I sold it to a huge corporation for a nice profit, and now I have no desire to build a business like that again. Although in theory I agree that outsourcing is a good idea, I don’t do it much because I prefer to be in control. Yes, I’m a control freak.
Lillie Ammann’s last blog post..Change is afoot ?
Hi Lillie – Building your business and selling it was a smart move. It’s nice having people around you but I can understand why you like working alone too. I must admit – I’m enjoying not having that responsibility right now.
Like you said – people should do their own research before deciding which way to go.
Hi Cath -
Hmm . . . my main goal is just to write. I don’t plan to build some big business or to outsource work to anyone else (except accounting). I watched my parents be slaves to their “own” business and I don’t want that. I think the business owned them, not the other way round.
I’m happy doing what I do the way I do it for now and it works.
~ Annie
Annie Anderson’s last blog post..George Duke & Anthony Hamilton Concert
Hi Rita – folk go over the top with it don’t they? As much as I want to promote starting a business on this blog, I know some folk just can’t and shouldn’t – it’s not the right thing for everyone to do.
Hi Annie – That is good that you know what you’re doing and where you want to go. I’ve seen people in that position too – never taking vacations and always in the red.
I don’t blame you for wanting to outsource accounts though – they are the thing I dislike doing most too.
[...] Freelance Writers And Business Bullshit: I happen to like 4-Hour-Work-Week, but her point is valid. A freelancer doesn’t have to be a business, and outsourcing their writing is just silly, but they had better understand business. [...]
[...] Writing A Successful And Outstanding Blog Don’t Write An Ebook Until You’ve Read This Freelance Writers And Business Bullshit What Is Your Responsibility As A Writer? What Sort Of Freelance Writer Are You? 5 Business Writing [...]
Thanks for all the useful information. On a sidenote, article writing and submission work can be easily outsourced to experts. It is important to work on one’s business rather than working in it.