Life of a Freelance Content Writer - My Take on it!

Life of a Freelance Content Writer!

“So what do you do?”

“Well, I am a content writer.”

“Which company do you work for?”

“I am a freelancer and I work from home”.

Hi Folks!

The above is a standard template used when people ask me about my profession! Some people are glad or may I say rather jealous to know that I work from home because commuting is a huge problem in Bangalore. Then there are some who feel that it is good that I turned my passion into a full-time profession. So, in this post I am trying to show you a few facets of being a freelance content writer in India! C’mon, I have been in this profession since 2014 and I guess I can do justice to this topic! Hang on in there because it is not a serious issue but a quirky side of the life of almost every freelancer into content writing.

Initially I was pretty naïve and did not know much about the tricks of the trade but as they say – time teaches you everything! I have definitely grown over the years as the number of clients grew.

How do you get work?

The most commonly asked question! Do you ask this to people who work in a company? Would you ever ask - ‘How your marketing team is able to get writing orders for the company?’  Weird that people want me to spill the beans regarding how I get work. However, no harm in telling them that I get it online. In fact everything these days is done online!

Do you get payments on time?

The other lot that is interested in knowing how much I earn usually start with the above question. First of all, ‘freelancer’ does not mean someone working for free! It also does not mean that the person is free the whole day! Just because I am not associated with a company doesn’t mean that I am not a professional.

You have a lot of free time?

There goes another missile! A person going to office at 9 and coming back at 5 may look busy but if a person spends the same number of hours at home, he or she seems to have a plenty of free time! The truth is that at times a freelancer works more than a regular office-goer but the bitter reality is that he or she is not given due credit. Yes, I have flexibility in my work. If I don’t work for some reason during the day, I allot a few hours for myself during the night. The point is that task assigned to me needs to be completed on time no matter which hours of the day I choose.

Moments of happiness..

I was really happy about my choice of career when one of my school friends working as an IT engineer in the US asked me what I am into. I told him that I am a content writer. He was delighted to know that I am doing something that interests me. It made him feel that India is progressing after all! Otherwise, these days, you can see every second person working in the IT industry. Another girl I met in my Zumba class was telling me that she is into the most boring job in the world – software development. Need I tell you more about job satisfaction?

On a serious note….

Well, how much I earn would be another question people might be interested to ask but are scared to ask directly! All my freelancer friends would agree that it depends on the work we have and it is not fixed. Anyway it is no hidden fact that writers are underpaid! The most frustrating situation is when clients post their requirements and mention that they have bulk work to offer but a low budget. By using words like “Long term, bulk work”, they try to exploit writers. My policy is to stay away from such people who have no respect for freelance content writers. They want to be stingy with the writing budget but expect us to give our 100%. I know this is getting serious but I really wanted to bring this fact into the limelight. The writing market can only flourish when all the freelancers commit to set up a payment standard. If you want quality, you need to pay accordingly!

And… to those who still wonder what I do for a living – I am content writer who loves her freedom and is therefore self-employed! My life, my rules!!

See Ya!