In the current job market, many editorial freelancers have turned to freelance work as a matter of survival. I receive many queries from applicants regarding this part of the market. Addressed here are the key building blocks necessary for a successful freelance career.
EXPERIENCE: You need a minimum of three years (five is ideal), preferably as a full-time employee. Clients will feel more comfortable in your knowledge and abilities if you can demonstrate that you've performed your duties in the past, full-time, at an established institution.
Each industry has its own "lingo". Experience in an industry allows you to understand it and communicate effectively with your clients. As a proofreader, a potential client [eg, a reference book publisher] might say:
"I have 300 pages that need to be proofed. The footnotes and illos will be sent separately. Please make sure there's a hole for each illo and that all footnotes run consecutive, beginning anew with each new chapter. The chapter title is the right running head, there is no left running head. How long do you think it will take to complete this job?"
With no experience in publishing, it would be difficult to begin to assess the job. Before giving an estimate, some questions you would ask are:
There may be four or five more questions that need to be asked before you can realistically assess how long it will take you to complete this job.
Experience in the industry allows you to have the necessary knowledge to ask the right questions to judge each project.
Knowledge of your industry will also enable you to decide how to charge for the job. Some jobs are billed on an hourly basis, others are billed on a project basis, and still others are billed as a page rate.
Again, if you know your industry, you will be able to effectively calculate how much time the job will take and what billing method to use.
EQUIPMENT: Working from home means you must to have all the necessary equipment. Minimally, a phone, computer and fax machine. Ideally, a [color] copier, modem, fast Internet access, scanner (if your field requires it) and separate work room in your home would complete the picture.
CONTACTS/REFERENCES: The most obvious place to start building your customer base is previous employers. Remember the saying, "Don't burn your bridges." It has never been more true than when trying to build a freelance career.
As companies cut back, employers like to use former employees because they already know the work, routines, and systems of the company. Therefore, very little, if any training is needed.
These same industry contacts also make great references as you continue to expand your customer base. There is no better assurance to a potential new client than an ex-employer who says: "I'd hire her back if I could. She does great work for us as a freelancer. One of the reasons we use her as a freelancer is because she did such excellent work as an employee."
Wouldn't you feel confident if you were a potential client?
SAVINGS: In utopia, six months expenses (rent, food, cleaners, credit card bills, student loans, travel expenses, etc.) will be in the bank before you embark on your freelance career. In our experience, it takes about two years to build a solid base of clients that will (hopefully) keep you busy.
If this is not possible, try to plan as much in advance as you can. The "fear of the first blues" [when rent is due] can be frightening if you have no income and no prospects on the horizon.
PART-TIME JOB: I suggest that instead of going from a full-time job into a freelance career, get a steady, part-time job for a while. This will allow you to: 1) transition between the two without taking the financial hit (especially if you haven't planned); and 2) get a feel for how to organize as a freelancer.
Freelancing usually means intense periods of work, eg, four 12-hour days, and then maybe a week with "nothing" going on. Nothing is in quotation marks because as a freelancer, just because there's no client project on your desk, does not mean that you should be idle.
During these down times is when you should be organizing your books, re-stocking supplies, prospecting for new clients, tracking advertising