Time, Chance and Freelance Writing

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” – King Solomon

One thing you can count on from me, when it comes to giving you freelance writing advice, is that I’m going to tell you hard work pays off. Freelance writing isn’t for the weak or the faint of heart; you need to plug away, every day, if you want to succeed. That’s a mantra I’ve recited since day one on this blog.

But sometimes, even when you do everything right, things don’t go the way you want them to go. A client goes out of business, or you get sick and can’t write for a week. Time and chance happen to us all.

It’s little comfort to know that this isn’t just the fate of the freelance writer. When you’re the one that chance and time are unkind to, it doesn’t matter that everyone else from the CEO to the street cleaner is susceptible to them, as well.

Time and chance can be more devastating to the freelance writer than to other folks. Most folks can miss a couple of days of work without worrying about losing their job; when a freelance writer misses a couple of days of work, they can lose clients, which has a direct impact on their bottom line.

Still, I wouldn’t be a writer if it weren’t for time and chance. I’ve been broadsided by fate too many times to count, in hundreds of little events, that have pushed me to the place I am today. It hasn’t always been wonderful; at times it’s been downright painful. But it has also made me who I am, and it has brought me some measure of success.

Success as a freelance writer has little to do with being fast or strong or wise or wealthy. Success as a freelance writer comes by meeting the challenges of time and chance head-on. It means taking the bad along with the good, taking the famine alongside the feast.

There is an advantage that freelance writers have over some other careers, however. As a freelance writer, I have a heck of a lot more flexibility. It’s easier to make adjustments when life happens. That’s the trade-off.

Other Thoughts on the Writing Life

• Men with Pens, the Drive-By, and Blog Banners
• When Your Best Just Isn’t Good Enough
• The Last Blog Post
• 4 Keys to Establishing Your Brand as an Internet Writer