The flow of freelance

Like a lot of writers, I've picked up a little freelance here and there over the years, but until now, I've always been a full-time, in-house, on-staff writer.

Now that I'm freelancing as my primary gig, I'm having to operate so very differently.

The following is a sample scenario. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't.

I wake up, get to my computer...I'm rarin' to go on the job that was supposed to be coming through.

I skype my boss - the one who said he'd have a ton of work for me on Tuesday. He's the Hardest Working Man in Design; he's wearing 11 hats; he hasn't been able to get back to me. I know it's not personal, but I wait expectantly for further instructions.

Hours later, I find out that we're "on hold" or "awaiting further feedback" or "the project has changed and I'm no longer needed" or 100 other completely understandable replies.

Every freelancer has been there.

In an office, I'd just wander down the hall and find out where the project stands. Someone always knows. Or I know we're all waiting together.

Sitting in front of my laptop at my house or looking up at the bulletin board at Starbucks, I'll send out an IM or email and hope I'm not being a pest. And wait.

There are a lot of benefits to freelancing. I'm doing fulfilling work that challenges me and keeps me motivated. I don't miss my hour-long commute. I can wash my car on any random Thursday morning, as a veteran freelancer told me. And, like anything, I know I'll adapt to the ebb and flow of it.

But every once in a while, I definitely pine for the familiar world of the Office (with its own challenges and issues). At least for now.

Treading virtual water

I've ended up with a lot of wasted time these last few weeks - only, I didn't know it was wasted time when I was wasting it.

I wish that meant I cut myself some slack, reveled in my family before they all headed back to school, or generally did things to "get my head right".

But, no.

The time-wasters are my new haunts - where I post my profile, update my resume, look under every rock for job leads. I've blogged a little about my love/hate with Monster.com. For about three days, I couldn't seem to update anything there, even after restarting and re-logging in and anything else. Even now, I'm still not sure why there's a line on my profile to the effect that "Employers cannot view your profile". Great. I'm talking to myself. Not unlike this blog!

Then, this week, it was LinkedIn. I've spent a lot of time there making connections, building a network. I found a gig that sounds perfect for me on their "Jobs" and applied right there through LinkedIn. But unless I miss my guess, only people in my network can see my profile. So the HR person probably can't see my stellar recommendations and carefully crafted list of accomplishments and talents.

It's like this portfolio that I'm finally dedicating myself to. All this work (and all this help I'm getting from friends).... I just hope I get somebody gets to see the portfolio soon.