Whenever people know that I don't really want to be a teacher at highschool, they inmediately ask me what am I going to do when I finish University. I always say that I want to be a writer, and I also want to be a translator and editor, but apart from that I would like to be an Illustrator too, so I started to say that I am going to work in the book industry by doing all of those things, which is something I really want to do. Besides that, I tell them that I want to be a freelancer, and most of the time they don't even know what is that so I have to explain it to them. If you are like me and you want to be a freelancer, you should read this entry.
First of all for the ones who don't know what I am talking about: being a freelancer means being your own boss. That's it. You work from your home (if possible) or from a place rented by you, of from your office, etc. The thing is that you decide everything on your 'company'. You choose if you want to wake up very early or more late, you choose if you want to wear a suit or a dress, or if you prefer wearing your pajamas, you choose how many hours are you going to work and who are going to be your clients. You decide the name of your 'company', the rules for working, the prices, the EVERYTHING. You are the boss, the employee, the secretary, the manager, the marketing person, etc.
Why do I want to be a freelancer? Weel, because I want the freedom that freelancing would give me. I want to do artistic work, I want to create, to write, to edit, to translate, to illustrate, to live a life full of creativity and joy. I know that problems may arise anyway, that clients can be mad at me for some reason, that money is not going to be falling like rain in my pockets, but I'D LOVE TO BE A FREELANCER, to feel happy doing what I like to do, and that feeling is what I am searching for since forever.
How do I know that I will be happy if I am not a freelancer yet? My idea of being a freelancer started when I knew Frannerd. She is a freelancer illustrator from my country and she recently published a book called 'A punto de partir'. After reading her book I started watching her youtube channel and I couldn't stop! I always feel motivated and inspired when I watch her videos; it makes me feel happy somehow, with a lot of motivation to work and be creative...and that is how I realized that I wanted to have a proffesional life similar to her. I always wanted to work in my home, because apart from not liking the fact of waking up at six A.M to go to a job that wasn't the one I wanted (being a teacher of English), one of my dreams is to be a mother, and having the opportunity of raising my kids and being at home are some of the things I am most concerned with. Those factos collided (wanting a creative job and wanting to be at home) and I said: OH GOD I WANT TO BE A FREELANCER.
Do I know the pros and cons of being a freelancer? Oh yes, I know that there are cons and pros. I have read a looooot of blogs and interviews on the subject and I also bought some amazing books that are related to it:
1.Steal like an artist from Austin Kleon, isn't a book about freelancing, but it is a book about creativity and in some way that has to do with the job I want to have.
2.Creative, INC from Meg Mateo Ilasco & Joy Deangdeelert Cho, It's an amazing book about being a freelancer and having a freelance business. It gives you tips about every single aspect of having that 'career', it motivates you and it also has some interviews of people that are already freelancers (all of them with different jobs such as Animator, Illustrator, Prop Stylist, etc.)
What am I going to do now? Meanwhile I finish my career I will also focus on making up my portfolio, which is (as I have read) very important when you want to work as a freelancer. I will also try to use my leisure time for creative purposes like writing, drawing and learning things about both topics. I also want to start working for people (potential clients), doing translations or editing. Hopefully I will finish my first book and do the possible to publish it.
If you are in the same road as me, I recommend you to investigate, create and try to do what is in your hands to fulfill your dream of being a freelancer.
With love, Sofía.
