The Good Thing About Hard Times
Let’s just admit it: this world economic meltdown really sucks. It sucks for everyone, and it sucks for us writers, as we watch magazines fold, pages shrink, websites shut down, editors getting their pink slips (and we all know, another name for a laid-off editor is a new freelancer).
Although times weren’t nearly as bad then as now, this actually reminds me a lot of when I first started freelancing. It was the mid 1990s, it was a recession, and I was living in upstate New York with its perennially struggling economy. I had graduated from college in December (early), I had intended to go to law school, but in last week of school, I decided that wasn’t what I wanted after all. So I woke up on New Year’s day, and I realized that, for the first time in my life, I had absolutely nothing to do. For the rest of my life! I had no school to go to. I had no job. And I had no money.
My work experience consisted of: monogramming towels at Bloomingdale’s, selling shoes at Payless at the mall, and, in high school, a few newspaper internships. So I cracked open the yellow pages, flipped to “P” for publishers, and started making some phone calls. It’s a long story, but I eventually got offered freelance work from a small publisher in town. I didn’t know what “freelance” was. I thought that there were maybe 100 freelance writers in all of America. But took the gig, and thought maybe I could get another and another, and so it went, and here I am, thirteen years later.
I’ve told that story a lot, but the part that I don’t usually tell is how little work I had during that first year –I could have made more at McDonald’s, my husband and I hunted for change in the couch to buy groceries. And I don’t often talk about how I filled my days. There were a lot of long walks. There was a lot of writing in my journal, about things that interested me and the kind of writing career I thought I would have. I went to the library to use their magazine database (remember going to the library?) and I sent out so many queries that by the end of the first year, I had a file four inches thick. (This was all done by mail, in those ancient days, and with that relic we used to call a SASE.) I was rejected constantly. I mean, every single day, my mailbox would have at least one piece of bad news.
I’d stand at the mailbox about 18 seconds after the mailman had delivered, and open each letter with my heart in my throat.
But here’s the thing that I marvel about, looking back at my 21 year old self. When I’d open those inevitable rejection letters, I’d laugh. I’d say, okay, at least I’m in the game. I shake my head thinking about that, because I don’t feel like that now. I hate rejection! I feel like I’m far too experienced to not have every single one of my ideas greeted with enthusiasm, champagne, and a bouquet of my favorite roses. If I’d had that attitude at the beginning, of course, I would have never gotten my career off the ground. I constantly have to remind myself of that. But I digress.
Here’s the other thing that I think about, when I think about those days, and it’s what’s relevant to the current moment: I eventually built up quite the freelance career, and by the late 1990s, was making a six figure income writing for magazines. I was so busy that I felt like my brain was leaking out of my ears. I looked back on those early days –of taking long walks, and writing in the journal, and thinking of new ideas, and I’d miss them. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss rolling quarters, but I will always miss the less frantic pace of work. That time was an essential period of incubation for me and my writing career.
So if you’re facing a slow time right now with your work –a hard time –I want to encourage you to think of it as a time of incubation, not a time of stagnation. If you’ve been too busy to think and you’ve suddenly got time on your hands, try to think of it as a gift. Re-focus. Set new goals. Remember: nothing good ever came from a place of panic. If you have a “passion project” you’ve been putting off, here’s your chance. It’s better than watching House re-runs on TiVo, (or at least watching more than one!). If your workspace isn’t what you’d like, take this time to reorganize. Evaluate yourself as a writer: where are you weak? Make a plan to improve. More great ideas from Diana here and from Monica here.
One of my favorite professors in college told me that there were only two things in life that are true. The first thing is “this too shall pass”. Our economy will find its floor, times will get better. The second truth? “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Focus on what you can control– and decide that you will emerge strong from these hard times. All you have to do is figure out how. [Alison Stein Wellner]
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Nov 21, 2008 Advice, Personal yammerings, Self improvement, Writing
What a great story – thanks. I’ve been working on a book project for the past year and a bit, and not focusing on paying markets, which means I’m in a good space for the downturn. (Other than the fact that I really would like to make a bit more money than the little I’m earning for small projects here and there.) It is scary, but I feel confident about next year, and I remind myself all the time that I am building my career with the book project, too.
A truly spectacular and inspirational post.
It helped me keep everything in perspective with the current financial markets and constantly fluctuating work loads.
Alison, this is a great post. I really enjoyed reading about the progression of your career as a freelancer.
I think it’s important to focus on the positive—especially right now. I think sometimes we just need to put on a different pair of glasses to see things a little differently, and your idea of looking at this time as a period of incubation is a good one.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that you get what you focus on. So here’s how I’m looking at it: this is a period of great opportunity. In an economy like this one, you have no choice but to diversify if you want to stay in business, and diversifying is always a good thing.
Great inspiration. The sad part is that there’s a difference between struggling at 21 and doing it at 71, which is what my father is doing. (grumblestupideconomygrumble)
Thanks everyone! I wrote this post at least in part because I needed to hear it too. Deb, sorry to hear about your dad. It occurred to me after I hit “post” that these things always look so much better in hindsight –that my story of rolling quarters is only inspiring because it didn’t last that long, and of course I had no way of knowing how it would turn out when I was living through it. We can’t flip to the last page to see how it all ends, so we might as well just decide it’s got a happily-ever-after and figure out how to make that happen.
I’d love to hear more about *how* you built up that amazing freelance career. I would love to have mind-melting amounts of writing gigs.
:: round of applause ::
I hear that in hard times the ones who keep on trying and marketing and putting themselves out there win.
Linda, absolutely. There’s a very shrewd person that I know (who is also ruthless and probably lacks a soul, I don’t like her very much but we can learn from her example anyway) who was just out of college and working in advertising during the recession in the 80s. People got laid off all around her, and her job description kept expanding, while her paycheck did not. (I’m not certain, but I think it’s possible she also took a pay cut.) She put her head down, did a great job, and when good times returned, she vaulted up many, many positions and now is extraordinarily successful and wealthy. She’s still a mean bitch, but you get my point. She laid the ground work for her career while everyone else was cowering and demotivated.
However, I will answer your question in an upcoming post.
Laura…brain leakage is hazardous to your health!
That’s a great story! Whenever I’m uberbusy I pine away for more time to pursue personal projects like essays and fiction writing. But when I actually get time, I feel pressure to market myself like a fiend so I’ll have more paying projects lined up. This helps me keep things in perspective.
One potential positive is that changes in global economies mean changes in currency exchange rates. For example, here in the UK the economic news is so bad the pound has fallen heavily against the dollar, meaning every dollar is worth around 35% more in pounds than this time last year. (Unfortunately the news doesn’t seem as good for people in the US).
Wherever you are, it’s well worth keeping an eye on exchange rates as, if your own currency falls against a particular country, you can make more money in that market – or pay levels in that market which previously were too low for you may now be worthwhile.