Posts tagged freelance
UK Interpreters Boycotting Applied Language Solutions Agency: pisspoor rates, mishandling of personal data, and unqualified interpreters | No Peanuts! for Translators
I’m so behind this. Not only do people willing to work for peanuts (in any profession) show a deep lack of self-respect, they ruin the market for the rest of us. I understand being competitive, but when you’re settling for half the going rate just to get that little bit of extra business, it’s no longer even profitable for you.
In places like Poland, where the “entrepreneurial spirit”, if you will, is not so deep-seated as in other Western countries, my theory is that this willingness to undervalue yourself comes from a fear of failure. Generally, if you’re a freelancer (working contract to contract) or you start your own firm, you’re going to earn 20-30% more than someone working at an agency doing the same work (at least in the translation business). But, you’re going to have to hunt down your own clients, run your own website, and if the going gets tough, make your own “Will translate 4 food” signs. At an agency, you’ll earn less (dramatically less in some cases, as the linked article testifies to), but at least you have that warm fuzzy feeling that you probably won’t starve to death.
And some people like that (yeah, I don’t understand it either).
What we need in this country, though, is a sense that a healthy amount of risk is not only good, but necessary to succeed as an individual and as a society. And that means that instead of doing work for laughable rates, you tell your employer to shove it and become my competition. Because hey, chances are, I’m earning a lot more than you (without even trying, ha!). So come and take it, if you can.
On Freelancing, By the Numbers*
Beverages consumed:
Coffee: 2
Latte: 1
Frappuccino: 1
Green tea: 1
Club-Mate: 1
Guinness: 1
Tyskie (Polish beer): 1
Ciechan (one of my favorite Polish beers): 1
Vodka shot: 1
Pages translated: 17
Pages left to be translated: 4
Money spent: 43.50 złoty
Money earned if this job is finished: enough to pay next month’s rent and then some
Times Facebook checked: 7
Times Tumblr checked: 2
Unrelated articles read: 5
Tracks played in iTunes: 38
Best track heard at a cafe: “So Says I” by The Shins**
Podcasts listened to in transit: 1
Apartments worked in: 1
Cafes worked in: 3
Cafes kicked out of due to closing: 2
Cafes kicked out of for other reasons***: 0
Times refused alcohol at a cafe: 1
Djarum Blacks smoked: 4
Average Internet speed: 139 Mb/s
Torrents downloaded while working: 2
Sci-fi TV show pilots thought of and then quickly abandoned: 1
Blog posts thought of: 3
Blog posts actually written: 1
*Or, how I did a week’s worth of work in one night
**For the nostalgia factor
***Including, but not limited to, zombie attack
On Journalism
Last month, I transitioned from a “proper” job as the editor of a small newspaper to a freelancer. Now that the novelty of working at home and out of cafes at whatever hours I choose is wearing off, I’ve made some observations.
To be completely honest, what I’m going to miss most about my job, besides the people I worked with, is the press previews, free passes, and additional access that the title of “journalist” afforded me at events like exhibition/museum openings and festivals. Not because, if I were to add it up, I probably got thousands of dollars in free entrances and swag (although that certainly helps), but because of the status that came with how I got those things. That little badge that says “MEDIA” or “Press Photographer” on it is not just a free entry, it’s proof that I’m just a little more clever than the people without one, because, hey, those suckers had to pay to be here while I didn’t!
It’s the privilege of knowing something first, before the unwashed masses get their hands on the information (though thanks to Twitter and WikiLeaks, that privilege is quickly disappearing). It’s tangible proof that I’m better than other people - or, of course, it just seems that way, because everything I’ve said is complete and utter bullshit.
Being a journalist does not make you a better person; it makes you, in the best of cases, a more observant person, and in the worst and more frequent cases, a closed-minded, self-satisfied son of a bitch. Journalism is a world of entitlement, because whatever job title or piece of paper says that you’re a certified journalist entitles you to information. But it’s a closed world, and it rarely produces human beings that come out better than when they started in the business.
Still, I’m glad I had the experience, and I’m glad to be out. I still want to write more than ever, but on my own terms, and not dictated by the hot topics of the day. And I believe there’s still a market for this type of writing, perhaps more than ever before, thanks to the proliferation of god-awful articles and thinking out there. It just becomes that much more difficult to make it without that innate entitlement that comes with the title. That’s ok, though, it’ll make it all the sweeter in the end.
Freelance is not a fancy word for not having employment; it is a fancy word for not wanting employment.
“ Despite all this, I’ve stubbornly stuck to my basic plan of being an artist, because it’s what I love and want to do, and once in a while I’ll reap some reward or other from my hard work, which makes it all worthwhile. Every several months, though, I’ll hit a wall. My mind goes completely blank. I have no ideas, good or bad, and find myself thinking, “Ok, I guess that’s it then. Maybe I should have stuck to biochemistry after all.”** I’ll mope around for a bit, look at some of the stuff I’ve made in the past and think, “How’d I come up with that? That’s actually pretty clever. Where did my cleverness go? Wtf??”
I have to share this as it’s damn good advice from one of my favorite photographers from one of my favorite countries.
I recommend this post (and the entire blog) not just to photographers, but to anyone in a creative field, especially those trying to freelance it. It’s definitely how I’ve been feeling lately (which explains the lack of actual posting from me. Sorry).
How quickly I adjust…
I have a meeting at the ungodly early hour of 11 am today, so after a week of need-regulated sleep, I had to set an alarm clock for the first time. It was traumatic. Coffee was needed once again. I will try my best to not repeat this experience.
On Freelancing, Once Again
Is turning down a good job proposal in lieu of the dream of freelancing ballsy or just stupid? Either way, that’s what I’ve done several times now since I became “unemployed”. I use the quotes with a tinge of sarcasm, because in my head I hear the apprehension in the response of everyone who has ever heard me say that I don’t want a job anymore (“But is that sensible?” “In these economic times, is that really a luxury you can afford?” “Everyone has to make a living…”). And I keep saying that I should be scared about such a pivotal life decision, but somehow, try as I will, I can’t summon that supposedly-healthy fear.
Granted, I’ve only been at this for a week, technically. However, I’ve been planning this kind of life for nearly a year, and so far it looks to be working out pretty damn well. I’m certainly ecstatic about the fact that, for better or worse, I’m now far more in charge of my destiny than at any other point in my life. Now it’s up to me to not fuck it up - or, if I do, to at least learn something before trying again. So right now, I’m swimming in uncharacteristic, undiluted optimism.
Perhaps it’s because when I’m at a crossroads, I prefer the option of forgetting the paved roads and running through some pretty fields for a while.
Adventures in Freelancing, part two
As I wrote the other day, I am now trying my hand at freelancing, with the goal of surviving without a “real job” and becoming financially- and location-independent. One curious aspect that I’ve already noticed in the first few days is how quickly my sleep pattern adjusted to a more “natural” one - natural for me, that is.
The first thing I did in my newfound freedom was to delete all of the alarms on my phone. With the ability to go to sleep when I’m tired and sleep until I’m not, my circadian rhythm, no doubt relieved at no longer being artificially regulated, put me in a cycle of going to bed at dawn and waking up in the afternoon.
That hasn’t surprised me. As I’ve written before, I’m naturally a nightowl, and I do my best work long after the sun has set. What has surprised me is that it seems I suddenly need less sleep than before. Granted, this is just the beginning of the experiment, so I’ll need a few weeks of consistent data to see if this really is the case, but so far, it seems that not only am I not lethargic in the afternoon (my morning) as I used to be when forced to get up in the actual morning, but after a certain minimum point, the amount of sleep I get is irrelevant - and that minimum threshold has dropped. Case in point: last night, I finished working around 5 am, and fell asleep sometime before 6. When the cat woke me to feed her at 9, I felt far more rested than I should after that little sleep. Of course, I knew that wouldn’t be enough, so I went back to bed and woke up on my own just shy of noon, completely rested. I mean, look at me - I’m writing a coherent blog post on six hours of sleep, when normally, I required seven to eight hours for my brain to possess any kind of creative energy.
I’m kind of obsessed by this topic. Perhaps in the future I’ll start a separate blog* documenting my 9 pm to 5 am workdays. At the moment, though, I have actual work to do, and I’m finally more than awake enough to do it.
*I would call it “Nightworkers”. No ambiguity there…
On Changes
I’m starting the whole New Year’s revolution cycle early this year, partly due to circumstances, partly because I don’t have any rational excuses not to. Next year is going to be quite different from any other year of my life, so I might as well get a head start, as it will definitely be a challenge.
In short, as of December 1st, I’m no longer an employee of anyone, and my goal is to keep it that way indefinitely. I left my job (well, the newspaper ran out of money… details, details) and I’m going freelance, as the kids say. The plan is to start with mostly translation and proofreading jobs, because there seem to be enough of those readily available to pay the rent, and I’m decent at both (yay not-quite-useless English degree!). Once I know I won’t end up under a bridge, however, I want to ambitiously start pursuing freelance writing gigs at whatever (reputable) publication will have me, and then eventually start my own app pub down the line, once I have money and a team and a better idea of everything that entails.
Five days of freelancing so far have taught me a few things: 1. I absolutely love my new nocturnal lifestyle, and 2. I need some sort of self-imposed schedule or I end up playing Civilization instead of working. Point one means that the first night I was able to, I worked from about 8 pm until 7 in the morning, and felt absolutely great about it. Then, I slept until about two in the afternoon and did it all over again until the weekend actually moved my bedtime up a few hours. The best part is that Polish winters make this schedule not only sustainable, but extremely desirable. The only downside is that I won’t see daylight for a few months, but it’s pretty overrated in the winter, anyway.
As for point two, I just sat down and made the following schedule, which I am posting up here in the hopes that it will keep me honest:
Monday:
noon: get up, breakfast, etc.
14-15: clean flat
15-16: physics 1011
16-18: practice piano
18-19: dinner/relax
19-22: band practice
22-04: work2
Tuesday:
noon: get up, breakfast, etc.
14-15: work
15-18: learn web design
18-19: dinner/relax
19:30-21:15: kung fu
23-04: work2
Wednesday:
noon: get up, breakfast, etc.
14-15: work
15-16: Psych 1011
16-17: learn German
17-18: practice piano
18-19: dinner/relax
19-22: band practice
22-04: work (Krakow Nightowls meet-up)
Thursday:
noon: get up, breakfast, etc.
14-15: work
15-18: learn web design
18-19: dinner/relax
19:30-21:15: kung fu
23-04: work2
Friday:
noon: get up, breakfast, etc.
14-16: work
16-17: reading
17-18: dinner/relax
18:45-20: kung fu
20+ DRINK!
Saturday:
FREE DAY
(band practice)
Sunday:
morning/afternoon: free time
15-17: practice piano/compose shit
17-19: work
19-20: dinner/relax
20-22: work
22-23: work out, run
23+: work, as necessary
The only thing I’m unsure of is whether or not to add dedicated writing time in there, but perhaps I’ll incorporate that into the “work” blocks, depending on how much translation work I end up with. So far, things have been looking up, as my first day of unemployment I was awoken to two phone calls for two different translation/proofreading jobs, in addition to two I had already been commissioned for. That means no break for me, but definitely a step in the right direction towards non-starvation.
By the end of next year, I want to be financially- and location-independent. I want to have learned a solid amount of CSS and whatever else I need to make decent websites for myself and perhaps as yet another source of income. I want prospects for good writing gigs, and ideas for books/film scripts/whatever I feel like working on. I want to put out a second album with my band and tour Europe properly. Maybe even start another musical project.
My reasoning? Financial types always advise you to diversify your stock portfolio; why not diversify your skill portfolio? After all, chances are that’s how you’ll be making your money, not on the market. So here’s to 2011!
1: I have over a hundred backlogged lectures I want to view in iTunes U and Khan Academy, so I’ll finally have the chance to catch up on those.
2: If there’s no work, read.
