Editor’s note: Which is better—freelance or full-time employment? ASJA Confidential interviewed members Cheryl Alkon—who went from full-time to freelance—and Lisa Rowan, who took the opposite career path. Both weighed in on the pros and cons, offering an insider’s perspective. While some of us, including this editor, find the full-time employment environment as appealing as, say a pair of control-top panty hose, it definitely has its pluses. But the same can be said for freelance, except it’s more like going commando and all the uncertainty that entails…. You decide!
How did you go from freelancing to full-time and vice versa?
Cheryl: Although I started out as an editorial assistant for the New England Journal of Medicine, my initial career goal was to write and edit for women’s magazines. For the next 15 years, along with moving back and forth between Boston and New York City several times, I worked mostly staff jobs and freelanced on the side. [The latter] allowed me to get my foot in the door with publications and topics that interested me. Also, while working full-time, I wrote and fact-checked for multiple outlets and also prepared the first chapter and parts of what eventually became my book. I left staff work about 10 years ago when my son was born. It also helps that my husband is a full-time government employee with benefits.
Lisa: Although my initial goal was local news, I saw what was happening in print in the early-to-mid 2000s; when I got laid off from my job at a hyperlocal website, most of the jobs available for my experience level were in web production, which didn’t interest me at all. So I decided to go freelance, in addition to starting an online retail operation in 2010 in Washington, D.C., which is where I was based. So along with selling vintage clothing online, I had a number of writing and content clients. For a while I actually had a physical store but closed it in 2015. About the same time, the Penny Hoarder, one of my best and favorite clients, was expanding and invited me down to their headquarters in St. Petersburg to help during their busiest period, which was over the holiday shopping season. I had been thinking about working full-time for a while but wanted to make sure it was something I was excited about. So when they offered me a staff job, I accepted and relocated to Florida.
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen course?
Cheryl: I love the hustle that comes with full-time freelancing. I enjoy landing new clients and especially getting paid. There’s always something exciting and different around the corner and I’m constantly learning something new. I also have a son who’s 10 and a daughter who is 6, and it allows me to balance the responsibilities of childcare with my workload. I’ve done more than one phone interview on the side of the road or while waiting for them during sports practices, and I take my laptop everywhere we go so I can work when I have a spare few minutes. A staff office job does not afford that freedom, particularly the flexibility to deal with kids and their assorted schedules and issues.
Lisa: Frankly, I got tired of hustling. Why work my tail off for a story that only pays $300? The payout just isn’t there anymore for a lot of outlets. And I wanted some stability, at least for a while. While I enjoy the collegiality of being around people, in an office you have to be a chipper squirrel at 9 a.m. regardless of whether you’re a morning person and go to meetings when you’d rather be doing something else. On the other hand, I don’t have to work odd hours and weekends to meet a deadline or deal with the whims of fickle clients. And then there is that steady paycheck and benefits.
From here, the big freelance/full time showdown looks like a draw. Do you have any takeaway tips and suggestions?
Cheryl: When I worked for a city magazine, we had two weeks of a crazy workload then two weeks of downtime. During the latter period, I did freelance projects, using my own email address and cell phone. I did phone interviews during my lunch break. I made sure that it in no way interfered with my full-time job, so it worked well. It also kept my hand in if/when I did decided to go freelance.
If you want success as a freelancer, you’ll need to market yourself all the time and always be on the lookout for new streams of income. Make sure to develop and reach out to your network both during busy times and especially when things are slow. It also helps to be approachable, friendly and helpful. And repeat assignments from editors you’ve worked well with in the past are easier to land than constantly sending cold pitches.
Lisa: I am permitted to freelance, as long as it isn’t a direct conflict of interest with my day job. So when I do freelance, it’s in different subject areas, like personal essays and content for nonprofits, so I don’t get burned out doing one type of freelance work. And if you do work full-time, expect that things like the commute, meeting-filled days and getting up early will have an impact on your energy level. So you may not be able to produce as much as you would had were you were freelancing full-time.
Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at the Penny Hoarder, focusing on grocery and retail markets. A former full-time freelance writer and vintage shop owner, Lisa has a Master’s degree from Georgetown University, where she studied American apparel manufacturing and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland. She also co-hosts Pop Fashion, a weekly podcast about the business of fashion.
Cheryl Alkon is a seasoned freelance writer and researcher who covers health and medical topics most frequently, but also business, parenting and other subjects that capture her interest. While she’s held staff jobs at Boston magazine, gURL.com and the Gannett Suburban newspaper chain (Westchester County, NY), her most recent clients include EverydayHealth.com, Quest magazine, the ASCO Daily News, ENTToday.org, and Endocine News, among others. She is the author of the 2010 book Balancing Pregnancy With Pre-Existing Diabetes: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby, and lives in Massachusetts with her antique-obsessed husband, football fanatic son and American Girl doll-loving daughter.
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