Advice for Family & Friends of Freelance Writers

I am a writer. A freelance writer. That means my office is in my home and I spend my days at my computer either researching an article, writing an article, or trying to sell an article... and networking. Unfortunately, friends and relatives of freelance writers have a hard time viewing this as a bonafied job since we freelancers sit around in our pajamas until 3pm. (oh admit it.) Since we are at home all day, we are considered free game, and at times it almost seems like they think we are bored and need to be dragged out of the house for some worthwhile activity. Not! If you are a friend or relative of a freelance writer, here are a few tips to keep your relationship with writer in tact.

First, realize that this is a real job. There are boundaries to be maintained... sometimes even more so than in an actual work place. Please do pretend like we are not even here. Leave us to our work. We haven't got a secretary to field our calls or a receptionist to block unwanted distractions. Respect that we are, indeed, working... even if you don't understand it.

We do not need to be rescued from sitting around the house all day. We are working. W-o-r-k-i-n-g. Would you drop in to drag us away if we were in an office building downtown somewhere? No, because you would realize that we need that job. Well, we need this job. Pretend like we are in an office building 100 miles away.

If you actually live with a freelance writer, a closed door means Do Not Disturb... not even if the house is burning. Writers have a way of juggling things in their short term memory. If I am researching or writing, you can bet that I have a fragile pyramid of things floating around up there and I need to get them down before the whole structure crumbles. If you knock on the door to my office, it shatters instantly, and quite often I cannot rebuild it. I write my articles from start to finish. If I am interrupted during this, that article will never get written. It is gone. Forever. The few times I have attempted to recreate an article and start over, I have not been pleased at all with the outcome. So no. Do not even knock. Whatever it is can wait until we emerge from our cocoon of our own free will.

Yes. As a matter of fact, you did hear the sound of a game being played. Sometimes I review games. Just because I am playing a game and you can hear it does not mean I am not working. As I play, I am making mental note of a thousand and one aspects of the game for inclusion in the article. I am noting refresh rates, difficulty levels, learning curves, any glitches... and yes, sometimes that does happen to require 15 hours straight play to see if the game shuts down with hard-core use. A lot of them do. That is important info for the gaming community. Again, if the office door is closed, back off.

Yes, we do spend time places like MySpace, Gather, and FanPop. Yes, it does appear that we are taking a break and just playing around the Internet. Let me assure you, we are networking. We are getting our name out there. We are making connections. We are getting people to come read our articles that are posted to places like Associated Content... and yes, Associated Content is a real job for a lot of people on its own... but getting people to read leads to print magazine jobs. I write for several magazines now along with Associated Content precisely because of my articles having been posted on-line where editors could find them, and my networking. Frequenting these social networking sites may be fun, but it is still a vital part of our job as freelance writers.

If I want lunch, I will get up and make it myself when I get to a spot where I can safely break away without losing whatever is in my head at the time. We appreciate that you worry about us forgetting to eat. Rest assured that we will eat when we are ready. You are not going to one day open the door to our computer room and find a corpse with its fingers glued to the keyboard.

Please do not talk while I am watching a movie. Again, I review movies from time to time for both on-line venues and for print magazines. I take notes in my head. A lot of notes. Besides, even if I do just happen to be watching for fun, talking is just rude and annoying. I'll give you an out on this one, though. Pick up the remote and pause it. Then you give me a chance to hold up my hand for silence while I grab a pen and jot down a few key things before I lose them in conversation. Thanks.

The bottom line is respect, folks. This is not a hobby. We are not wasting our time and just playing around. We are working. As freelancers, we are probably working harder than Joe across the street that goes into an actual building after having shaved and showered and gotten dressed every day. Please. Just realize that we need solitude in order to do what we do best: Create. And if your writer happens to disappear for days at a time, they are probably working on a novel... Do you want to be the name in the book jacket that is thanked for your support... Or the character in the book who is a big pain in the ass?

Writing is not a hobby. Writing is not a hobby. Writing is not a hobby. All family and friends of freelance writers: Please go sit in the corner and write that 1,000 times.