Where You Are, Where You’re Going

There’s a couple ways to look at doing commercial work:

1) A way to make money while you’re trying to hit it big. That’s the way a lot of people choose to see it whether it’s commercial writing, commercial art, or doing tedious copypasta database programming for Meglocorp Inc. Usually, people get into freelance fields because they have entertained the idea of being the next Hemingway, the next Rembrandt, or publishing the next World of Warcraft. It’s an admirable dream, and it’s not as far away from coming true as you feel deep down. It’s also not as close as you keep telling yourself it is every day.

A bit of encouragement is in order though. You can do what you want and get paid without Goin’ Out West. My friend just sold off his third screenplay and made six figures off of it. He’s just a delta-accented punk who put his nose to the grindstone and kept working at it for years. He doesn’t even see himself as anything special. The key, though, is that he put his head down and hands up–kept fighting. It worked for him in just a few short years.

2) The Valley of Broken Dreams (TM) (C) (XYZZY). This is where a startling majority of freelancers end up. I sometimes like to think of the commercial art fields as the place where dreams go to die. You always wanted to be a novelist or a painter, but you get caught up in the money and “just surviving”. Let me tell you: the years can go by very fast when you’ll start on that novel tomorrow.

I settled for survival until I had a wake-up call which told me that I don’t want to be limited. I’ve got something to say, and I’m going to make sure it gets crammed down the throat of as many English-speakers as possible whether they like it or not.

So, here’s some extracurricular activities which will both boost your freelance career as well as your dream career:

Start Small and Build Up

It’s possible to become a card-punching drone as a freelancer as well. It’s where you give up your dream and your freedom in exchange for a sum of money. It’s a desk job you don’t have to drive to. However, you’re still chained to that desk. The following is what I do to break away from those chains. I’m taking risks, moving forward, grabbing at the prize.

When I’m not writing for this blog, numerous other blogs, and other writing “jobs” I’ve accumulated, I’m writing short stories and sending them off for publication. That’s the key for any writer. I think Dave and Bill do something like that to move their career forward. Then again, I also believe that they spend a good portion of their time wearing onions on their belt (because it was the fashion of the time) and telling me to get a haircut, get a job, and get off their respective lawns. Anyway, $50 an hour for 40 hours a week is decent money, but it’s chump change compared to the revenue generated by a good novel or screenplay. How do you get from here to there? Start small.

You’ll find that writing a publishable short story is a far cry from starting small, but at least it’s smaller than a publishable novel. The fact is that you can pump out a 2000 word short story, edit it, and send it off to publishers much faster than a novel. Also, getting published in even a small journal is nothing to sneeze at. It’s called a publishing credit. You get one, and you can apply it to the next story you send out. The good thing is that you never lose the credit. You can publish your second story on the back of the first you published–the third on the first and second. It keeps building up into a successful career just like getting jobs on oDesk builds up your commercial career. After you have 15, you’ve probably won an award and have some considerable weight. You could easily publish a book of short stories. That’s one book credit. See where it’s going?

These journals also accept artwork and photography, so if you’re not a writer, there’s still a place for you to publish your work. If you’re a programmer, well… check out 2600 Magazine. I think that’d be an interesting choice for your field.

By submitting your work to extra journals, you are also boosting your commercial career. You can use these credits as currency when applying to jobs on oDesk. All you have to say is “Hey, you need me because I’ve been published in (insert prestigious magazines here).” Savvy?

Open Source Projects

This is the part where Dave and I have a conversation like this video. Yes, I’m like the guy with glasses and the backpack.

There’s a lot of opportunities in Open Source projects. You’ll work for free (or cheap), but you will gain massive exposure if you play it right. You will be able to point to a piece of software, graphics in software, or a manual and say that you either had a hand in its creation or created it yourself while thousands of people use it every day. That’s impressive on a resume.

One great place to check for Open Source projects you can work on is SourceForge. It’s a website dedicated to Open Source projects, and you can contact the developers of those projects to offer your services. Keep in mind that most of the people on this website are developing software in their free time to be released at no cost to the user, so you won’t find too many who are willing to pay for art, writing, or programming. That’s just the way it is. However, you can use this opportunity to build your resume with some on-topic examples.

Fin

That’s the idea of it. Instead of saying you’ll do this tomorrow, check it out now and get involved. If you’re a writer, sit down right now and write a short story. Find an Open Source project to get involved in. Develop yourself.

Or say you’ll do it tomorrow/the day after/next week/when you’re 80. That actually makes it easier for more motivated people to succeed.