What flavor am I?

For years I daydreamed about being a writer.  One such manifestation of my dream was that I was a freelance writer for a magazine.  Last week I looked into what it would take to be a freelance writer.  The world of freelance writing is pretty vast.  There are postings for blog writers, marketing content, web articles, and product reviews.  I was amazed at how many different types of freelance assignments there were.  I also quickly discovered that there was global competition for these jobs. 

I decided to give it a try.  I answered an ad for someone to write biographies for the artists signed with a particular record label.  The person who posted the ad had a computer mishap and needed help in writing her articles.  I contacted her and submitted a bid, which told her how much I would charge, how much work I could take on, and when I would finish the job.  I discovered that many of these writing jobs paid barely more than minimum wage.  After an hour and a half of my time, she said that she would accept my bid contingent on writing a sample bid, which took me another hour and a half.   

In the end I didn't get the bid.  Given the rejection rate of writers and other artists, I didn't take it to heart.  However, I did gain some insight.  In the business world, time is money.  But in the world of art, money isn't everything.  Many of the people who were awarded projects were from overseas where the dollar stretches further.  Given this climate, it is clear that freelancing would only augment my income and enhance my resume.  It wasn't the dream I had in mind.

I think this was an important exercise in defining myself more as a writer.  I was able to delineate what I would and wouldn't do.  The more I write and dig into this process, the stronger my voice is as an artist.  Creating something with a better awareness of the marketplace will hopefully give me perspective so that I can write with relevance.  At the very least, it gives me understanding so that I don't feel like a bumbling idiot.  Now the next time I dream, it can be a little more specific.