Journalism


   Benefits of Working as a Freelance Writer
   The Outline

I.              Introduction to freelance writing

A.   Dictionary Definition

1.    Explanation for freelance writing

II.            Job Satisfaction in Freelance writing

A.   Independence in working

1.    Professional Ethics

2.    Monetary benefits

III.           Professional Autonomy

A.   Freedom of choice

1.    Choice of subject

2.    Acquisition of Knowledge

IV.          Stress Management

A.   Self-evaluation

1.    Self-Motivation

2.    Goal-directed attitude

3.    Flexibility in work time

4.    Flexibility in work place

V.           Job Security

A.   Job Involvement

VI.          Conclusion

Serving the society

Oxford Talking Dictionary defines the word ‘freelance’ as, “A person operating without permanent commitments in a particular sphere of activity…a person who works ... in a specialist area, for no fixed employer”. In this way a freelance writer is one who is independent of any newspaper or journal. He works for himself and is not an enrolled staff of any press media.

Writers who choose journalism as profession shall opt to be a freelancer since he has advantages like individuality, autonomy, monetary benefit, job satisfaction, job security and involvement, freedom, stress-free working experience and opportunity to serve the society.

The career satisfaction is very precious to a professional. A freelancer is one who does not compromise with his subject of writing in order to satisfy a particular newspaper. Since he is independent there is always an opportunity for him to have his work published unscathed. In that case he is determined in his choice of topic. Further he does not have to bend his ethics just for monetary benefits. Dr. Michael Drafke rightly states, “A work-at-home parent can be present with kids…Employees also have less supervision, lower work related expenses, and more flexibility” (320). The perfect balance between individuality and revenue provides a vocational delight.

A freelance writer preserves his independent identity in writing for different newspapers or journals. It is essential to strive for autonomy for a professional. A free lancer has the gift of it. Dr. Michael Drafke stresses the need of autonomy as:

The more freedom people have over the pace of the work and methods they may employ to perform it, the more autonomy they have. As autonomy, or freedom, increases, so does job satisfaction. (325)

Freedom, which is ample in freelancing, is a more valuable asset to human beings. Besides, the freelancer has emancipated himself in his profession. Hence the execution of the work is optimum when the individual is free and happy. This state of mind enables that his territory of knowledge could be annexed with many such legions. Consequently he sets himself off to an unending exploration of research in writing which is such a joyous enterprise. Every such enterprise empowers an individual to learn continuously and furthers him to acquire erudition. As B.R. Hergenhahn and Mathew H. Olson state: …Learning occurs in very small systematic steps rather than in huge jumps” (58). Therefore freelance writing provides a gradual and a wholesome learning experience.

When a freelancer works he has plenty of opportunity to self-evaluate his writings. But the errors that an employee commits are visible to others in an organization. Dr. Drafke emphasis, “When the errors a person makes are highly visible to others, stress increases” (17). The stress caused by the humiliation of being exposed to public eye proves to be vulnerable on the part of job satisfaction. Accordingly self-evaluation becomes essential as well as genuine for a person to upgrade his competency level. This attitude motivates him to be goal-directed to achieve his objectives. P. Nick Blanchard and James W. Thacker put it, “Feelings about our own competency are reflected in the concept of self-efficacy, which is one of the better-researched constructs related to motivation” (75). Evidently in freelance writing self-evaluation promotes self-motivation and skill.

The freelancer attends all his needs both in professional and in personal life. It is essential for an individual to acquire self-actualization and to be beneficial to the society. The importance of individual needs is substantiated by James Adar as,

Individual needs are especially important in relation to motivation,…you must understand these needs in individuals and how they operate, so that you can work with grain of human nature and not against it (35). 

Hence his competency level and his ability to serve to the human being could be fulfilled through his writing. The same is actually sanctioned in freelancing so as to enable him to be a better leader.

The modern world is known for filching the health and the leisure through the daily busy routine. As a result the work schedule that lasts until late in the evening causes the mental stress. On the contrary the pliable work time is made convenient for a freelancer who could attend his health as well. Moreover he does not have to stand at the mercy of the head in the late hours of the evenings in case of any overloaded duty. He is free to make his own appointments to do his work. As in the words of Dr. Drafke, “Basically, flexibility eliminates the 9 to 5 syndrome faced by many employees and enables them to enjoy hours that more closely match their personal lifestyles” (318). Thus his profession does not experience hustling work hours. The balance of the professional and the personal life can be maintained in freelance writing. This factor lets him concentrate well on his profession.            

There is job instability for an employee who works for an organization.  The company lays off staff members if the circumstances compel them. It is never easy to find an alternative to the previous job immediately. The job security is a crucial factor if it is not fulfilled job involvement gets affected. As uttered by Dr. Drafke, “When job security, the assurance of the employment continuing in the future, is absent there may be less job satisfaction” (328).  The accomplishment of task with dynamism reveals job involvement and gives us the sense of bliss. As in the words of Dr. Drafke,                                                                     

“The more involved a person is in his or her job, the more satisfaction he or she generally feels” (333). Whereas a freelance writer neither suffers from job security nor job involvement. Such grants enhance his standard in writing and create a demand on the basis of their suitability and distinctiveness. Therefore he may write on various topics of human interest.

            Ultimately the competency level and the scholarship of the freelance writer facilitate him to compose a graded composition which succours human being. Dr. Drafke justifies this point of view as, “The end result of quality of work life is the overall satisfaction one receives from a job” (324). Therefore one has to accept the fact that being a freelance writer he gets benefit for his personal as well as professional life.


 Works Cited:

Adar, John. Effective Leadership: How to Be a Successful Leader London: Pan Books,

            2009.

Blanchard, P. Nick, James W. Thacker. Effective Training: Systems, Strategies, and

            Practices 3rd ed. New Delhi: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.

Drafke, Dr. Michael. The Human Side of Organisations 9th ed. New Delhi: Prentice-

Hall of India Private Limited, 2008.

Hergenhahn, B.R.,Mathew H.Olson. An Introduction to Theories of Learning. New        

            Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, 2008.

The Oxford Talking Dictionary. CD-ROM, Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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