by Rachel Smith
18 July 2014
One of my freelance mates is going through a hard time at the moment. He’s one of the most prolific writers I know, but in the past 2 months has lost two long-time regular gigs. And if that wasn’t bad enough, his inbox went cold. And nothing, but nothing he did to drum up new business was working.
We’ve had a million conversations about what he should do / not do, and whether he should panic / not panic. And, at the end of the day, when there’s no work coming in, there’s only so much tidying of your desk, organising your files and meeting up with other freelancers you can do until you go a bit bonkers.
Luckily, my friend had a decent nest egg saved, so it wasn’t like he’d be out on the street anytime soon. And one day, exasperated, I told him to buy a plane ticket and go on holiday.
He was aghast. “Go on holiday? NOW? When I have no work?”
“Yes,” I said. “Go to a resort in Thailand, drink cocktails by the pool for ten days and don’t think about work. That’s an order.”
I wasn’t joking. These small blips in the work flow are all part of freelancing and my M.O. is to enjoy them, sleep in more, have more long lunches and – if I can afford it – get away for a few days. Because after 13-odd years freelancing, I know these quiet times come in patterns. Often after busy times, and for me, often at tax time when budgets trickle to zero and editors stop commissioning for a few weeks. I actually look forward to these times. Sometimes I plan for them and if I don’t, and they descend anyway, I take them for what they are: a blissful, enforced break.
Plus, history has taught me that once I let go of the ‘must find work at any cost’ reins, it starts to flow again. It’s when I hold on too tight that everything grinds to a halt. (Of course, this is different to an epic slow patch that lasts months or up to a year, when it might be time to reassess what you’re doing, what the market’s doing and any changes you need to make to your business.)
So back to my pal. He took my advice and nicked off – not to Thailand, but to Cambodia. For ten days, I was force-fed his beautiful Instagram photos of resort pools and temples and food. And then I got an email.
“Been SO busy – ever since I got here, work has been flooding in so I’ve been by the pool AND doing some writing as well. It’s been great and has revealed to me a whole new way of working as a freelancer!”
Okay, so not quite the holiday I’d hoped he would have, but I’m glad he’s back in the game. And, isn’t it funny what happens when you take your foot off the gas?
On Monday, we’ll be posting a response to this post – and our first ever member post, which offers more detail and suggestions about what to do when quiet times hit. It’s actually our first commissioned piece for the Rachel’s List blog and something we will be doing occasionally going forward. I know a few of you have expressed interest in writing for the blog, and we’re excited about tapping into the great talent we know lies amongst our RL members. Stay tuned! (Oh, and if you haven’t done the survey yet… here’s the link!)
