mb: What has your freelance life been like?

MR: Like every freelancer, I have experienced ups and downs. But you can't let bad days, slow months, dead-end stories and unpleasable editors get you down. Fortunately, bad days are followed by bright ones, where primo assignments pour in one after the other — and your editors appreciate your hard work.

mb: What is the most fun part about being a freelancer? What's the least?

MR: The great thing about freelancing is that you can follow your own interests. If you find yourself intrigued by a random topic you overhear people discussing in line at the grocery store, or you want to know more about a subject your friend mentions in passing, you can learn more about the topic — and then get paid to tell other people about it too!

It's not fun to worry about where your next paycheck is going to come from. But when you do land a new assignment, the rush is so great!

mb: What's the craziest thing that an editor has ever said to you?

MR: "We need you to find some real-life women to try out the Betty Dodson Vaginal Barbell, ASAP!" And I did!

mb: Tell us something that didn't make it into the book.

MR: I think it's all in there. Well, originally there was a sample business card with the freelancer's photo on it. Laurel Touby, founder of this fine website, didn't think that was such a great thing to recommend so we took it out. Perhaps Laurel was right, but sometimes taking risks and making bold statements so you stand out pays off. Just ask Laurel, queen of the boa!

mb: What's next for you?

MR: Don't tell anyone, but I'm back on staff as an editor at a major women's magazine. I love writing, and yet I love editing just as much. I think my career may play out this way: 10 years as a staff editor, 10 years freelancing, 10 years as a staff editor, 10 years freelancing, and on and on ... I can't think of anything finer. Except maybe holding a staff position in New York every fall and spring — and then freelancing from Aspen in the winter and on Nantucket in the summer. Yes, that would be just fine.

Margit Feury Ragland worked as an editor at Woman's Day, Family Circle, Walking, Cornell, and Natural Health magazines before leaping headfirst into a successful freelance career. Her work has appeared in publications such as Self, Fitness, Health, Marie Claire, Parenting, and the Boston Globe.

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