Lessons From One Writer’s Transition From the Freelance Life to a Full-Time Staff Job

I had been working as a freelance writer for about four years when I noticed that one of my clients had an opening for a full-time writer. At the time, my husband was unemployed and we had a 2-year-old who depended on us, and although my income was plenty in the good months, the lean months were legitimately scary.

If the potential for a steady income wasn’t motivation enough, I couldn’t deny the nagging feeling that I was missing out on something by working in solitude. I wondered about the office camaraderie my peers talked about, and the sense of accomplishment and loyalty that could come from working regularly for one company. Well, as it turns out, maybe I am a corporate ladder kind of girl. Here’s what I’ve learned about myself as a person and as a writer since making this switch.

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I can focus on what I do best: writing.

I’ve met some freelancers who are proficient at wearing all the “hats” — researching, marketing, social networking, accounting and business planning. I certainly enjoyed many of those aspects as a freelancer, but I wasn’t great at them, and my opportunities were limited because of it. Now, because I have a very clear role as a writer within a company, I’m not concerned with finding jobs or crunching numbers. I wake up, sit down at my desk and write. Occasionally I edit or help with quality assurance. But as a result of this narrowed focus and frequent feedback, my writing has improved. Which brings me to___

There are new opportunities for growth.

Sure, my title, sales and technical writer, sounds very specialized, and it can be the upper limit or end goal if I want it to be. But actually learning about what my coworkers do on a daily basis — editors, project managers, creative directors, marketing and sales professionals — allows me to imagine where I might be 10 or 20 years from now. With freelancing, the main growth opportunity was to find higher-paying jobs, but without the experience or connections, it might have taken me years to earn even what I’m earning now.

The team environment is fulfilling.

I had little to go on, because I’d never held a professional job outside of freelance writing, but if my years as a server and bartender taught me anything, I knew that I enjoyed working with other people. I love giving and receiving feedback, small talk and big talk. And although I still work from home, I’m on the phone or instant messaging the same group of coworkers daily. Even from 600 miles away, we’re sharing ideas and advice, joking around and becoming friends.

I’m broadening my areas of expertise.

Another amazing aspect of working with others is the frequency of learning opportunities. Sure, I made a point of reading and learning when I worked as a freelancer, but the deliberate mentorship I’ve received at my new job is pushing me in ways I wouldn’t have explored on my own. I’m writing scripts for animated videos, documents to guide salespeople through a sale, and internal marketing materials to brand and promote our company. I’m delving into ad writing and copywriting, storyboarding and more.

Any freelance work I do is a bonus.

Obviously I’m still freelancing, or you wouldn’t be reading this. But now I have the freedom to be more selective about the outlets I write for and the stories I write. I don’t have to take every little job that comes my way because money is no longer the driver. I choose to freelance because I love to share information and stories with the world, and any work I do becomes more rewarding to me.

I’m learning a lot about why I write and who I am.

When I was a full-time freelancer, every moment was an opportunity for more income, more ideas. I never stopped working. As a salaried technical writer, I work from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, with no worries about missing an opportunity and losing out on a bunch of money over the weekend. With my new routine, I have extracted myself from my work; and as it turns out, there was an interesting person buried under all that stress and obsession.

I had always used my writer status as my main identifier because it represented everything I wanted to be perceived as: smart, witty, creative, a little secretive. But by putting my writing into a box labeled “my job” and turning off the computer at 5 p.m. every day, I’m allowing myself the freedom to emerge into the world as just a person. And it turns out, it’s so much more rewarding to live and actually be smart, witty, creative and secretive around real humans than to sit at home and only be perceived as those things.

I won’t say that going from freelance to salaried employee is right for everyone. As I mentioned, I’ve met plenty of freelancers who truly excel at wearing multiple hats, and who wouldn’t trade their independence (or even all that tax-time stress) for anything. But for me, I believe I’ve made a good choice. Regardless of where I am 20 years from now, even if I’m freelancing again, I know I’ll be armed with a new array of skills and a level of confidence I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Amanda Layman Low is a freelance writer and artist. Contact her on Twitter @AmandaLaymanLow.