July 4, 2006
Independence Day should have special meaning for fulltime freelance writers. We're independent of the 9 to 5, of the corporate culture, of line-of-sight supervision and backstabbing co-workers.

We give all that up for freedom of location, short or nonexistent commutes, work we presumably love, total lack of security, no health insurance, retirement or paid vacations.

It's a good trade, as far as I'm concerned. Sure, sometimes checks don't come when you wish they would. On rare occasions publishers go broke. Not all jobs run as smoothly as you wish and there are editors and publishers out there that can be a major pain in the rump.

99.9% of the time I'm eager to get to work. I enjoy my work and take special pride in my office and how I make a living. I get to play with words for a living, I've got novels coming out and I can pay my bills and take vacations.

So for all you freelancers, don't forget to hoist a beverage of your choice to the glorious state of your independence.

Happy 4th of July!

Best,
Mark Terry