The Renegade Writer Blog

Kristen Fisher is the author of Creatively Self-Employed: How Writers and Artists Deal with Career Ups and Downs. [lf]

Why did you self-publish Creatively Self-Employed, and what did you learn about creative freelancing from the process?

I published this book because I’ve always dreamed of being an author and this was a topic I knew about. I was going through such a hard time working at a dead-end 9-to-5 job. Then after I took my plunge, I found that I missed having coworkers, doubted my abilities as a copywriter, and didn’t have anyone who understood what I was going through. I learned so much from the participants. Not so much how-to information, but I learned that I wasn’t alone, and that there is such a need for a book like this.

I also have to mention that I had a fabulous editor, Kristen King, who helped me polish up the book (I was a writer with little book publishing knowledge). Having her to help me was a great help and a pleasure.

In your book, you mentioned separating yourself from your work. Why is this important, and how do you do it?

I try to do it as much as I can. When you’re multitasking at home (especially as a woman with other distractions like cleaning and, in others’ cases, caring for kids) it is hard not to get worked into a frazzle. In addition, it’s hard not to take rejection personally. In both these cases, it’s important to take breaks and ground yourself. To know that you can work and take care of your family by employing time management skills, and to know that rejection isn’t really personal, though we can take it that way.

You say that creatives need to put their art aside at times and learn the business side of their freelance careers. How do you recommend incorporating business tasks (marketing, filing, invoicing) into the creative side of the work?

This is a great question! Without a business sense, you won’t have a business. In the book I talk about my accounting skills, or lack thereof. After visiting a professional accountant, I knew to keep better records in my infamous Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. (I really do need to learn QuickBooks!) But I didn’t need to learn how to do taxes; just to make the financial part of my business professional.

Point is, you can manage a successful business on your own to a certain degree. In my case, numbers scare me, so I knew to take care of my finances and avoid an IRS audit by going to an accountant. I learned a few steps to make the tax process easy for my accountant, and I learned how to keep track of invoices for my daily operations. When you handle money, you have to be completely professional. That’s why not only designing invoices but keeping strong records of dates they were sent and dates checks were received was so vital. I strongly advise creatives to learn about marketing, accounting and other necessary tasks. Even if they don’t do their own taxes, for example, you still have to have some sort of financial know-how. And much of it can be learned with a little effort.

Just reach out for help. Use the Internet and read books to boost your skills.

The other part of your question is about incorporating “boring” stuff into the “fun” mix. Creatives can easily do this by giving themselves X amount of hours a week or X amount of minutes a day devoted to this work. With a time limit, it helps you to see that the icky parts will be over soon and you’ll be back to creating like Picasso soon. But you do have to deal with the icky parts if you want to make a living off what you do.

Can you describe the concept of micromovements?

Micromovements was a cool concept that SARK cited in her book, Make Your Creative Dreams REAL. Unlike other books by her, this one dealt with some of the psychology of creative dreams. One thing she suggested was making micromovements, also known as taking baby steps.

An example of doing this is when someone wants to be an artist but is afraid (rightfully so) to quit their day job. A micromovement may be approaching one gallery with some work. Of course the creative would want to approach, say, 20 galleries. But one is a small, achievable goal that can help a freelancer build confidence in his or her work and not get overwhelmed by it all. Over time, I haven’t had to make as many micromovements—I am a risk taker!

What’s the biggest thing you learned while interviewing the creative freelancers for your book? Is there anything that you incorporated into your own work style?

Again, the biggest thing was that I had this idea that there had to be people like me who struggled with issues like time management and feeling lonely in the middle of the day. When responses started coming back and people started sharing their stories, I knew that my book angle would be marketable. People didn’t want a how-to book—they just wanted to know that it was okay to have these feelings and they could get support just by sharing theirs and reading others.

I got a great deal of help from the people who talked to me. They helped me grow as I was compiling the book. I am so grateful for their help, which is why I am trying to make this concept of creative self-employment into a movement, instead of just a book.

How do you (and the freelancers you interviewed) cope with the “feast or famine” cycle of freelancing?

What a feast—and what a famine—it is! I think when you start off, you’re kind of desperate for work. But if you take the self-employment plunge in a practical manner and align your finances and make sure you have some steady work lined up, for example, you won’t go through those famines. This is why I suggest having a part-time job when one starts out. Even if it’s pumping gas while you design websites on the side.

I still sometimes struggle with “all or nothing.” After so many times, though, I saw that work always came in when I let go and trusted. For me, I trusted God. For others, they have to trust the Universe or whatever other force they believe in. Reciprocity works—put your marketing efforts out there and they will return to you.

Creative self-employment is so unique because you have to do this—personally let go and go through so many emotions to get on stable ground. I now have many clients and work is always coming in. But, I am a smart gal—I regularly market myself and am constantly approaching businesses to ensure that I am recruiting more work. I don’t think I’ll ever stop marketing myself.

Do you have any tips for getting over the fear of rejection?

One of the women featured in my book, Tera Leigh, said it best, in the most tough-love kind of way. She said that if you want to be in business, you have to put your “big girl panties” on and just get out there. I think she’s totally right.

This is where micromovements come in. Taking baby steps. I’ve never been a passive or shy person. So if timid people are struggling with this, they need to make a micromovement or consider whether they are meant to make a living off their talents. I know it sounds kind of harsh but if creatives want to do this full-time, they have to be a business person, not just a writer or a designer.

How can creative freelancers beat procrastination?

I don’t know that they should. Some people actually work better this way! (Not me—I never delay on things and always work ahead!) But I realize some people work more effectively under pressure. If you start missing deadlines, though, that’s when you have to learn to manage your time. I’ve found list-making to be a huge help, though I am just a little obsessed with it!

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?

Just that the site for the book is www.creativelyselfemployed.com and they can sign up for my free newsletter there. I’m hoping to really connect people through the site and offer more resources (I need a message board, for one) to help people support each other.

That’s really key with creative self-employment—there are a thousand ways to take the plunge and start a business, but by supporting each other, we can really thrive.

This is more than a black-and-white business—there are emotions involved when you create your own work and there need to be more resources to help people with the psychological part of it all.

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