Freelancing During A Pandemic

Humanity goes through an unprecedented time immediately, because of a worldwide pandemic and worldwide quarantines.

It’s a scary time — I totally get that.
I sleep in NYC, the epicenter of the pandemic within us. we've nearly 50,000 cases of coronavirus in our state.

I am on week 4 of being self-quarantined and my husband and that I am not leaving the house.
It’s scary, isolating, boring, and that I miss the outside.
It’s also necessary and vital to remain home to assist flatten the curve and do our part within the fight against COVID-19. I'll not love it, but I roll in the hay.

Freelancing While Quarantined
It completely sucks that numerous people have lost their jobs thanks to the coronavirus. It makes a nasty time even scarier.

The help from the stimulus package, rent and mortgage deferrals, and other programs — and therefore the genuine compassion from people everywhere the planet — are all great, but they don’t stop people from being scared and needing help and money.

I am very, very lucky and grateful that my husband and that I am both still working.
My husband is in tech and remains ready to do his entire job from home. We now share an office (with one another and our cat).

I have been freelancing as a writer and editor for the last 3.5 years. And during this time of crisis, I'm extremely lucky and grateful to still be working.
When we were first being hit within the U.S., as people started quarantining and businesses closed (hopefully) temporarily, I got scared.

I had 2–3 clients let me know directly that they needed to pause/stop my services thanks to their own loss of income.

I got nervous and anxious. What if I couldn’t work anymore?

It’s also completely understandable.I’m not upset that I’ve lost a couple of clients recently. These are unprecedented times and therefore the economy is in freefall. I buy it! That doesn’t mean I can’t worry, of course.

But somewhat surprisingly, I’ve actually picked up a few of the latest clients during this time, too.
I’ve seen in some freelancer groups and forums I’m there in some are struggling et al. (especially those that write medical/science stuff) are extremely busy.

I’m somewhere within the middle. I even have work and many to try to to to stay me busy and make money but I'm not sitting here so busy that I can’t take a half-hour TikTok break, either. [Side note: Only now in quarantine have I gotten into TikTok and that I freaking like it .]

I have 2 new big projects I’m performing on. One is in fintech and writing articles for a banking institution and another may be a series of writing needed to launch a replacement product, including a Kickstarter campaign, landing page copy, and video scripts.

I had one client I worked with previously come and say they have assistance on a replacement project and need to restart working together.

And I still have a few clients from before quarantine that has continued working with me as normal.
Some of the freelancer forums have had long threads about using this point to pitch to publications, but I still maintain that the simplest thanks to making money as a contract writer are to pitch yourself and market on to clients, as you’ll make extra money faster and with less grinding than magazine/publication articles one by one.

How you are doing is up to you.
But now's not the time on behalf of me to reignite my passion for crochet or maybe write my next book during the period (I can do this stuff within the evenings and on weekends).

I am focusing my workday and my time on getting new clients and trying to remain busy with work.
This is a scary time and as an entrepreneur, nothing is guaranteed. So, meaning it’s all about ensuring I'm still marketing, still kicking butt and doing my best work for the clients I even have, and trying to seem for what comes next or maybe how I can expand or refine my offerings to suit this new normal.
I hope you're staying safe and healthy!! (And aren't too bored.)

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