subject: The Working-At-Home Blues - The Downsides Of Ghostwriting [print this page] The Working-At-Home Blues - The Downsides Of Ghostwriting
Working online, working for yourself, working at home - it's a dream life, let me tell ya! I slurp coffee all day in my pajamas, and whenever I want to I can go for a walk, play with my daughter or call it a day!
Sure, it's a dream, but there are some downsides to it. You might want to know about these and start preparing for them before you start your ghostwriting career.
The Sitting On Your Butt Poundage
This isn't a problem really for me; I've got the metabolism of an 8-year-old. But for most folks I know, your first few months as a work-at-home ghostwriter means 25 or more pounds added to your frame. What a shock! I recommend breaking up your writing day with 15 minute high intensity training maybe?
The Evil Red Eyes Of Doom
When a long day of writing is done, my eyes are red and bloodshot like I've been up all night doing whiskey shots. My eyes hurt, and even worse, my hands are numb from all that typing. I still don't know what to do about this, but little breaks help. That, and maybe planning out your week better so you don't have to do everything in one day.
General Laziness And Procrastination
All of us are procrastinators. Everybody's lazy. The path of least resistance is the one most often taken. My clients think I'm a hardcore ghostwriter with a million-dollar work ethic, all because I never tell them how I'm up until dawn finishing their jobs! The only thing I can recommend here is to break up your jobs into chunks, and do a chunk of each one each day. And now I'm going to start following my own advice!
The Constant Temptation To Slack
There's nothing quite as liberating as saying to yourself, "I don't feel like working today... I think I won't!" Try saying that to your boss at the office. I guess it would be like that movie "Office Space." All I can say about this is that once a week or thereabouts, you should act completely irresponsibly and chuck your day's work just for the heck of it. This gives you the needed release, and then the next day you can buckle down.
Small Children, Friends On Skype, Phone Calls And Other Distractions
My little daughter is my favorite distraction. I can't even pretend to be mad when she comes in and distracts me. There are friends contacting me on Skype, emails coming in, phone calls... It's tough to block all of that out and just focus. And it's not fun! I reward myself with a small break every hour. I go and tickle my daughter, listen to some music, write back to emails or do anything else to break things up a little. Think of distractions as much needed breaks!
So, in the end - yes, it's wonderful to work at home. No boss, no schedule, no rules, no dress code. But your career as a ghostwriter is beset with obstacles. Becoming a writer is easy - but so is falling prey to the above pitfalls!
