Apply Withinō

So you want to be a writer, huh? Maybe an artist? Maybe you have a fairly strong interest in composition or technique, and want to try your hand at profitable creativity. Unfortunately, after numerous encouraging conversations with the overly eclectic person at the coffee shop who promised Դo get your work seen,ԠyouӶe got nothing to show for it, besides jittery hands and a freshly learned life lesson about people who misrepresent themselves.

Letӳ face it: Hard is the life of someone whose compensation stems solely from their own creativity. Rewarding, but hard. Money is spent on supplies, and ends are met by designing CD covers for friendsҠbands at drastically reduced rates. More often then not, our time is spent in solemn contemplation of what would have happened if our eldersҠvoices had been just a few decibels louder than our sense of defiance towards their advice.

After all, isnӴ a life lived through creative means supposed to bring with it a sense of empowerment, knowing that you did not give into the SirensҠcall of the corporate world? That you decided to make it on your own, against every conceivable obstacle, in order to spend the rest of your life being paid for displaying, in one way or another, the depths of your being? Absolutely. The problem is that the pay sucks and the Բat raceԠnotion now only applies to your living room, in a far-too-literal fashion.

So, what can you do to find your proverbial cheese? How do you go from Ramen to Restaurants and still hold on to the satisfaction of personal creation?

Freelancing.

More and more companies are outsourcing their creative needs to avoid paying a full-time staff substantially more money for the same amount of work. A designer whoӳ able to determine a companyӳ needs and plucky enough to communicate this fact could find themselves in the cheddar sooner than you can say ԩndependent contractor.ԍ

So, what are we saying? Should you bite the bullet, and give it all up to go to dental school, and begin producing your 2.5 children for the betterment of your financial future? Maybe. It all comes down to how you want your creativity to color your life. Do you want to make money at it, or use creativity to make peace with yourself while you pursue pastures of healthier hues?

The Front: Open. Read. Think.