In recent years, the internet has opened doors for countless opportunities whereby different jobs are offered online and completed online. The most widely known job on the internet, which serves many people across different generations and countries, is freelance writing. The word freelance has its history long before the digital era. Its origin is traced in the Sir Walter Scott’s novel called “Ivanhoe” which was published in 1819.
According to the first usage, the word was a combination of two words, free and lance. The meaning at that time meant mercenary soldiers hired at the time to accomplish the mission set by the person hiring them. It essentially referred to the battle skills of the men who were free and not under the control of anyone. The hiring was not done by just any person, but it was mainly confined to the nobles since they were the only people, at the time, allowed to own property. The freelancers would assist in fighting for property. From the first appearance of the term in the novel, the term was widely used to refer to mercenary soldiers. The usage of the word gained popularity and it was used like a noun. In the early twentieth century, the word was later used as a verb and its meaning was greatly changed. In the twentieth century, the term referred to a person who sold his services, or work, for a monetary fee.
The concept of freelancing is perfectly understood today to mean any form of services offered freely wherein the one who offers the service does not have any claim of allegiance. It has been highly criticized to be a job that reinforces the concept that, in the future, real value is to be determined by the money paid to accomplish a certain task. In the twenty first century, the word freelance was joined with the word writer. The new terminology gained its meaning from the foregoing historicity but with a slight change to reflect the mentioned field. In the new age, the term entails many forms of writing. Freelance writing involves creative and research skills to gather information and put it all together in keeping with the instructions given. Being a freelance writer is a lengthy process which takes patience and time. However, the time invested pays since, with the skills it requires, freelance writing becomes enjoyable.
Writing freelance means an agency, or company, or an individual concentrating on the soliciting of jobs without being answerable to any oversight authority. In other words, there is no subordinate attachment to anyone. In writing freelance, once the task is accomplished, the writer has the freedom to look for another. The freedom is the main advantage of writing freelance. However, there are drawbacks worth examining. The uncertainty of work and lack of allegiance mean that employment benefits, such as pension and health insurance, are ruled out. Though there are diverse avenues of money inflow sources, if they are instantly lost it means that the writer has lost the source of livelihood. Secondly, not everyone can be a freelance writer since the discipline and skills required cannot be easily cultivated.
