By Amanda Smyth Connor

Pardon me as I climb up on this soapbox for just a moment, but I’ve got a bone to pick.

My frustration comes when I read Facebook/Twitter updates from friends and aquaintances that read like this:

“Dear All, I’ve decided to start freelancing! So, send me anything you’ve got! I’m ready to write!”

Oh how simple you make it sound! If only it were so easy as to simply blast out an email or to Tweet your availability and to have a series of jobs and assignments lined up at your feet.

“My GOD,” you would think to yourself. “It’s just so wonderful and EASY being a freelance writer! Why doesn’t everyone do this?!”

Because it isn’t easy, you ninny! If it was easy, we would all be millionaires and we would be writing blog posts from our estates on the beach, and monkey butlers would proofread our work all day.

Do you ever find yourself defending what you do to others? This happens to me rarely, but I find that my defenses go up the moment a stranger suggests that freelancing is a dream job filled with all-day pajamas and working from the beach. I mean, sure, occasionally I have been found wearing night pants around 3pm, but that’s usually when I am in a blind panic about a deadline and showering was forced to become a lower priority.

Do you ever face critics regarding your career? How do you handle this situation? And what advice do you share with others who believe that jumping into freelancing is quick and easy?

Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media manager for a major publishing company and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.