By Michael Rodriguez
I am a freelance librarian, in addition to my full-time job managing a university library’s digital services and resources. By freelance librarian I mean that I perform independent, shorter-term, contract-based work that utilizes and develops skills comparable to those commonly exercised in the library context. Such work can blossom into a career, persist as a form of professional development, or simply provide supplementary income. Yet in my personal experience, early-career librarians like me are rarely aware of the countless opportunities for freelance work, and even if they are, they assume that they must rack up many years of industry experience and recognition before anyone will pay them to consult, train, or teach outside their usual 9-5 job. This is not the case. Despite earning my MLIS in August 2014, I have already taught ten paid webinars, edited dissertations and scholarly manuscripts, consulted with a local nonprofit, presented lifelong learning lectures to seniors, and taught technology boot camps as an adjunct college instructor. One year in, I am a successful freelancing librarian, with all the benefits that entails.
Benefits
Freelance work offers a major credibility boost. In the normal course of events, library professionals earn participation points for attending webinars and workshops, pay to travel to present at distant conferences, and donate our time and expertise to service on committees. This is expected of librarians, and necessary even for most freelancers as they build their standings, connections, and skills. But how cool is it for organizations to value your knowledge and skills so highly that they pay you, sometimes hundreds of dollars per hour, to share your expertise with them. This looks wonderful on a résumé, and in contrast to conference-going, webinar presenters are paid for their hard work. Freelancing is in addition to your regular working hours, but the payoff is worth it.
Types of Work
Webinar presenters and other freelancing information professionals can consult, teach, research, edit, index, run workshops, adjunct at universities, write content, design for the web, optimize websites for search engines, analyze data, tell stories at children’s programs, staff reference desks on weekends and evenings, and so much more. In the library world, there is a particularly robust market—local, regional, and national—for professional trainers. Webinars for Florida-based organizations are one of my niches, but opportunities abound depending on your skills, style, location, and initiative.
Online Presence
To begin taking advantage of these opportunities, prospective freelancers should build a professional website and social media presence. Use a free platform like WordPress to develop high-caliber websites to host credentials, portfolios, and contact information. Github for developers and Slideshare for presenters are useful; LinkedIn is essential. But a website delivers a one-stop shopping experience for prospective clients. Once, a new client filled out a contact form on my website, leading to a lucrative training contract for me. Tweeting and guest blogging also adds value when used constructively to engage with colleagues and share expertise, which helps build your reputation. Bonus: a courteous, energetic, informed online presence prepares the ground for regular employment and professional impact, thanks to the people with whom you are able to network.
Networking
Networking leads to opportunities and recognition. However, connecting with people is not about manipulating them into hiring you—rather, networking should come from a genuine desire to share knowledge and fun with more new people. Talk at conferences, attend local workshops and meetups, start local meetups, and become involved in local nonprofit work. Explode the library bubble by tapping the innumerable businesses and nonprofits that host networking events and workshops and boast deep pockets. Once I cold-called a webinar company, another time I wrote to a call for webinar proposals, but most of my work resulted from my leveraging relationships and trust I had built across my network. One national organization invited me to teach a webinar as a direct result of my befriending the organization’s membership coordinator at a conference. Almost every freelance gig of mine arose from a personal connection—only a handful did not, and those were my most recent opportunities, once I was somewhat established. I have never felt tempted to sign up for any freelancers’ website such as Upwork or Elance.
Due Diligence
Freelancers who also have steady employment (part-time or full-time) must ensure they review and comply with their organizations’ human resource policies governing external employment. Be particularly cautious of any conflicts of interest, real or apparent. Often organizations will force employees to disclose outside employment, ask permission from their supervisor, guarantee that their external work will not impact job performance or scheduling, and not use company resources like email or printing for side jobs. The other facet of due diligence is to submit complete tax returns and maintain a paper trail for at least three years. Some freelance work is “under the table,” cash in hand, without producing a paper trail. Regardless, best practice is to report all income.
Compensation
To build their reputation, freelancers might find it advisable to perform discounted or pro bono work when starting out. My very first webinar I offered to teach for free, but it was so well received that the sponsors paid me anyway! After one year of freelancing in my niche, I command anywhere from $175 to $500 per one-hour webinar. Often you can negotiate higher fees simply by asking. Resist the temptation to undersell your services. Clients are not doing you a favor by hiring you—rather, your work adds value to theirs.
Embrace Imperfection
This temptation to undersell your effort and expertise arises from imposter syndrome—the sense that your abilities fall short of expectations and that other people will find out. Many early-career librarians might undersell themselves to avoid seeming arrogant, and others may recoil from near occasions of criticism. What has worked for me is to “fake it till I make it.” Once, having agreed to consult for a local agency about Google Hangouts on Air, I taught myself the software in the three hours prior to my consultation. One of my go-to mottos comes from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: “I’m making this up as I go.” The trick is to embrace the inevitability of your own imperfection. Once you have mentally recognized this, adapting to circumstances is much easier. Powering through imposter syndrome is essential to becoming a successful freelancing librarian.
Michael Rodriguez is the E-Learning Librarian at Hodges University in Florida, where he leads web design and electronic resource management. He is an energetic freelancing librarian, copyright specialist, and LITA blogger. Contact him at topshelvr@gmail.com