What do you do? 
Eat, send voice notes, and sometimes I write stuff for people if the money’s good.

How long have you been freelancing?
Seven years full-time and a few more years before that doing the whole side-hustle thing. And by that, I mean earning around a fiver a week in exchange for all of my free time.

How did you get into freelancing?
By realising that I had a talent and something people needed … and that I should be charging for it.

What’s the best thing about freelancing?
The longer I do this, the longer the list gets of the ‘the best bits’, but my favourite will always be the ability to sit there smugly when my employed mates moan about never having any time, energy, or cash to do the things they actually want in life. Try not to feel bad for them, though – they have good pensions.

What have you found most challenging about freelancing?
Staying out of my own head and stopping myself from second-guessing my own decisions – pricing, pitching, morals, etc.

When are you most productive?
At night time. Give me a whole day to write something and I’ll find other things to do to fill the day, until BOOM – 11.29pm; let’s fire up the laptop!

How did you find out about Freelancer Mag?
Everyone kept banging on about this bird called Sophie Cross…

What have you enjoyed most about working with Freelancer Magazine?
Being surrounded by a group of people I genuinely bloody respect and learn from. Don’t be fooled by the fun – these people are serious professionals and I am so grateful to take my place with them.

Which Freelancer Magazine article are you most proud of writing?
I liked the one in November ‘22 that referenced Magic Mike being told to keep his vest on. I like to make myself laugh if nobody else.

If you could be another freelancer for a day, who would you be and why?
I’d say Sophie, but she puts Potato Waffles in the toaster, and I couldn’t live my life like that, I’m sorry.

What is success for you?
Sitting there at any random and uneventful point in time doing absolutely nothing, and thinking… “Yep, I’m really happy”.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting as a freelancer?
The minute you make a mistake, learn from it, and vow never to repeat it.

Cats or dogs?
Tough one for me… I’m a cat person, but we lost our beloved rescue Husky, Akira, last November, and honestly, it broke my fucking heart to the point where I genuinely don’t think I’ve been ‘okay’ since. Humans? Not interested. Animals? They’re my tribe.

Who is your inspiration, and why?
I love Tina Fey. There’s so much to love about her story, her comedy, and her writing accomplishments (First female Head Writer on Saturday Night Live, to name just one). Her Golden Globes roasts of George Clooney over the years have been legendary.

What’s your favourite biscuit?
Well, this interview took an intense turn, didn’t it?! Fig Rolls. Only the proper ones, though.There’s nothing worse than a knock-off Fig Roll.

Work from home, cafe or cowork?
Ha! Anyone who’s read my column here in Freelancer Magazine knows my strict ‘Say No-Work to Co-Work’ policy. Home. Always. I bloody loved lockdown.

What scares you?
Slugs, and their ability to gain access into my kitchen.

What’s your hobby?
I used to do pole dancing, and to be honest, I’ve not found a hobby since then that I’ve loved as much.

Print or digital version of Freelancer Magazine?
Print. I love the shape!

What’s your favourite podcast?
I’ll probably be ostracised by the Freelancer Magazine community for this, but I don’t really listen to any!

What book are you reading at the moment?
The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker. I bought a copy last week after watching ‘The Psychology of Serial Killers’ with Jennifer Rees (the lecturer, not my date for the evening) at the Opera House in Manchester. Eye-opening.

Sunrise or sunset?
Sunset. Top of my list for choosing a hotel on holiday is if I can see the sunset from my balcony.

Tea or coffee?
Tea. Although I love a good Ovaltine, if I may deviate…

What’s your favourite film?
Back to the Future.

How do you start your day?
Usually by coping with the demands of my little girl.

What other area of freelancing would you love to try?
Gardening! Which I’d be awful at, by the way. I’d just love to do it!

What’s the one thing you’d like to achieve by the end of 2024?
By the end of 2024, my first ever book will have been out in the wild for just over a year. I’d like for it to have sold a lot of copies, appeared on a lot of actual shelves in shops, and made a lot of people feel good along the way. I’d also like to have another book out by that time – but this time, a children’s book!

 

Find Jo Watson on LinkedIn /jo-watson-agoodwriteup and read her tongue-in-cheek column about freelance life in the latest issue of Freelancer Magazine.