Deborah Durbin is a freelance writer and photographer.
She is married, has three children and lives in Bristol, UK.
Q: Do you work from home
part-time, full-time, just for extra cash or do you freelance?
A: I work more or less full time now.
Q: What type of work do
you do?
A: I work as a freelance writer, author
and photographer.
Q: How did you get started?
A: : I started
working from home 11 years ago when my middle daughter was born. I found
it hard to juggle a full-time job and look after two children. I went
back to college to study journalism, qualified and started submitting
local stories to my local newspapers. At the time I was being paid 15p
per line, but the more I wrote the bigger pieces I got to write.
I then started submitting lifestyle pieces to
magazines. One feature I was writing about for a parenting magazine
was so popular that I decided to write a book about it and my first
book Changes in Childbirth was born, so to speak. Since then I have
had nine books published and hundreds of articles published. A few years
ago I decided to train as a photographer and now divide my time between
writing and photography. I also ghost-write books for other people.
Q: Is this a difficult sector to break into?
A: It's not so
much difficult as having patience! It can take a while to build up commissioned
work from editors and it really does pay to write for nothing or for
very little in order to build up a portfolio of published work, even
if it is just readers' letters. In feature writing, the main thing is
to read as many back copies of the publication you want to write for.
This gives you an idea of what the reader likes, what the publication's
style is like and what the editor is looking for.
Q: Do you enjoy working from home?
A: Yes, I love
it. Sometimes I cna be working on a book, other times I might be researching
somehting for an article, another day I might be commissioned to take
photographs for a website.
Q: Why did you choose home working?
A: Because I couldn't
juggle a full-time job and look after my children all at the same time.
Q: How do you motivate yourself?
A: Rejection is part and parcel of being
a writer, so you have to keep motivated and keep trying. I always try
to remember that it's only one person opinion if I get a rejection letter
from an editor or a publisher and the next one might just be the one
that says yes!
Q: What are the positive aspects of home working?
A: I choose the hours I want to work.
Even if I am tied to a deadline, I can choose whether I want to start
work early and get it out of the way, or stay in bed and work into the
night. I can (and often do) work in my pyjamas if I so wish and can
take the kids to the park and work there if I want to.
Q: What are the negative
aspects of home working?
A: Writing for a living can be a lonely
occupation, as can many home-working jobs, so I think it's important
to join as many group, forums and networks as you can that share your
way of working. There is also the issue of distractions when you work
from home. Neighbours assume you are always available for a chat, mothers
ring up just when you're at your most productive and children seem to
permenantly want feeding!
Q: Would you say that the
type of work you are doing pays you a good wage?
A: Ha! In a word, no. You might get paid
£300 for an article one week and then spend the next four weeks
working on a book you haven't yet sold. Most magazines pay on publication,
so you don't get paid until your work is published. I don't think anyone
who goes in to writing does so for the wages. It is often feast or famine.
Q: Do you find home distractions a problem
when you're trying to work?
A: Occassionally, but as long as you set rules and tell people
that when you are working, you are not to be disturbed, I find that
distractions are just a minor irritation.
Q: How many hours do you work a day?
A: This depends on what I am working on.
If I am working on a book then it could be eight or nine hours a day,
sometimes more if I am on a deadline to get it finished. If I'm working
on an article, it could be just a couple of hours research, followed
by an hour to write the content. If I'm doing a photo assignment, it
might be a couple of hours, including travelling. I generally work most
days even weekends and holidays as I always need to be submitting work
to editors.
Q: Would you recommend this
type of work to anyone?
A: I would. It's a great occupation but
you do need to be able to handle rejection and you do need to believe
in yourself.
Q: Do you need any skills
to carry out this kind of work?
A: I studied journalism and then creative
writing and photography but you do tend to learn a lot on the job and
there are people out there who can help you.
Q: Do you need any special
equipment or tools?
A: A computer is a must, as is Broadband,
a printer, a phone, a good email server, good business cards and letterheads,
and obviously photography equipment if you are doing photography.
Q: What advice would you
give to a newcomer in your field?
A: Read as much on the subject as you
can. Join support groups, writing circles and subscribe to the trade
magazines.
Q: Have you been doing this
for long?
A: I've been doing this for 11 years.
Q: Would you return to the
9-5 grind in the future:
A: No. I don't think anyone would employ
me anyway!
Q: Would you recommend working
from home?
A: Yes.
Q: Anything else that you’d like to
add?
A:The buzz
that you get when you have your first article, story or book published
is fantastic and worth all the sweat and tears!
You can find out more about Deborah by visiting
her website at Deborah
Durbin
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