Why I miss being a staff writer

Leaving aside all the benefits of being a staff writer than come from just having a regular salaried job -- i.e. regular paycheck, benefits, knowing my next assignment is every day, etc, -- the thing I miss most about being a staff writer is the write/edit cycle.

For the past three years I worked at publications with publication cycles. The first was a monthly, the second bi-monthly. This meant that I went through a phase every month where all I really did was research, interview and then write articles, and then went through a phase where all I did was edit and proof pages.

I enjoyed the bi-monthly cycle the most because each phase was short and fast -- one or one and a half weeks of writing, followed by a week of editing and proofing, then back to writing again. It was perfect. After a week and a half of writing, all I wanted to do was push myself away from my desk and give my mind a break... and I could, because it was time for editing and proofing. For the next week I would do very little writing (there was always the daily e-newsletter that had to get done) but most of my time was spent reading and re-reading pages, editing them until they were as close to perfect as I could get them.

After a week of that, I'd always feel like my eyes were cross-eyed and I didn't want to see another page again. I was ready to write and jumped into my next article happily.

And this cycle continued month after month after month. As soon as I was tired of writing, it was time for editing. As soon as I was tired of editing, it was time for writing.

Beautiful things, cycles.

As a freelancer, there is no cycle (well, except for the feast or famine cycle of having work!). It's always writing. Oh there's some research and interviews thrown in but mostly its writing, and writing and more writing.

Amazingly enough when I've had enough of writing my freelance articles, I turn to writing my novel for a break. While it's still writings, it is a totally different type of writing.

But boy do I miss page proofing!