Only a few people consider working as a freelancer at first of their profession path, but those that decide to achieve this early have difficult – but very rewarding – years ahead. With dedication, good self-discipline and excellent customer support, freelancers like Mary Tsiara cannot imagine a greater path to follow….
Mary grew up in Trikala, a small town in Greece, not removed from the favored seaside city of Thessaloniki. Like all Greek schoolchildren, she was taught English as a second language from the age of ten. Mary was enchanted by the English language and browse books for hours, learning many latest words and phrases. Very quickly, she knew that after leaving school, she would like to work with English and enter the exciting world of books and publishing. For college leavers in the town, there have been only two essential options – leave the town to check at the colleges of Athens or Thessaloniki, or stay at home and join the family business. Mary decided that she definitely wanted to check English language and literature for a double degree in Athens – which she did thoroughly.
After graduation, Mary thought that she would teach English in order that she would have time to interact with various publishing houses. Mary laughs as she remembers
‘Teaching was definitely not for me! The work was unsatisfactory, the salary left much to be desired, and with a lot of my friends doing the identical, there was stiff competition and it was hard to search out students – especially since I had no opportunity to grow my client base.”
After considering things over, she decided to pursue a better qualification in English to have a greater likelihood of getting a job within the publishing world. She decided that the very best place to check English was, after all, England, and because it was before Brexit, she was in a position to start her master’s degree at Newcastle University. This was to prove to be a really difficult time, because in February of the next 12 months, the world was swept by a worldwide pandemic and all of her course work was moved online.
‘I used to be actually superb at using zoom and while we covered all of the classes online; the dynamics were very different because there was no method to meet head to head.”
The beginnings were difficult
Mary realized that after graduation, they might must overcome some hurdles, as finding an acceptable job in the course of the lockdown can be extremely difficult. While preparing her dissertation, she decided that to “fill the gap” she would post her profile on several independent platforms, including Upwork. She also watched lots of YouTube videos that taught her the way to best showcase her skills.
He remembers well his first jobs, which consisted of editing and providing feedback to clients in the sphere of self-publishing. She graduated, and because the months went by, the variety of job offers she received through Upwork steadily increased, and delighted clients really useful her to their friends.
“The beginnings were difficult for me because I used to be completely alone and made some mistakes. Unfortunately, there’ll all the time be individuals who will attempt to cheat or benefit from you, and I used to be caught once, but I learned loads from that have.”
So what are the essential qualities she thinks a freelancer must have?
“I believe you could have the option to interact well together with your client. It is extremely necessary to grasp exactly what they expect from you. After I communicate with a possible latest client, I all the time offer to jot down/edit an article for them in order that they can understand the best way I work. I would like to offer them space and time to be sure I even have the talents they need and that I will be a “good fit” for the job. I’m all the time very sensitive to the incontrovertible fact that once I edit a client’s work, it is basically their work, I only correct errors and grammar and don’t attempt to introduce my character in any way. If I even have an idea for a particular part, I all the time present it in feedback and thoroughly discuss it with the client.”
I’d go toThe work was unsatisfying and the pay left much to be desired.”
(While I’m not occupied with tutoring, I would not want this to reflect badly on future tutoring)