Publishing is an industry that has undergone many changes in recent years, especially given developing technology. For most freelancers, publishers are the target client. Working within the publishing industry means accepting and respecting the different ways publishers choose to work. It also means keeping up with changes and developments in the industry to keep pace with client expectations.

Many new freelancers complain that it’s hard to break into the publishing industry because it’s too ‘cliquey.’ Networking is essential in freelancing, and publishing houses want to work with seasoned professionals.

What do publishers expect of their freelancers? Publishing professionals use freelancers at many different stages in a book’s production. Many freelancers also work outside of publishing, complementing their publishing resources, and work with corporate projects such as writing website copy, indexing reports, or designing and laying out marketing brochures.

Freelancing in numbers, according to Upwork’s Freelancing in America 2016 –

• 54% of freelancers earned more money within a year of leaving their full-time jobs
• 50% of freelancers enjoy their current work set-up so much that they wouldn’t go back to a traditional job, no matter how much it paid
• 73% of freelancers said that technology has dramatically enabled them to choose this career style
• 79% of freelancers prefer freelancing to traditional work environments

With unsteady print growth, declining e-books sales, and diminishing revenues, many publishers are looking to their marketing and sales teams to improve their market shares. Less frequently, they look to the production aspects of publishing—an area where vast improvements can be made by adopting a flexible publishing model that effectively incorporates freelancers.

Several online networks that host freelance publishing professionals assess businesses regularly. The most significant benefits to engaging freelancers through an online freelance platform are security and peace-of-mind. A platform can help you:

• Scale your workforce in seconds without hiring additional employees
• Eliminate contracts and time-intensive onboarding processes
• Distribute work more efficiently with assignment-based task queues
• Increase employee satisfaction by promoting greater workplace flexibility
• Improve efficiency without disrupting the existing processes

Examining the publisher-freelancer relationship from the creative, management, and legal angles aids in identifying how publishers can successfully navigate the growing freelance economy. Much of the effectiveness of what freelancers can provide in terms of support to a company, of course, has to do with efficient and careful communication.

Inconsistent branding is one of the concerns of publishers when it comes to working with numerous freelancers. Working with freelancers can foster creativity. Companies that hire freelancers are three times more likely to see a 10% growth in annual revenue than companies that do not. As their reliance on freelancers grows, publishers are looking to maintain a brand that preserves their creative heritage and integrity.

Most publishers are accustomed to working with freelancers and would benefit from a freelance management system. Freelancers are experienced, skilled, creative people that have ideas that can be implemented into a project. Online freelancing platforms represent a thriving sector of the freelance economy, where you can find, hire, work with, and pay professionals from anywhere in the world.

Sources:

• https://www.fastcompany.com/40460457/you-cant-gig-with-us-why-the-freelance-economy-is-getting-more-cliquey
• https://publishingperspectives.com/2017/05/reedsy-freelance-white-paper/
• https://medium.com/@kalohq/5-golden-rules-for-publishers-managing-freelancers-49403e012acf
• https://contently.com/strategist/2014/06/23/what-top-brand-publishers-look-for-in-freelancers/
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