I am all about the energy of words and the way that they reflect intentions as well as aspirations.   So I choose not to use the words “freelance” or “small business owner” to describe my endeavors.

My objections have nothing to do with the way my job title sounds to anyone else.  I’ve already carried impressive sounding titles that felt hollow to me.  I care less and less by the day what people think.  This is a matter of the way that the words and labels I use FEEL to me. 

So why don’t I use the term freelance?  I don’t call myself a freelance writer because freelance defines me as a person who works for a number of employers.  But that’s not me.  I am no longer an employee.  Freelance also implies something unstructured or haphazard about my work as a writer. 

Independent is the way that I think about myself.  To my mind, writers are independent by definition, so to call myself an independent writer feels redundant. 

What’s my beef with small business owner?  There’s nothing small about my hopes for my writing or the energy I commit to it.  I embrace the idea that I start where I start, but the term small business owner implies something limiting about the scale of my aspirations.  

 It doesn’t feel right.

Why, as a writer, do I use the term entrepreneur as well? I not only find writing spiritually sustaining, but I also understand it as a dimension of my livelihood.  It’s a business and it’s crucial to keep an eye on the commercial dimensions of the enterprise.  My book advance taught me that lesson in a huge way, and I’ll share the story soon. 

So how do you define your writing life?  What words best describe you?