The July Address

Let’s g

I’m just under 18 months into working for myself. When I left my job at Mother I was quietly confident that a freelance life might be financially and emotionally sustainable, but had no idea what it would look like.

So far, so good. I’ve managed to make a bit more money than I’d expected to (unfortunately life also costs that same bit more).

I spend about 50% of my time work for ad agencies and 50% working for brands and companies directly¹.

They’re both great, but in different ways.

Ad agencies are comfortable and familiar and pay by the day. You know what you’re meant to do and are working for people with high expectations and similar skills to you - good inspiration to stay sharp/not fail.

Working with brands is exciting and different every time. It takes a bit more attention and listening to work out what the expectations are and how best you can help. But once you work it out, it’s great. Working with the people who started the company, in particular, is a real privilege. You also sometimes get to feel like the plumber arriving — thank god you’re here, the toilet’s fucked — in contrast to the agencies where you’re just another denim-shirted creative in the big blue pile. These type of clients sometimes pay day rates, but more often it’s a negotiated project fee that is billed partially upfront, partially on completion.

Wherever in the world my clients are I do all my work from the air conditioned desk I rent above a bouldering gym in Walthamstow in East London, near where I live. My desk has a laptop stand, a kitchen timer (for forcing myself to not look at the internet for short stretches), a box with some pens and charging cables in it and a big pile of layout pads I use to write taglines and/or haikus. It’s all very nice and I’m grateful for it.

There are a few things I miss about having a job: lunch and pub friends, getting to dress up for parties, not having to constantly chase work. But none of those are enough to swap back.

Outside of the client work that is rewarding but ultimately a survival tool, I am trying to write a book. The story is based on a novel I tried to write over 10 years ago, but put so much pressure on it being successful that I never finished it.

This version will be much simpler (dumber) and will hopefully have the advantage of actually existing. It’s inspired by all the autobiographical graphic novels that I have loved. Hopefully it will feel like a graphic novel but with no pictures, if that makes sense? Lots of pages with not much on them.

I would kill for the free time I squandered in 2016. But though life is much harder and busier now, it feels lighter. I’ll finish the draft of the book. Someone will want to publish it, or they won’t. Either way, the people I most want to read it will get to.

I say this all just in the spirit of accountability as I would like to finish a first draft by the end of the year.

And anyway my identity is no longer based on writing success (it’s based on the old brown Lacoste shirts I’ve been buying up on eBay).

1. I didn’t want to make this too boring, but if you’d like any more detail on the work stuff (or if you want to talk about working together) just reply to this email/give me a shout.