Quiet Rebel Writer

Although the majority of the moving is done, our new loft still has work to do. We have piles of art and albums we decorated the last place with sitting around, waiting for us to have free time, taunting us with their forlorn and undisplayed beauty. I was looking through one of these piles the other day, a stack of LPs my partner in crime listened to in adolescence. Some gems from the 80s – Poison, Prince, David Lee Roth, Chicago (huh?), and lots more. And of course, Madonna.

When I spotted the “Like a Virgin” album, the song immediately caught in my head. I remember as a 7-year-old when the song came out, I sang the chorus nonstop, having no clue what a virgin was, and not registering the alarmed and simultaneously bemused looks on my parents’ faces. With age comes a little more understanding. It’s about sex, sure (hear the NSFW take from the genius of random conversation, Quentin Tarantino, in a hilarious recreated version). It’s also about that ecstatic, eye-opening, seeing-the-world-anew feeling of joy when you start a new relationship.

But here’s what I realized the other day: “Like a Virgin” also applies to freelancing and freelance marketing.

Wha-huh? Bear with me here.

Let’s back up. The song, at an analytical level, is about a girl that is so enamored of her new dude (or dudette) that she feels like all the years of her sexual past are done. The best way she can think to express her feelings is by harkening back to a time when she was totally “shiny and new.” She uses the concept of virginity, because it’s very potent. Why? It’s the madonna versus the whore dichotomy. Our society historically (and currently) can never find the in-between with women. Women are either pure or slutty. They either have a complete lack of experience in the ways of the world, or they’re dirty with experience.

But here’s the thing – both types of women are simultaneously desired and discarded. The pure woman is lauded for her purity. In past ages (and in some current societies) virginity is so valuable for a family and a man it has a literal price. Proof of virginity is worth showing and killing for. At the same time, the pure woman is eviscerated for her lack of experience and relevance. Men gotta do what they gotta do, goes the accepted theory, and they’re expected to sow their oats long before they get hitched. The pure woman in that situation is laughed at and viewed as useless. Instead, the guys turn towards the “sullied” woman. The woman who has had sex (even once) is lauded for giving it up to those men with their (natural, encouraged, manly) carnal urges. But simultaneously, she’s treated like shit. She’s worthless, when it comes down to long-time value, all because she knows and (gasp!) even enjoys the sex.

Whew! Little mini analysis and rant combined in one. Now – how does this relate to freelancing? It’s the issue of experience. From the client perspective, you’re either experienced or you’re not. There is no in between. And as a result, you’re either valued and attractive, or you’re not.

Of course, when you’re first starting out as a freelancer, this is the conundrum. Experience is desired – how do I get it? There’s a great exchange from Secret of My Success (another 80s gem):

Unnamed employer: I’m sorry, Mr. Foster. We need someone with experience.
Brantley Foster: But how can I get any experience until I get a job that GIVES me experience?
Unnamed employer: If we gave you a job just to give you experience, you’d take that experience and get a better job. Then that experience would benefit someone else.
Brantley Foster: Yeah, but I was trained in college to handle a job like this, so in a sense I already have experience.
Unnamed employer: What you’ve got is college experience, not the practical, hard-nosed business experience we’re looking for. If you’d joined our training program out of high-school, you’d be qualified for this job now.
Brantley Foster: Then why did I go to college?
Unnamed employer: [laughs] Had fun, didn’t you?

Writers and designers can kill themselves trying to get that experience, taking jobs for little or no pay, whoring themselves out for anyone willing to give a buck and a credential. But these freelancers shouldn’t have to do this. Remember the virgin metaphor. The madonna and the whore are both wanted for different reasons.

As an experienced freelancer, clients desire you because you’ve been around a time or two. You know how the industry works, you’ve provided value for clients in the past, and you can be trusted. As a newbie, on the other hand, you may not have a lot of credits to your name, but you can provide something the experienced freelancer may not be able to. You’re fresh. You’re new. You have a perspective outside of marketing circles, more connected to the real world. You can give new ideas, new tactics, and more compelling results. New freelancers can leverage their “virginity,” showing themselves as new, hungry, vigorous, excited…(too far? Ah well.)

The madonna versus the whore dichotomy is dreadfully unfair to women. It’s also, when used as an analogy for freelancing, a bit of a bind for writers, designers and others with free lances. But it can also be used to our advantage with marketing. Freelancers can play up their end of the spectrum. New to the game? Advertise yourself as a fresh perspective and real-world voice for prospective clients and their marketing endeavors. An old pro? Advertise yourself as such, with lots of happy clients, trustworthy business practices, and the best writing/designing/other –ings around.

That’s my take. Own your side of the coin. In freelancing, and in life, it’s better that way.

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