Derek Powazek writes about quitting his day job to return to the ranks of the self-employed:
Freelancing is like a virus. Once it enters your bloodstream, it never really goes away. It just goes dormant now and again.
I was a freelancer during the heyday of the web in San Francisco. From 1997 to 2002 I lived the freelance dream. I took meetings on the phone in my bathrobe. I worked when I wanted, and didn’t when I didn’t. It was wonderful. And not just because I was my own boss.
It connected me to my neighborhood in ways I’d never imagined. When you walk into your local coffee shop at 2pm on a Monday, you’re not one of the working stiffs — you’re special. You’re one of those people the 9–5ers wonder about. What are they doing in there?



Meet the authors of the California Authors Directory. Visit the directory to discover writers like Andrew Sean Greer, a San Francisco novelist whose latest book,
You can shop online from your local independent booksellers.