No matter how long a person works as a freelance graphic designer—in my case about seventeen years; fourteen straight on books alone—the best feeling in the world springs from hearing a client say they have chosen you for a job. If that is so, then the worst feeling comes from finishing a project and knowing that there is no “next project” lined up yet, no new job ready to start.

Right now I sit with a broken leg, a little stir crazy even though the news yesterday was that I can put the crutches away and start putting full weight on my bad tibia plateau. Finding myself in-between books just adds to the squirrelly feeling.

I have here a whole list of frustrating recent replies from publishers:

• “Not yet”

• “We’ll get in touch when we need a freelancer”

• “The project has been delayed”

• “Sure, we’ll use you, but at a fraction of your usual rates”

My point is that staying busy creates as much of a job as the work I do when I have a book in production. In fact, the only part of freelancing that can really feel as if its work is the marketing of my services.