Free is better

After working as a professional writer, I've learned it's much more fun to write for free.

For one thing, there are no editors hiding out on the internet waiting to insert cheesy puns into your carefully-crafted story.

For another, there are no deadlines and no mandatory word counts.

Also, when you repeat something controversial someone else told you, it's much nicer to know they probably won't ever come across what you've written, much less threaten to sue you or your company for it.

There's no sitting in creaky wheely chairs for hours staring at a blank screen.

No interviews are required.

If I make a mistake, it's much easier to edit it out than to print a retraction.

And I never have to come back after coffee breaks.