It seems that in the creative world, the words pro and enthusiast are sometimes used as a value statement. However, when it comes to being a freelance creative, that's not entirely true.

For example, to suggest that a professional is any more talented than an enthusiast is absurd. There are plenty of people not making money out of music production, songwriting, or playing who could p*ss all over half the professionals on the planet. The enthusiast has just chosen to keep it as a hobby. On a bad day in the studio, I can't say I blame them. If you want to hate doing something you love, then turn it into a job!

It can't be hard work that defines a pro from an enthusiast. I know plenty of enthusiasts who spend every hour they have spare perfecting their art.

It can't be the investment they make either. Plenty of enthusiasts live in a sh*t hole of a house but have an incredible studio set-up. Some get into serious debt so they can buy stuff that doesn't make them any money.

Perhaps it's because I'm about to take a vacation that I'm thinking about this. If one thing is true, it's the freelancer vacation equation. For every day/week/month/year I want to take off, I need to multiply that by three. Why three, you wonder? I need to work double to do the work I can't do when I'm away; then I also need to work one more to pay for the vacation. Fun eh!

This thinking bought the whole concept of the difference between creativity for fun and doing it for a living into sharp focus for me. So if it's not talent, time or money that is the difference, then what is it?

I want to suggest these three things are the difference.

Deadlines

An exercise to start. If you want, you can imagine it, or you can do this exercise for real. Sit in front of your keyboard, guitar or DAW, or even grab a blank sheet of paper. OK, you have a morning to come up with an idea.

Not any idea. A brilliant, impress the sh*t out of your client, better than anyone else who's pitching, you won't eat if it's average, gun to your head idea.

How does that sound? Easy, hard, impossible?

Now do it again, but this time you need to do it twice in one day. Then again tomorrow. You need to keep doing it every day until you retire.

Creatives sell ideas—songwriters, editors, producers, engineers, post-production professionals. We have deadlines, and we can't dump any old crap on deadline day. Our clients expect the best.

I can't remember the last time I was creative in the studio without any pressure on me. If you are an enthusiast, then relish the fact you have no deadlines. You can work on that song, album, mix, forever.

The only people who say a mix is never finished don't have deadlines. A mix may not be perfect, but you have to finish it if you want happy clients.

Approvals

Deadlines lead me to a second thing that is a part of life for the creative professional. Approvals.

I used to love it when I made music for fun. My Mum loved what I made, so did my partner, family and friends. Few of them told me my idea could be better, or worse still should be taken into the street and shot.

Clients can tell you your ideas stink. They can ask you to go back and come up with a better idea. You have two options; you can get all defensive and think to yourself, "they wouldn't know genius if it bit them on the arse." That's not the best strategy. Or you do it better.

As professionals approvals are a part of life, they are the bit where you've done your best and delivered, and then you cross your fingers and hold your breath. You watch your inbox hoping to see the magic word... approved!

Even after decades of doing this, I still love to see a project approved on the first submission. Conversely, last week I got a project back with numerous amend requests. That doesn't mean failure. Often working for clients on a creative project requires us to make our best guess at what they want. If it's a new client, then it takes time to get used to what they like; over time, as the relationship develops, you get better at guessing.

The aim for all creatives is not to just get client approval but to go beyond their expectations and delight them.

Reputation

Approvals lead me to the third difference, reputation.

Professional creatives essentially live or die on their last piece of work. You can do a piece of outstanding work and dine out on it for a few years, but it rarely lasts forever.

For mere mortals working in the creative sector, we know it's our last job which means the phone will ring next time or not.

As an enthusiast, if I want to make music based around samples of seagulls shitting, then I can. It doesn't matter if no one else likes it, as long as I do.

As a professional, I need to deliver great work again and again. This work creates a portfolio of work from which people will judge me. It can't be work from a decade ago either; I must stay current. Few clients are impressed by what I did ten years ago. In the creative world, I may as well have done it 1000 years ago. A lot of the work we do is fashion, trend. Yes, some of it may become a classic like a Times New Roman Font, but most of it won't. We have to produce new work again and again.

As a freelance creative professional, I live or die by my last job. Every month is a new start.

A Confession

It may surprise many enthusiasts reading this if I confess that I envy you. I wish I could go back to when I went into my studio and just made music or created art for fun. It was a lot easier. No one was holding a gun to my head. It didn't matter if no one else liked what I did as long as it made me happy.

I'm looking forward to retirement when I can return to those days.

If you make music for fun, or any other creative pursuit for that matter, don't think being a professional is the First Class version; it's not.

Being a professional is not better or worse; it's just different, and it's certainly not for everyone.

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