This can be a pretty fundamental question when you start thinking about becoming an online writer, though it’s not unique to the writing biz. Do you want to get hired (either full-time or contract) by someone else, or do you want to launch your own website and be the master of your own domain?

Well, the issues involved are pretty much the same as in any business when you start thinking of going independent. Online freelance writing is no different. Independence vs. risk.

Writing for someone else usually means fewer headaches and less responsibility when it comes to the management of the website. When someone hires you to write something, you get paid for it (unless you are writing for free, or some kind of revenue-share) and that’s the end of it. On the down side, when you write for someone else, you have less editorial freedom and you might get frustrated with how the website is managed.

If you are only doing a few articles, it might not matter. But if you have an ongoing relationship with a site, how well they are doing can effect your incoming work. It’s out of your hands if someone decides to change the layout of the site to include far too much neon orange and loud flash animations. Bad decisions can lead to belly-up websites, and no job for you.

Launching your own website can be quite a project, though it would give you complete and utter control over how the site looks and runs, as well as control over what you choose to write about. Creating your own site isn’t really that difficult (I have about a dozen at the moment) but it will take a bit of technical know-how.

Doing it yourself will also involve some out-of-pocket expenses for domain registration and web hosting, and promotion if you choose to pay for advertising. You don’t have to pay anything when you write for other people. You run the risk of losing money for all your hard work. Alas, that is the gamble of being independent.

When you create your own site, you are starting at ground zero with no readers, no traffic and no hits. You will be writing to nobody. It can take time to promote a site and develop a loyal readership. Are you prepared to continue working for nothing while you wait?

Of course, this isn’t an all-or-nothing decision you have to make. You can easily have a few contracted gigs, while still launching your own sites on the side. Presuming that you are not re-publishing articles that you have been contracted to do for the other guy. That’s not a good idea. Don’t do that.