Freelance Writing for Self Esteem

I've been doing some freelance writing lately for some magazines. It's a nice change to have editors want to see my work. The agents don't seem to be too interested at the moment. Anyway, I just had a thought that if you feel like you need some validation for all the hard work that you are putting in - you should try doing some freelance writing when you can...if you have the time that is. It's been working for me. Give it a try; it might help.