What are you passionate about? Once you answer this question your career as a freelance writer will be much more successful, profitable, and enjoyable. I found out early on that writing about my passion is the way to have a good time, day in and day out. If I am writing about something I enjoy it is easy to get excited.
No matter who you are you are passionate about something. For me, this is sports, travel, and business. In turn, anytime I have the chance to work on a project based around these subjects I snap up the opportunity. And of course, when I send out query letters it is usually to publications in these niches.
But I don’t know what my passion is? This is a common problem among many new freelance writers. You may not think you know what you are passionate about, but you are wrong. Sit down and take a closer look at your life and you will be able to find your calling in no time at all. Do you enjoy raising your kids? If so, you are passionate about parenting and there is a huge market for this. Do you enjoy watching football on Sunday? If so, look into starting a blog based around this sport or your favorite team.
Anytime you can write about your passion you should do so. If you don’t know what you are passionate about it is time to do a self-evaluation. In the end you will have a list of topics that inspire you to do your best.Â
For years I have been helping people who want to get involved in the freelance writing industry. This is something that I take great pride in, and for me it is a lot of fun. This is one of the main reasons that I started my freelance writing course. But before you decide that you want to get involved you need to ask yourself one very important question: is it what you really want? Some people only see the benefits of becoming a freelance writer and never consider the fact that they may run into hard times along the way.
Here are three things to think about if you are ready to make the leap. Over the past few months of my course these are details that I have been discussing with members time and time again:
1. No benefits or steady paycheck. If you come from a job with benefits, such as health insurance and a retirement plan, it can be difficult to transition into the freelance writing industry. Difficult yes, but far from impossible. To go along with this, every aspiring freelancer should note that they will no longer receive a steady paycheck. Instead of receiving a check on the 1st and 15th of every month you will now get paid when you complete work and when your clients decide to send the money.
2. Scary at first. My first few months as a freelance writer were very scary. Am I going to make it? Did I make the wrong decision? Should I begin searching for a 9 -5 job again? These are questions that I dealt with, and probably some of the same that you will ask yourself. One thing I found is that fear can be a good thing. If you are scared of failing you will work harder than ever before to succeed.
3. Doubts from others. Will you be able to deal with others doubting your decision? This can come from family members, friends, past co-workers, etc. Many people let this doubt creep into their mind which in turn shuts them out of a career as a freelance writer. Will you be able to stand strong and prove your doubters wrong?
If you really want to become a freelance writer you will know it. The above three points are not meant to scare you, but instead to educate you on what you may run into early in your career.
No matter your career you need to be motivated to reach your goals, whatever they may be. You don’t have goals? Well, in my opinion, that is downright crazy. In order to stay motivated and to build a successful freelance writing career you need to have goals, both short and long term. Your goals will serve for motivation, which will in turn allow you to be in the best possible position to achieve future success.
What motivates you as a freelance writer? If you don’t know the answer to this question you can probably look within and around your goals. Here are three things that motivate me, and may suit you as well:
1. Success. It is nice to succeed. To me success is helping others and building relationships with new people. Of course, this may mean something different to you; and that is fine. Know what success means to you, and then build this into your goals.
2. Money. Who isn’t motivated by money? Sure, I work hard to help others but at the same time I know that this will also result in more money over the long run. If you are looking for a quick way to motivate yourself set a goal based around your income. For instance, you may want to set a goal stating that you will earn $100k in 2009. There is no denying that this will get you in gear when January 1 rolls around.
3. Keeping your career and the benefits it offers. Success and money are very important, but you should also be motivated to do your best because this will allow you to keep your career as a freelance writer. I never want to go back to a 9 – 5 job, and for this reason I am always motivated to do my best. As long as I work hard and do by best I know that my career as a freelance writer will be long and prosperous.
No matter what, you need to know what motivates you to keep ticking as a freelance writer.
Are you truly excited about your freelance writing career? Do you feel good about the direction you are headed? If you can answer yes to both of these questions you are in a good place. This is a topic I have touched on in the past, but it is one that is important to keep in mind at all times. If you are not excited about your career you are going to find it difficult to have fun and to also earn a decent living. Sounds a lot like working a 9 – 5 job, doesn’t it? Simply put, you don’t want to work a job, no matter what it is, if you are not excited about the future.
Of course, you need to know the difference between never being excited about your career and being in a rut. Even though I love my job there are days when I feel down and out and would rather take some time off. Does this mean that I am no longer excited about being a freelance writer? Definitely not. It simply means that I hit a minor snag that must be overcome.
If you need to “reignite†your career you can do so in a number of different ways. One way is to find new clients that offer different types of projects. If you are always working on web content projects, and they are becoming boring, maybe you can consider sales letters or feature articles. Anything that will break up the monotony of your day can help to add some excitement to your career.
Do you remember how bad it used to be when you worked a regular 9 – 5 job? Think back to those days and you are sure to realize just how exciting and beneficial it is to work as a freelance writer. If this does not get you excited, nothing will.
The more excited you are about your career the better chance you have of achieving success in more ways than one. I have found that the freelance writers who make the most money are those who truly enjoy what they are doing.
If you are in a rut do your best to reignite your career and find some new excitement.Â
As a freelance writer you probably spend a lot of time marketing your services with hopes of landing new clients. And when your marketing plan pays off there is no denying that you will be quite excited. That being said, there are times when a client simply isn’t worth the effort. It is always better to find this out sooner rather than later, but things don’t always work out this way.
Below are two situations you may face:
1. A client wants to work with you but you are unsure of whether or not the relationship will be mutually beneficial. For instance, you may be offered a group of 50 keyword articles. Sounds good, right? On the surface, yes. But if the client is only offering to pay a total of $100 you are probably better off moving on. Remember, you need to be selective about who you work with. Clients that want high quality work will have to pay for it.
2. You are already working with a client but your relationship is rocky at best. Over time you may find that some clients are no longer as accommodating as they once were, for whatever reason. Maybe they are treating you poorly or wanting to pay you less for the same type of work. Even if a client offered a lot in the past there may come a time when they are no longer worth your time and effort. It can be difficult to dissolve a relationship but you must keep the wellbeing of your career in mind at all times.
I have many great clients that are fun to work with. At the same time there have been times in the past when I moved on from a client because things were no longer working out. There may come a time when a freelance writing client is no longer worth the effort. If you are feeling this way, consider the pros and cons of dissolving the relationship before making a final decision. Â
One thing I have learned over my years as a freelance writer is that there is always a lot going on. Sure, I write a lot, but at the same time I am also responsible for everything from sending invoices to cashing checks to keeping track of my taxes. As you can imagine this can be quite tiresome at times. For this reason a long weekend is needed every so often. Not only does this help clear my mind, but when I get back to work I am refreshed and ready to tackle every project in front of me.
Since Thanksgiving was this past Thursday I had the chance to take advantage of a long weekend. While I worked a few hours here and there it was nothing too much. Instead I simply answered emails, made a few blog posts, and stayed in touch with some clients. Even though I love my job I wanted to take a long weekend in order to clear my mind and give my body a break. After all, it can be difficult to write hour after hour, day after day. Fun yes, but difficult at times as well.
When was the last time you took a long weekend? Most of my “freelance writing friends†did the same as me this past weekend. Turning a holiday, such as Thanksgiving, into a long weekend is a great idea. The reason for this is simple: most of your clients are probably doing the same. This means that you probably won’t have to worry about something coming up, or missing out on a request. You don’t always have to take your long weekends over the holidays, but this is definitely something to consider.
There may be many ways to clear your mind as a freelance writer, but taking a long weekend is one of the best. If this is something you have neglected yourself of this year why not consider taking an extra day or so in December? This is a great time of the year for long weekends thanks to plenty of holidays.
Are you going to take an extra day or continue working yourself into the ground? As somebody who has tried both I strongly suggest that you take a step back to clear your mind.
