It would be nice if every experience was a good experience. But of course you cannot expect this to be the case if you are a freelance writer. There will be times when you have good experiences, as well as times when it seems as if everything is going against you. Believe it or not, you can learn more from bad experiences than any others. If you are not learning, no matter the situation, you are making a huge mistake.
Take for instance a bad experience such as a client stiffing you for a large sum of money. This is something that happened to me twice during my first year as a full-time freelance writer. While both experiences were annoying I only had two choices: 1. sit back and pout because I got scammed out of several hundred dollars. 2. Learn from this experience to ensure that it never happened again. I chose the second option and in turn implemented a plan in which I ask for payment upfront with new clients. In turn, I have not run into this situation very often, if at all, over the past couple of years.
It is a shame, but bad things will happen to you during your career as a freelance writer. This can range from not receiving payment, as noted above, to losing clients and much more. It is how you deal with these experiences that will define how you move forward. In my opinion you can always find a silver lining even if the entire situation seems horrible.
Do yourself a favor and learn from both the good and the bad. By doing this you will ensure that you don’t repeat the same mistakes, and that your career is moving in the right direction by learning from every situation.
No matter how hard you try to stay on pace there will probably come a time when you find yourself playing catch-up. What does this mean? This is when you get so bogged down with work that you have to work extra hard to catch up so you don’t miss any deadlines. While this may not sound like a big deal right now, if you have ever been in this position you know that nothing could be further from the truth.
Simply put, playing catch-up can and probably will wear you out sooner rather than later. The best thing you can do is avoid this situation at all costs. You can do this by tracking deadlines, working hard everyday, and never accepting a project that is going to put you behind the eight ball.
What if I find myself in this position anyway? In this case you are in a tough spot, but not one that is impossible to get out of. If you are in the position of playing catch-up you need to realize one thing: you are going to have to work some extra hours in order to get back to normal. For instance, if you are used to working eight hour days you may have to tack on a couple more hours so you can dig yourself out of the hole you have created. This is not always fun but once you are caught up you will be glad that you took the extra time to do so.
Through my experiences most freelance writers find themselves playing catch-up due to two mistakes: 1. taking on two much work. 2. Not working enough and putting things off for another day. If you take on too much work you will eventually find your back against the wall and working vigorously to catch up. It is nice to have a lot of work but only if you can comfortably handle the load. To go along with this it can be easy to get lazy from time to time. If this happens you will once again be putting yourself in a bad position as you will probably fall behind sooner rather than later. There is nothing wrong with taking time off, but you need to make sure that this does not put you too far behind in your work.
The bad thing about playing catch-up all the time is that it can wear you out. After all, your body is not used to working extra hours or going as strong day in and day out. Not only can you wear out mentally, but you can do the same physically. As you can imagine, this will only lead to more problems and falling even further behind.
There will probably come a time when you are behind in your work and forced to catch-up. While this is bound to happen be sure to keep these situations to a minimum.Â
Some freelance writers only want to work with large clients. This includes national publications, large websites, and companies with 500 or more employees (on average). Does this sound like you? If so, you may want to rethink this decision. While there is nothing wrong with working with large clients, those that are smaller have a lot to offer as well. Not taking the time to work with small clients may be holding back your progress as well as your income.
Why do some freelance writers shy away from small clients? For one, they think that small clients pay less. I have found this to be true and false. I have small clients, one man shows for that matter, that pay good money. But of course, I have also worked with small clients that are trying to save money because they are on a tight budget. The lesson to be learned is that you should not “stereotype†potential clients based on size. Just because a company or publication is small does not mean they will want you to work for peanuts. Some of them realize that paying competitive rates is the best way to receive quality content.
Do you feel that all big clients are great to work with and pay above the industry average? This is a myth. Just like small clients, those that are large can skimp on money and be difficult to work with. In fact, I have found that so-called large clients can be more difficult to communicate with because there are many people involved and a lot of other things going on around them.
If you want to grow your career and income you need to realize that every client, regardless of size, has the potential to help you in many ways. Don’t shy away from small clients because you think they are “minor league†and cannot pay you what you are worth. This is definitely not the case across the board.
