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.
