What does your current freelance writing workload look like? Do you have the time to take on a few more jobs? When it comes down to it, you need to know how much work you have on your plate at all times. Believe it or not, there may come a time when you are so busy that you have to think twice about accepting new work. If this time comes, would you have the nerve to turn down a job? Some freelance writers would say yes, whereas others have no qualms accepting as much work as they can find and then working more hours to complete the projects.
Personally, I do not like to turn down good freelance writing jobs. The keyword in that sentence is good. At this time, I have a nice workload and feel comfortable that I can service each client with a high level of quality. With that being said, I am confident that I can find time to add new clients if the job is right. On the other side of things, I do not like to add low quality or low paying work if I am near full capacity. Doing this will only bog me down, and more than likely force me to spread thin.
The way that you approach this situation depends largely on the stage of your freelance writing career. As a new freelance writer, I was willing to accept as many jobs as possible because I simply wanted to build my resume and get my foot in the door with as many clients as possible. But as time went by, I found that being more selective worked to my advantage.
Generally speaking, I will never turn down a quality freelance writing opportunity if the client and pay is right. I would much rather work longer hours than tell a quality client that I have no time for them. Remember, each job that you accept is one that can turn into more work in the future. But if you turn down a job, there is a good chance that the client will never ask you for help again.
All in all, the work that you accept depends on how many clients you currently have, the amount of time that you have available, and what you are trying to accomplish.Â
Have you ever seen a freelance writing ad asking for writers to submit work without any idea of how much they will be paid? These “clients†ask you to submit content to their specifications and at that point they will decide what to pay you based on how much they like your work. Over the past few months, I have noticed that more and more of these jobs are popping up on freelance writing sites. The question is: are some freelance writers really falling into this trap?
Personally, I see no possible benefit of working with a client who sets forth this guideline. The problems with this setup are simple. First off, you have no idea what type of budget the client has in mind. You may be thinking that you can make $100 for a 500 word article just to find out that the client only wants to send $2. To go along with this, most of these clients are not going to pay more than they have to. In other words, even if you submit a great piece that you researched for hours on end, you are probably going to receive the low end of the pay scale.
My advice for accepting these kinds of jobs is simple: do not do it. If a client is worried about the quality they will receive, the easiest way around this is to ask for past work samples; not to pay what they want once the work is sent. There is nothing wrong with responding to these types of ads, but you should definitely negotiate for better terms such as a set fee per article, as well as at least half payment upfront.
I have no idea why “work now, we’ll pay what we want later†is becoming so popular. My only guess is that some people have had success posting these ads, and now it is beginning to catch on among others. While it is possible that a job like this could work out in the end, it is a risk that I am not willing to take. There are plenty of clients who are willing to tell you how much you will be earning, while also paying some of the money upfront. You do not need the headache and stress of waiting to see how much money a client thinks your work is worth.
Potential downfalls are everywhere if you work in the freelance writing industry. When it comes down to it, you are going to fail time after time. But guess what? There is nothing wrong with this. Remember, if you are not failing you are not trying to advance your career. While some freelance writers may see failure as a bad thing, you need to look at this is a way of growing and taking your career to the next level.
Here are three ways to deal with freelance writing failure:
1. Turn every failure into a positive situation. For instance, if you are turned down by a publication after sending a query, this can be disheartening. But instead of looking at this as a bad thing, you should attempt to turn it into a positive. You can do this by taking the rejection letter, studying it, and then pulling and implementing the positives that will allow you to have a better chance of success in the future.
2. You need to learn from every mistake that you make. If you continually make the same mistakes, you are going to find it difficult to advance your career. No matter what industry you work in, it is very important to learn from any mistake that you make. As a freelance writer, I make mistakes every week. Some are worse than others, and in some cases I am not the only one effected. No, making mistakes is not fun, but when you learn from them you have a better chance of being near perfect in the future.
3. Are you extremely cautious about trying new things within your freelance writing career because you are afraid to fail? Dealing with this situation can be difficult, and if you are having a hard time moving forward with new ideas, you are not alone. Early in my freelance writing career I became comfortable with doing things the same way, day in and day out. While there was nothing wrong with this, it was a rut that did not allow me to experience a lot of growth. You cannot let the fear of failure hold you back from trying new things within your career.Â
Failing is an important part of a successful freelance writing career. As noted above, if you are not failing from time to time, you are not taking enough chances.
