When you decide to become a freelance writer you need to take it seriously. You are now running your own business. No, you don’t have hundreds of employees but it is a business nonetheless. For this reason, you have to know a thing or two about your finances and how they will be affected by your new venture.
Here are three financial mistakes that all freelance writers need to avoid:
1. Spending too much money. Even if you are doing well for yourself you don’t want to spend too much on your career. One of the biggest benefits of becoming a freelance writer is the low startup cost. Along with this, once you have everything you need there are not too many expenses that come up. Does this mean I should never spend money? Of course not. Just make sure you are 100 percent comfortable with your decision to spend – no matter what it may be on.
2. Not tracking income and deductions. While this may sound crazy, I have had many freelance writers come to me with an issue based around this. From day one you should track every dollar you earn and spend. This is important for many reasons, and there is no way around it.
3. Not paying taxes. This goes along with number two above. If you do not track your income and expenses you will find it next to impossible to pay the proper amount in taxes. And as you know, messing with the IRS is not a good thing. As a freelance writer you have to be serious about your tax situation. This means paying the right amount on time (quarterly) and without making any mistakes. Tip: hire a tax professional early in your career. This is one of the best moves I ever made.
If you are not careful, these three financial mistakes can harm your freelance writing career.
Being a freelance writer can get lonely at times. You sit at home all day working without any interaction. Sure, you may talk one-on-one with a family member from time to time, but this is usually more of a distraction than anything else. For this reason, I enjoy talking to other freelance writers and encourage others in the industry to do the same.
There are many benefits of communicating with other freelance writers. As noted above, it can help to break up some of the boredom associated with working alone. A quick call or email to another freelancer can give you a break and make you feel that you are still associating with others.
You can also learn a lot. I love asking questions of other freelance writers. Along with this, anytime I am stumped, getting advice from a respected professional in the field is always a great idea. Over the years, I have built up a strong network of freelance writers who are willing to talk about whatever I want (within reason). Of course, I always return the favor.
You can communicate with other freelance writers in many ways. They include phone, email, and instant message. To go along with this, you can also use forums to get in touch with others. This may not be the type of direct communication you are looking for, but it is a good start nonetheless.
Don’t be afraid to talk to other freelance writers. Most of them, including me, are willing to open up and bring others into our circle. I believe that the more people I have in my network the better off we are all going to be.Â
The progress you make as a freelance writer is very important. This is particularly true if you are attempting to turn this into your full-time career. Some want to rush ahead and make everything happen at the same time. Is this the best idea? While it is important to make forward progress the last thing you want to do is rush.
Personally, I believe that slow and steady is the best way to build a freelance writing career. When you progress slowly you have the chance to see what is going on around you, while realizing what you need to do to keep the momentum. Those who try to speed through the process often times look back and wonder what happened.
Of course, I am not advocating that you slow yourself down just to do it. In other words, if you are landing new gigs at a high rate of speed you should continue doing this as long as you are comfortable.
Although I believe that slow and steady is a good thing, you may feel differently. The one thing to remember is that every freelance writer is unique. You may move faster or slower than somebody else; there is nothing wrong with this. It is best to do whatever will make you comfortable.
In short, I want this post to be a reminder that becoming a successful freelance writer does not happen over night. You have to put in a lot of work, and slowly build your career over the period of many months/years. If you slowly and steadily move forward you will eventually reach all your goals.Â
