Every so often I like to look at my freelance writing career and where it is headed. Is this something that you do on a regular basis? It is important to know how your career is progressing. This will ensure that you make the best decisions as the days go by.
What should I be looking for? This is a difficult question to answer because everybody is at a different stage of their career. On top of this, your goals are not going to be the same as mine or the next person. That being said, I always look at the past, the present, and where I want to go in the future. This alone shows me if I am making enough progress, and of course, how the future is shaping up. Obviously, if you look at the past few months and realize that you were lazy it is safe to say that you will be anxious to change things around in the days to come.
Don’t be surprised if you look around and realize that your career is not progressing as you thought it would. Even though I am happy with my current client load and income, there are some things that I wish I would have done differently earlier in the year. It is never fun to play the “what-if game†but looking at the past and learning from it is the only way to ensure that your progress in the future is what you want it to be.
If you are happy with the progress of your freelance writing career you should continue on the same path. On the other hand, if you are not heading in the right direction now is the time to make a change.
As a freelance writer one of the most difficult things you have to do is manage your time. This sounds simple enough, but as your business grows you will find yourself realizing just how difficult it can be. The better you become at time management the better chance you have of achieving both short and long term success.
Here are three time management tips that I use on a regular basis:
1. Prioritize. What needs to get done first? It is very important to take care of everything on your plate, but at the same time you need to know which order to work in. Simply put, some projects and tasks are more important than others. Make sure you know your priorities and then work in the proper order.
2. Have a to-do list. With a list in front of you at all times it becomes simpler to manage your time in an effective manner. This gives you the ability to know what needs done weighed against how much time you have.
3. Make changes as time goes by. For example, I used to wake up between 8 and 9 in the morning. Soon enough I realized that this was not working for me from a time management perspective. As soon as I bumped up my start to 6am things got better for me. An early rise helps me feel fresh in the morning, while also giving more time to complete more tasks.
To achieve great success as a freelance writer you need to manage your time effectively. The three tips above have worked for me, and hopefully they can do the same for you.
Â
Increasing your rates as a freelance writer is one of the best ways to start earning more money. That being said, some don’t do this for a number of reasons. One of the most common is feeling uneasy with clients. The last thing you want to do is keep your freelance writing rates low because you are worried about offending your clients. Sure, you may put some of them off but this goes along with running a successful business.
Entirely too many freelance writers apologize for increasing their rates – this is a big mistake. Here is a good example of what may be said: “It has been a pleasure working with you over the past few months. Unfortunately, I am increasing my rates. I hope this does not bother you, but it is something I have to do.†While this may not be exactly what you would say, it goes to show you that apologizing for increasing your rates is a bad idea. I would never want to say this to a client, and hopefully you feel the same way.
Keep this one tip in mind: as a freelance writer you are in charge of setting and changing your rates as you see fit. You do not have to clear this through a boss, or make sure that everybody is okay with it. While you do not want to go overboard, it is important to know that the final decision is yours.
If you are in the midst of increasing your rates you will need to tell your clients. Be careful about how you do this. Those who play this situation smart can keep all their clients onboard, while earning more money.Â
