Sunday is the day of rest, right? If this is true, why do so many freelance writers work on this day of the week? While I would like to say that I am not one of them, in most cases it would be a lie. This is not to say that I work every single Sunday, but in most cases I put in some time in one way or the next.
What are the benefits of working on Sundays? For me, there is a couple. First things first, I can get an early jump on the week. By working a few hours on Sunday, my Monday work load will be much less daunting. Additionally, by cutting out some of the work that I need to do early in the week, I can spend that free time marketing my services, working on other projects, etc.
Another benefit of working on Sundays is the ability to move through my work without many distractions. During the regular work week there are emails coming in at a high rate, as well as phone calls from clients to answer. But on Sundays, since most people are not working, I can do my own thing without many outside distractions. I don’t mind answering emails or telephone calls, but being able to go through a day without having to worry about this is nice.
If you are going to do some freelance writing work on Sundays, make sure that you do not overdo it. Early in my career I was working seven days a week. Although I was getting a lot done and it helped me to get to where I am today, it was also difficult in many ways. Instead of working a full day on Sunday, try three or four hours. This way you can get some work done without having to give up your entire day. After all, everybody needs to rest!
As a beginning freelance writer, try this tip. Choose three markets that intrigue you, and then concentrate on finding work within them. By focusing on three topics, you will be able to take advantage of many benefits.
When choosing topics, make sure that they are ones that you enjoy. After all, you do not want to get stuck with projects that are not up your alley. Of course, you should never turn down work that you think you are capable of completing. This is why I suggest choosing three topics. By doing this, there will always be plenty of companies and publications to call on.
Even though I have been a full-time freelance writer for a few years, I still dabble in the topics on my list from early in my career. They include: sports, small business, and insurance. Within a couple of months of starting my career, I also added real estate to my list. This is a subject that has always been of interest to me, and since I landed a few jobs in this niche early on, it only made sense to expand.
I know it can be difficult for new freelancers to choose three topics that they want to write about. The reasons for this are well documented: you do not want to narrow down your choices so far that you cannot find work. And of course, you may not know which topics you want to write about.
Remember, this is not law. It is simply a solid suggestion that will give you some direction during the early days of your freelance writing career. By all means, do not feel like you can only take jobs that pertain to the three topics on your target list. I have accepted a large share of projects over the years on subjects that were not particularly interesting to me. But as long as I can learn something and the project meets my pay requirements, it is worth a shot.
As a freelance writer, your number one task is to produce high quality content. But with that being said, there are times when a client may want more out of you. One of the most common requests of freelance writers is to supply photos in addition to content. Have you ever been asked for images by a client?
For several months I have been attempting to break into a particular national sports magazine. A couple of weeks ago things finally broke my way, and the editor assigned me a story. At close to $.50/word, I was quite excited about finally breaking into this publication. Soon enough, my jubilation turned sour when the editor asked if I could take some photos as well. While I know some freelance writers who have no problem with this, I am not one of them. Not because I do not want to help out, but because I am not the best photographer. On top of all this, you need to have a high quality digital camera in order to supply high quality photos. Again, this is something I lack.
So what did I do? Simply put, I explained my position to the editor and she was more than willing to accommodate my situation. I got to keep the writing gig, and a freelance photographer is going to take care of the rest.
Another similar situation that I have run into is being asked to provide ideas for photos. This is more up my alley. I have no problems giving an editor ideas on what images would work best with my content. As long as I do not have to actually take the pictures, I can be quite helpful. This brings me back to a post that I made earlier this week on helping freelance writing clients in anyway possible.
Over the next few months I am going to look into expanding into freelance photography. From what I understand this can be quite lucrative, and as you can tell it may also help my freelance writing career. I have taken a few courses on this subject in the past, and hopefully I can pick up where I left off.
Overall, do not be afraid to negotiate with an editor. You may be surprised to find out that they will accept you as a writer, and assign the photography portion of the project to another.
