As of late I have received a run of emails on how to become a more productive freelance writer. More specially, people want to know how to manage their time so that they can make the most of each day. I totally agree with wanting to be as productive as possible. After all, freelance writing is one of those careers that pays based on how much work you can do. While this is not always the case, the more time you have the more money you should be able to make.
Here are three freelance writing productivity tips to keep in mind:
1. Make sure that you know what tasks you have to complete before the day begins. As a new freelance writer I never kept track of my daily workload. Instead, I simply worked from the emails that clients sent. While this worked for a bit, soon enough I was getting off track and having a difficult time remembering what I needed to do. My best advice is to write out each task that you need to complete, and then cross it from your list when done.
2. Work at least eight hours a day. This is the amount that you would work at an office job, so you should carry this over to your freelance writing career; at least when you get started. If you are lucky, you may be able to cut back on your working hours after you are established. But until then, make sure that you are working a full day. If you go beyond eight hours, expect to see a huge bump in productivity; just make sure that you do not burn out.
3. Try to get rid of low paying jobs that take up a lot of time. When you replace these jobs with projects that are higher paying, you will notice an increase in your hourly rate. Yes, this is easier said than done, but it should be your goal. Set a goal for how much you want to earn per hour, and then wean out low paying, tedious projects until you get there.
These tips should help you to become a more productive freelance writer. They are all general in nature, and despite the fact that they are basic I still rely on them day in and day out.
To tell you the truth, I never really thought much about the sex of freelance writers in the past. But a few hours back, I saw a picture on John Chow’s blog that got met thinking. He is attending the Affiliate Summit West conference this week, and as usual, is posting pictures for the rest of us to see.
Last night, it appears that John took part in a huge party at Tao nightclub. He stated that this bash was open to all conference attendees. While glancing at the pictures, I noticed that most of the attendees were of the male persuasion. While this may have been a coincidence, it got me thinking about which was more popular: male or female freelance writers. From what I can see, it appears that most affiliate marketers, at least those at Affiliate Summit West, are male. In the second picture of John’s post, I could only find six or so females. This is in comparison to approximately 40 males.
So what do you think about this? Is there a similar trend within the freelance writing industry? From where I sit, I would guess that female freelance writers are a bit more common. But then again, this is a one sided view.
If you do think that one sex is more popular than the other, do you believe there is a reason for this?
While this has nothing to do with becoming a better freelance writer or increasing income, it is something that is fun to think about. Let me know your thoughts!
What is one thing that every freelance writer needs? While there are probably hundreds of answers to this question, one thing comes to my mind: patience. This may sound silly, but over my years in this industry I have found that patience is one trait that every successful freelance writer shares.
Why is patience so important? Here are three reasons why:
1. As a beginner, you will have to go through a trial and error process while growing your career. If you are not patient, there is a good chance that you will end up quitting when things get tough. It is not easy to be patient when everything you do seems to come out wrong, but you simply have to stay calm and keep moving forward.
2. Patience will help you get by when every query letter you send is getting rejected. No matter how talented you are, there will be times when you receive rejection after rejection. You have to be willing to put up with this until something breaks your way. Patience will help you to stay sane even when things are not going your way.
3. It takes time to build a freelance writing career. This holds true with any type of business that you may decide to start from scratch. Sure, some people begin to achieve high levels of success right off the bat; and if you end up being one of these people, good for you. But even if you do have success early on, you will still need to exercise patience as you wait for more clients to come your way, and for more money to make its way to your bank account. There is plenty of time to accomplish all of your goals if you stay patient, and don’t get too far ahead of yourself.
To be a successful freelance writer, you need to be extremely patient. Believe it or not, this is something that you will get better at as your career moves forward. As long as you hang tight and continue to move on, things will break your way and your level of patience will increase.Â
