As a freelance writer I know how important it is to collect as much valuable information as possible. That being said, I have to be careful about how much time I spend reading blogs, etc. One that I never miss is: All Freelance Writing.
When it comes to freelance writing blogs this is truly one of my favorites. Jennifer Mattern is in charge, but she has brought on an entire team of freelancers, including myself, to write guest posts from time to time. If you want to see some of my work at All Freelance Writing, check out my most recent piece: What to Include on your Freelance Writing Website.
I don’t want to take anything away from this great blog by explaining every last detail. You would be much better off visiting yourself and seeing just how much valuable information it has to offer. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!
Talking about how much money freelance writers earn is never easy. The reason for this is the broad range of answers. Some freelancers are only earning a few dollars per month. Others are pulling in tens of thousands of dollars and still on the rise. So, when I am asked to discuss freelance writing income I always make sure to talk about both the good and bad.
One thing is for sure: new freelance writers have to start at the bottom of the barrel. Although you may dream of earning $10k or more per month, it is not something that you should expect in your first month on the job. If you set unrealistic expectations in terms of your freelance writing income you are going to find yourself disappointed soon enough. Don’t get me wrong, you need to have goals. But you must make sure that they are realistic and actually attainable.
Your expectations probably won’t be spot on. My first month as a freelance writer led to a whopping $52. By the next month I was closing in on $1k. Although these are modest numbers, I did not expect them to come. I honestly thought it would take much longer, at least six to nine months, to reach the $1k barrier – fortunately I was wrong.
The best advice I can give is to set goals, but also realize that they are going to change from month to month. Since aspiring freelance writers do not know much about the industry it is important that they are reasonable with their expectations. Once you have a few months of work under your belt you will have a much better idea of what you can earn now and in the future.
If you have any questions about “freelance writing income†please leave a comment. Of course, those who are not comfortable doing so can always send me an email. Either way, this is a difficult subject and I will do what I can to help.
Day after day I hear the same cry from freelance writers: I never have time to speak with clients on the phone. I know where you are coming from on this. That being said, making time is part of the job. If you are not good at time management you are going to find it difficult to succeed as a freelance writer.
One trick that I use is to “block out†time to call clients. What does this mean? Instead of making and taking random calls throughout the day, I try to lump this all into one time frame. This makes it easier to take time away from the computer, while also ensuring that every call is returned within 24 hours at the most.
There is no denying that taking calls throughout the day can be a time consuming effort. You have to decide when it is best to answer your phone, and when it is best to wait and subsequently return the call at a later time. Even though I try to return all calls at the same time, usually when I am done with my writing, this does not always work out. Simply put, there are times when a client will need to talk or vice versa. In this case I have to readjust my schedule and take or make the call on the spot.
Do you think this trick will work for you? If you block out time to speak with clients on the phone you may be able to better manage your day. At the very least this is a method that is worth trying.
