Are you ready for a full-time freelance writing career? Ah, what a difficult question to answer. This is a huge step in your life. Some people don’t think twice about moving forward full-time, but they are few and far between. Most people think long and hard about this decision.
To decide if you are ready, answer these questions:
1. How did you like working as a part-time freelance writer? If you enjoyed your experience and are earning money, you have a solid base for moving forward and taking on this career full-time. Most people work as a part-timer first to get a better idea of what they are up against.
2. Are you confident in your ability to earn a full-time income? Let’s be honest. You do not want to become a full-time freelance writer unless you can earn the income that goes along with working long hours. How much are you earning part-time? Do you have the ability to increase your income by working more hours? You definitely want to think about how much money you will need from a full-time freelance writing career to feel comfortable.
3. Will you enjoy yourself? The money and freedom are great benefits of being a freelance writer. But when it comes down to it, you must have a good time day after day. Sure, there are going to be rough spots along the way. Even though you are not going to enjoy every minute of your freelance writing career you must be confident that you will be happy the majority of the time.
Upon answering these three questions you should know once and for all if you are ready for full-time freelance writing. Don’t move forward until you are 100 percent confident in your decision.
Are your days as a freelance writer going by without getting any work done? If so, you are just like many freelancers. Early in my freelance writing career I was the same way. I was not very efficient, and for this reason I found it difficult to complete every task for a given day. Soon enough I woke up, and from there I became a more efficient worker.
Here are a few tips that can help you better schedule your day:
1. Use a to-do list. Are you tired of me saying this yet? I know I harp on this fact on a regular basis, but it really is a great idea. If you are going to make the most of every day you need a list that is complete with all the tasks that must be tackled.
2. Try to schedule breaks. This is very difficult to do – I have found this out over the years. That being said, try it out. For instance, I schedule one break for breakfast and another for lunch. For the most part I am able to take these breaks every working day. You may think you will become a more efficient worker if you cut out breaks. Unfortunately, this is not always true. Both your mind and body need rest from time to time. Don’t push the envelope by working straight through the day.
3. Don’t be afraid to change your ways. It is easy to get into the habit of doing the same things, day after day. Even though a schedule is a good thing, there are times when you will need to break the mold for one reason or the next. For instance, maybe a client wants to schedule a call during your lunch break. In this case you will have to move things around a bit to accommodate this task.
These three tips will allow you to best schedule your day for success.
Most people don’t become freelance writers because of how much fun it is – even though this is true. Instead, they want to have a good time while also making a living. This leads to the question of how long it takes to make money as a freelance writer. Before I go any further, keep this in mind: making money means something different to everybody. How much I earn may not be enough for somebody else and vice versa.
How long it will take you to make money depends on many factors. In my first month as a freelance writer I only pulled in $52. While this was worrisome on some levels, it also showed me that the potential to earn more was waiting for me. The next month I cracked $2k and continued to grow from there. So as you can see, it only took me one month to make money as a freelance writer. But it actually took a bit longer than that to bring in a substantial sum.
Be patient. I know some freelance writers who began to make four figures after only a few weeks. I know others who struggled for quite some time, six months or more, before things began to pick up. If you are going to work as a freelance writer you must be patient. Good things, including money, are sure to come your way soon enough. But if you want to be around to see it, you must exercise an extreme amount of patience.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that you will begin to make money as a freelance writer in “x and x†amount of time – this is not possible. There are too many factors that go into how much you will earn, when the money will begin to come in, etc. The one thing I can say is this: you can earn a full-time income as a freelance writer if you are devoted and patient.Â
