How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most Importantly, What NOT to Do

December 29, 2009

Last week, I wrote a long post about starting a freelance writing career in 2010. My intention was to lay out a concrete plan for doing so. I did that, but not in the way I wanted. What I DID was lay out why I think some achieve success and others don’t. In other words, I explained what I think are the mental blocks holding people back.

This week, I want to get more concrete.  I want to lay out specifics for starting a freelance writing career next year. 

4 Things You Can Do Now to Start Your Freelance Writing Career Next Year

1. PT or FT: Are you starting a full-time or part-time freelance writing career? Decide so that it becomes a reality and you can do the next step, which is . . .

2. Time Block: As in, how much time do you have to devote to your freelance writing career each day. To make a go of freelancing, you have to do something every day towards making it a reality. And I don’t mean doing stuff that makes it seem like you’re working on your dream, but really aren’t.

What are some of these things?

Freelance Writing Dream Killers: Things That Masquerade as Progress, But Really Aren’t

“Research”: This is in quotation marks because plenty of wannabe freelance writers spend so much time fooling themselves that they’re making progress when what they’re really doing is stalling. You may:

“Research” other freelance writers’ websites to get ideas on what you want yours to look like;

“Research” other freelance writers’ writing samples to see how to write yours;

“Research” the type of equipment you’re going to need for your “eventual” freelance writing business;

“Research” (read) articles on how others have gone about making their freelance writing dreams a reality;

“Research”; “research”; “research”; “research”  . . . . until you have information overload and haven’t accomplished shit!

What you should be doing instead is . . .

3. Formulating an Action Plan: As in, I will have my website done in “x” number of days. I will choose a niche and write 5 sample articles over the next week. I will contact 20 companies a day via email until I’ve landed 10 clients. Then, I will consistently contact 10 a day no matter how busy I get.

I will write one promotional ebooklet that will help me to better sell my services. This will be completed by “X” date.

I will start an article marketing campaign, submitting 2 articles a week to popular article directories like EzineArticles .com and Amazines.com.

I will read one industry article a day (eg, SEO, medical writing, tech writing, etc.) to really get to know my industry inside and out.

See the difference between “research” and concrete actions.

freelance-writing-dream

Time is your most valuable asset when starting a freelance writing career. Waste it and you literally piss your dreams away!

Just as important as what you do, it’s what you shouldn’t do – especially in the beginning.

What You Should NOT Do If You Want to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010

You shouldn’t be spending a lot of time of social media sites like Twitter;

You shouldn’t be checking email incessantly throughout the day;

You shouldn’t be aimlessly surfing the net – not even for as little as 10 or 15 minutes at a time. This is particularly true if you’re starting part time because your time is already limited.

You shouldn’t be commenting on other blogs – or in fact even reading a whole bunch of other blogs and websites. Even when it’s in your industry, doing too much reading means you’re wasting valuable time. Don’t kid yourself and think that you’re “working” when you do stuff like this. You’re not. You’re procrastinating.

Why Being an Uncommunicative, Time-Selfish B*tch Can Serve You Well in This Career

I’ve been called uncommunicative, antisocial and “hard to get in touch with.” But you know what, that’s because I spend my time on income-producing work. For me, that usually means writing.

I write promotional material for my businesses: my SEO writing company and my freelance writing ebooks.

I’m an avid article marketer, so I write and distribute articles to tons of free article directories for the above-stated businesses.

I write promotional material for affiliate products I promote.

I write new material for my blogs each week (I actively update three and tangentially update five).

I write new ebooks.

I write and instruct freelance writing e-courses.

I write for clients.

My point is, I don’t have time to tweet incessantly, surf aimlessly and interact with others in forums and on blogs because these don’t fill my bank account at the end of the week. Writing does.

4. Implement! Once you’ve formulated your action plan, implement it. And keep implementing it – tweak it if it’s not working; put it on overdrive if it is.

If you do these four things, before you know it, you will be making a living as a freelance writer. It’s not hard, but it does take consistent effort. There will be dry spells, there will be difficult clients (although most are dolls to work with) and there will be times when you wonder if you can make a go of it.

You can . . . if you hang in there. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – if this was easy, everybody would do it.

Are You Ready to Live Your Life the Way You Want . . . Now?

BUT, the rewards are so great. Being a freelance writer has given me a freedom I never expected to have.

Jetting off to paradise (Jamaica) for 5 weeks at a stretch; no problem mon.

Taking off for a fun couple of days in DC with a girlfriend – no problem.

Visit friends in New York City for a week – no problem.

Planning a month-long sojourn to France with a girlfriend – no problem.

Laptop: check!

Cell phone: check

Internet connection: check!

The ability to make a living on my terms and live the life I want — now: check!

This is my life – the life of a freelance writer. And, it can be yours too – if you choose to make it so.

Tropically yours,
Yuwanda

Next Week’s Post: You won’t want to miss this one. It’s all about how to make more money as a freelance writer in 2010!

P.S.: We’re getting down to the wire in the SEO Writing Training ecourse. As of 12/30/09 there are 4 slots left for the class starting on January 25th. You can reserve your spot for as little as $50, so sign up today!

P.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Inkwell Editorial on Twitter.

P.P.P.S.: Want an easy, fast way to get started in affiliate marketing, making as much as $50, $100/day? Get How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites (ie, Backpage.com). If you want to make some easy money promoting affiliate products on free classified ad sites, this ebook is for you. I routinely make $100-$150/day.

Copyright © 2009: I don’t say it often, but all material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).


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2 Responses to “How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most Importantly, What NOT to Do”

  1. How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most … « Internet Cafe Solution says:
    December 29, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    [...] View original post here:  How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most … [...]

  2. How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most … | contentwriters says:
    December 29, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    [...] See the original post: How to Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2010: What to Do & Most … [...]

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