As a freelance writer you want to stay busy day in and day out. This means that you have a lot of work on your plate, which is always a good thing. But there may come a time when you run into some downtime during your workday. If this happens you need to ask yourself a very important question: how am I going to make the most of this time?
When I have downtime, even though this is not very often, I always turn to my marketing plan. After all, if there is time in my day that is not filled a new client would fit in nicely. The way that I market depends on what has been working for me, how much time I have, etc. For instance, some days I may write a query letter or two. But other days I may spend my time searching online for new clients. Either way, it is important to note that I stay busy in hopes of finding more work.
Some freelance writers who face downtime look at this as a chance to rest. While there is nothing wrong with taking a break, you don’t want to spend all your free time during the workday staring at the television. This is waste of valuable time, and you will find out soon enough that you made a mistake. If you want to take a break, so be it. Just make sure that it does not last too long.
In a perfect world you would be able to work eight hours per day on projects, and then call it quits after that. Of course, this is not the case now and in the life of a freelance writer it probably never will be. When you have down time, time when you are not working on projects, make sure you do something that can better your career.Â
One of the nicest things about being a freelance writer is that you do not have to spend a lot of money to get started or to maintain your career. That being said, you should be spending some money along the way. I don’t want you to think you should blow through your money, but there are definitely times when you should lay out some cash.
As a general rule of thumb I only spend money on my freelance writing career when I feel that it will bring a nice return. For instance, I recently hired a designer to help with several of my niche blogs as well as a new service site. This is money well spent because it will help me to earn more in the long run. When there is a chance for a return I don’t mind spending money.
Of course, there are times when I spend on supplies as well. This can be everything from a new computer to stamps and paper clips. Even though it is not always fun to buy office supplies, they are necessary to keep things running smoothly. If you are smart about when, where and how you buy these supplies you should be able to get what you want at a reasonable price.
Don’t be afraid to spend money on your freelance writing career. Even though you can go many months without spending too much, there will come a time when you have to part with some cash. As long as you spend your money on something that will improve your career you don’t have anything to worry about.
With so much going on in the new year I forgot to post an update on my freelance writing course last month. Fortunately, a few readers were interested in joining and this prompted me to post an update on how things are going.
Even though the course has been pretty full for most of 2009, I do have two spots open at this time. In most cases, when I post that I have open spots they fill up within a day or two. So if you are interested in grabbing one of them I suggest that you send me an email as soon as possible. Of course, if you are a bit late I can always add you to the waiting list for next month.
As each month goes by the course evolves to suit the needs of my members. I have yet to change the overall structure of the course, but have been sure to add new content based on what is asked of me from current and past members. It is always good to receive feedback on any project, and this has helped immensely when it comes to my freelance writing course.
I have been quite pleased with the response so far this year, and hope to keep things rolling until December. As noted above, if you want to join there are currently two spots for the taking. Of course, if anybody has questions about the course before signing up I would be more than happy to answer them.
