Freelance writers take on a variety of projects. I am pretty much open to any and every type of project as long as I understand what is being asked of me and enjoy the topic. You may be a bit different – that is your choice. At some point you need to decide what type of freelance writing projects you enjoy. This way you can concentrate in these areas, while avoiding jobs that do not fit well.
First things first, remember this: there is more to freelance writing than web projects. Sure, there are millions of people out there looking for SEO articles. While these jobs can be fun and profitable, you want to keep in mind that the internet is not the end all.
You should consider other types of freelance writing projects such as magazine features, corporate content, sales letters, etc. If you can write it you can work it into your career. Don’t let anybody tell you differently.
Should I only accept jobs that I enjoy? This is a tough question to answer. Early in my career I did not know which types of projects I liked the most. For this reason I was willing to try everything. While I still feel the same way to a certain extent, I try to be a bit more selective about who I work with.
If you do not know what type of freelance writing you enjoy you should continue to work hard day after day until you formulate an answer. It may take a couple of years to really find your niche. When you finally realize what works for you, your future becomes much clearer and the path to success opens up.Â
Every so often I like to look at my freelance writing career and where it is headed. Is this something that you do on a regular basis? It is important to know how your career is progressing. This will ensure that you make the best decisions as the days go by.
What should I be looking for? This is a difficult question to answer because everybody is at a different stage of their career. On top of this, your goals are not going to be the same as mine or the next person. That being said, I always look at the past, the present, and where I want to go in the future. This alone shows me if I am making enough progress, and of course, how the future is shaping up. Obviously, if you look at the past few months and realize that you were lazy it is safe to say that you will be anxious to change things around in the days to come.
Don’t be surprised if you look around and realize that your career is not progressing as you thought it would. Even though I am happy with my current client load and income, there are some things that I wish I would have done differently earlier in the year. It is never fun to play the “what-if game†but looking at the past and learning from it is the only way to ensure that your progress in the future is what you want it to be.
If you are happy with the progress of your freelance writing career you should continue on the same path. On the other hand, if you are not heading in the right direction now is the time to make a change.
As a freelance writer one of the most difficult things you have to do is manage your time. This sounds simple enough, but as your business grows you will find yourself realizing just how difficult it can be. The better you become at time management the better chance you have of achieving both short and long term success.
Here are three time management tips that I use on a regular basis:
1. Prioritize. What needs to get done first? It is very important to take care of everything on your plate, but at the same time you need to know which order to work in. Simply put, some projects and tasks are more important than others. Make sure you know your priorities and then work in the proper order.
2. Have a to-do list. With a list in front of you at all times it becomes simpler to manage your time in an effective manner. This gives you the ability to know what needs done weighed against how much time you have.
3. Make changes as time goes by. For example, I used to wake up between 8 and 9 in the morning. Soon enough I realized that this was not working for me from a time management perspective. As soon as I bumped up my start to 6am things got better for me. An early rise helps me feel fresh in the morning, while also giving more time to complete more tasks.
To achieve great success as a freelance writer you need to manage your time effectively. The three tips above have worked for me, and hopefully they can do the same for you.
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