As a freelance writer, it is safe to say that you work from home. Sure, I know a few freelancers who have “outside†offices but this is not very common. One thing I have found to be true over the years is that you must keep your home office organized if you are going to achieve long term success. If you are worried about this you are not alone. Just like most people I have a difficult staying organized. Fortunately, there are some tips that have helped me in this area over the years.
1. Give yourself space. With a big enough office you will always have room to store anything and everything that has to do with your career. It is much better to put things away than to leave them out in the open. Do you have a closet in your home office? How about filing cabinets or other furniture with drawers? No matter what it may be, try to put away items that you will not be using on a regular basis.
2. Don’t be a pack rat. This is a problem that I have suffered from for many years. Simply put, I hate throwing anything away. In the back of my mind, I always think that I will need to use the item again in the future. Of course, this is very rarely the case. Take it from me – don’t become a pack rat.
3. If you take it out, put it away. How many times have you taken out a file, worked on it, and set it on your desk instead of back in your filing cabinet? This happens to me time and time again. While I am getting better at putting things away, this is still an issue that plagues me.
These three tips should help you keep your home office better organized.
One of the main goals of this blog is to help other freelance writers solve their problems. While I don’t know everything (far from it) I have faced many situations in the past. So, when you have a problem there is a good chance that I have dealt with it myself.
Of course, I cannot read minds. Most of the time my blog posts are based around a personal experience, or a question/comment that is sent by a reader. If you are facing any problems, I would love to hear about them. This can be anything from a small issue on how to get started to something more advanced concerning a client.
Feel free to leave a comment or email me direct. Either way, let me know what type of issue you are facing and the steps you have taken thus far to deal with it. From there, hopefully I will be able to help. Along with this, I may even be able to turn your problem into a blog post so that we can all learn from it.
I hope to hear from many of you in the near future!
How much writing experience do you have? No matter who you are, there is a very good chance that you have had to write content at some point in the past. This includes anything from an essay for a college course to a sales letter for your job and everything in between. While this may not be exactly the same as the writing you will do as a freelancer, there are some similarities. After all, writing is writing no matter if you are keeping it for yourself or selling it off to a client.
The point of this post is to let you know that you don’t have to be experienced to become a freelance writer. I receive so many emails from aspiring writers who feel that they have no chance of success because they have never freelanced in the past. This is silly if you think about it. Did I have freelance writing experience when I first started? Of course not. Remember, everybody has to start somewhere. Everybody has to take on their first freelance writing gig at some point in time.
Don’t let your lack of formal freelance writing experience hold you back from making this your career. As noted above, you probably have some level of writing experience – even if it is only basic. This is all you need in order to make the transition to the freelance industry.
It is a shame that so many aspiring freelance writers are stopped in their tracks because they feel they are not experienced enough. Don’t let what you have (or haven’t) done in the past stop you from reaching your goals in the future. Chances are that you have enough experience and skills to try your hand at freelance writing.
