Day One of your Freelance Writing Career
One of the most exciting times of my freelance writing career was day one. Although that was many years ago, I can still remember some of the tasks that I completed. In my opinion, the way that you start your freelance writing career will have a lot to do with the success that you achieve later on. Additionally, if you get off to a good start there is a much better chance that you will stick with this career choice for the long haul.
So what should you do on day one of your freelance writing career? Just like so many things within this industry, the answer to this question is based on opinion. In other words, the things that I did on day one may not suit your career. But at the same time, maybe they will.
Here are three general things that you will definitely want to take care of during your first day on the job:
1. Make sure that you are organized. There is nothing worse than having to stop what you are doing because your details and paperwork are not in order. Since you probably won’t have a lot of work to complete on day one, you might as well get organized.
2. Do you have a business and marketing plan? If not, this is a great day one task. You may not think that a freelance writer needs these plans, but nothing could be further from the truth. With a business and marketing plan in hand, you will have a track to follow as each day goes by.
3. Spend some time learning about the freelance writing industry. This can be done by reading posts on popular message boards such as Absolute Write or Digital Point, or by simply perusing freelance writing websites. Just remember one thing: you do not want to spend hours on end researching and learning what others are doing. While this is a big part of a successful freelance writing career, you need to make sure that you are putting time into building your own business as well.
Just like any career, your first day as a freelance writer will be full of unexpected twists and turns. If you have no idea where to start, the three general tasks above should keep you busy on day one.
