One of the first challenges you will face when you set off on your quest to become a successful freelance writer is to resist the temptation to immediately quit your “day job” and throw yourself into writing on a full-time basis as your sole means of financial support. You should find a market for your writing first and start producing work on a gradually increasing basis, to make sure you'll be able to create content that will sell.
Finding Jobs
You've already found the perfect platform for connecting with clients who are seeking quality writers, right here at Zerys. One of the primary keys to success is to ensure that your profile and expertise categories are as informative and complete as possible. Some clients who use our content marketing platform choose writers based solely on the information provided in the writer's bio, while some use other factors like ratings or areas of expertise.
When you accept an assignment, whether it's one that you've chosen from a list of those available to you or it was a direct offer from a specific client, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your writing skill. You should always strive to provide the highest quality work possible. This will open up more doors for additional writing jobs and give you greater opportunities for finding work.
Time Management
Being able to effectively manage your time is a hurdle that many freelance writers face, regardless of where they find their writing jobs. Whether you are working with one-at-a-time selections from an open list of jobs or you have a steady stream of projects assigned to you personally, you still have to be able to manage your time in a way that allows you to complete your writing projects within specific time frames. You also need to allow yourself time for personal activities; after all, when you're punching a clock and working in an office, you still have breaks and you get to go home at the end of your work day.
Balancing Workloads
Similar to time management, you need to be able to balance your workload in a way that doesn't leave you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or burned out with your writing tasks. This is especially true for freelance writers who are writing as a second job or using their writing as a way of supplementing a primary income. Achieving a balanced workload incorporates time management as part of the basic strategy; you should be able to create a daily or weekly schedule that gives you time to effectively and efficiently manage or take care of all your personal and professional activities.
Intangible Assets Are Critical
Some of the most critical assets a successful writer can possess are those that are intangible - - excellent spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills, an ability to effectively proofread and edit, and a firm grasp of language usage and sentence construction skills. It can be extremely frustrating for a client to have to thoroughly proofread and possibly re-write or excessively correct typographical errors that could have been avoided by simply reviewing the work prior to submission.
Many successful writers will quickly admit that one of the most important keys to their own success is that they are also their own harshest critic. While you should never devalue your work - after all, your client thinks it is valuable and is willing to pay for it - you should be able to objectively review your own writing to identify possible errors or other deficiencies. If you don't have someone available to edit your work or you feel that you cannot be sufficiently objective, check online for help. There are several web-based tools and applications that provide free evaluations of your writing to check for punctuation errors and identify improperly constructed sentences; some even provide you with a readability rating.
As your writing side job becomes more prolific and your earning power escalates, you'll be able to determine if writing full-time as your sole occupation is an endeavor that you are able to achieve and which will provide you with the monetary compensation your budget demands. When you reach the point where, when asked what you do for a living, your answer is "professional writer," you'll be rewarded with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that you're doing what you love and that you have achieved your goal.
