Have you ever felt like giving up?

As a writer, you will experience stumbling blocks at one time or another in your career. You may face the dreaded white screen frustrated because the words just won’t come. You may submit what you think is your greatest masterpiece only to face a mountain of rejection letters. It may seem at times that no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to take a step forward towards realizing your dream.

Your inner critic then begins to raise his voice. You start to think that maybe you just aren’t cut out to be a writer after all. Dejected, you turn off your computer with a strong desire to climb into bed and pull the covers over your head, dreading the dawn of a new day.

If this sounds like you, take heart in the fact that you are not alone. Countless writers struggle with these stumbling blocks each and every day. There is a light at the end of the tunnel (and no, it’s not a train).

Achieving success as a freelance writer takes time and countless hours of hard work. That’s something us writers have a difficult time dealing with. We live in a world of instant gratification where we have come to expect everything to be right there at our fingertips. These expectations hamper our ability to have patience.

We need to be determined to not allow anything to get in our way on the road to success. Persistent and consistent actions over a period of time will take us where we want to go.

It helps to remember why we became writers in the first place. Reconnect with your original source of inspiration for becoming a writer. There once was a specific seed of passion that desired to express itself. But over time, we disconnected ourselves from this passion in pursuit of other goals.

Once you have reconnected with the reason why you became a writer in the first place, nurture that passion until you see it in full bloom. Make the decision that you will accept no other option. Maintain that passion by taking action every day that will lead you to the living the life you deserve.

Believe in yourself as a writer. You were given the gift of expression for a reason. Perhaps that reason was to make a powerful impact in the life of someone else you may never meet face to face. Maybe you will give someone hope that things can and will get better.

Perhaps you can inspire them with an idea that they would not have thought on their own. You might even save a life from the pits of despair. But if you don’t sit your butt in the chair and get to work, that may never happen.

If you are struggling, know that there is tons of help out there. Here at Freelance Writers Academy, we help our members benefit from expert advice in developing queries, finding freelance work, answering specific questions, and dealing with all the aspecsts involved in freelance writing.

You were born with a special gift. Don’t squander it. Take your freelance writing seriously and let your voice be heard. You were called to be a writer, so start acting like one. Time to get back to work.

When I was in elementary school, I would often write stories. Some of them were for school assignments, and others were just stories I would type up on my computer. I often made "family newspapers" where I documented the current happenings of everyone in my family. That was when my love for writing first was sparked.

 

In high school, I always loved writing essays. All of my friends thought I was crazy, but I looked forward to the classes where we could write in-depth analyses on topics of our choice.

 

When I went to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I went through five or six different majors, feeling totally lost. I wanted to graduate, but I felt like nothing was the right fit. I did horrible on every multiple choice test I took, but excelled when there were free responses. I continued to do well in my essays, and I kept a personal blog where people would compliment my writing.

 

One day, when I was trying to decide what major to try out next, I thought to myself, "Katie, you are a good writer. Try the journalism program out again." It was actually the major I started with, but after a bad experience with one of my professors, I backed out. However, this time, I went to talk to the head of the department, and he inspired me to try again. I realized that I should be doing something that I've always loved and excelled at, even if it was something that others looked down on and claimed to be a dead field.

 

To make a long story short, after taking a few pre-requisites, I was accepted into the print journalism program. It was there that I flourished. I wrote articles on every topic, and loved my in-depth reporting courses. I won awards for my writing, and I realized where my passion was. Writing.

 

Right before I graduated, I started my blog, Clarks Condensed. It became a place for me to continue writing, even though I had decided to be a stay-at-home mom. It's been a place for me to express my thoughts, share them with others, and make a difference. As a journalist, I became dedicated to making sure I didn't fit in with the current trend in journalism to be extremely biased and ignore the facts. It makes me so sad to see the lack of ethics in journalism that is practiced today, and I have made it a goal to always write the truth, and seek out both sides of every story.

 

Even though I'm not working as a journalist for a newspaper or magazine, I do my part to be informed, and write posts that others find helpful. I will always be a writer, and even though it took me a few years to decide that's what I wanted to be, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Katie Clark is a recent graduate from Brigham Young University and a stay-at-home mom to her 18-month-old, Jack. She enjoys writing for her blog, Clarks Condensed, doing freelance social media and blog management, cooking, and spending time with her husband and son.

 

This is a featured guest post entry by R.J. Loom for the Freelance Writers Academy Blog Carnival for September 2013. Please welcome her and tell us what you think by posting your comments below. Thank you R.J. Loom for this great entry!

Each person is inspired or motivated by different things. Sometimes it’s a significant event in their life or series of events. Other times it’s simply a fleeting moment that on the surface may not seem like much yet, has a lasting effect. In my case, it’s difficult to choose just one person or thing that has influenced me to become a writer. I believe it’s a path I’ve been on for some time now without even realizing it. Though, looking back I can now see what those influences were.

I’m the youngest of six kids. Born, the daughter of a poor immigrant as my dad would say. He is by far the biggest influence in who I am today. The life he lived in the Ukraine before he immigrated to the United States after WWII, gave him an interesting view on life. He had been in his words “…starved, bombed at and buried alive. So don’t sweat the small stuff.” His laid back demeanor and stories of his life prior to his family immigrating here, gave me a different perspective on my perceived notions that my problems were the end of the world or insurmountable. He believed anything was possible; that you could do or become anything you wanted to be. His insatiable curiosity was contagious and made me want to be everything from an astronomer, musician, artist or psychiatrist. It wasn’t until I began writing that I realized I could be all of those things.

While my father has been a constant influence, the next was one of those fleeting moments in my life. I should say it was a person who believed in me at a time when I think most don’t believe in themselves. Yes, that’s right, the teenage years.

In my sophomore year of high school, I took a class called Modern Novel. My teacher was one who not only loved to teach but also truly believed she was making a difference in children’s lives. Being the youngest, my older siblings had already taken her class and one of my older sisters had become friends with this teacher, after she graduated. I had never been much of an academic; doing the bare minimum to skate by. However, this teacher saw something in me that I failed to see myself, potential. Potential for what, I had no clue. But she seemed genuinely interested in seeing me succeed. Her class was interesting and I found it difficult not to get caught up in her enthusiasm for what she was teaching. The books we read and the papers I had to write were not the chore I always viewed homework to be. This should have been my first clue that writing was something I should be doing.

One day, I was dealing with one of my teenage crises and she pulled me aside after class to ask me how I was doing. I don’t know what my response was but I remember vividly what she did next. Reaching into her desk, she pulled out a book and handed it to me. No instructions were given. She didn’t give me a due date, expect me to write a paper or even ask me to let her know what I thought of it. She seemed content just to know I had it and confident that I would read it.

I went home that day and the first thing I did, was read it from start to end. It didn’t take long. The book was small and the story simple. The message of the story was so basic that many take it for granted every day. Many, except for people like this teacher and my father. The book was “The Precious Present” by Spencer Johnson M. D.

Later, she made a recommendation that I take honors English the following year. Taking honors anything wasn’t anything I had hoped to aspire to. Yet she believed I could do it.

Many years later, I became a paralegal at a busy law firm. Writing became a big part of my life. The focus however, was on spelling, grammar, punctuation and how to word things in the most professional manner. As an introvert, this work suited me. I was alone with my computer, writing and doing research. It was fulfilling to an extent yet lacked something.

Five years into my career, I discovered what that something was; the creative outlet that allowed me to do so much more than professionally word firm correspondence or pleadings. I joined a group of writers who had a shared love of a bestselling author’s work. It was a spontaneous decision but it gave me a freedom to be all those things my father believed I could be. I just never realized writing was the way to facilitate those dreams.

 

Bio: I was born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, where I still reside with my husband, two teenage children and spoiled Boxer. Aspiring author of "The Ilia Stone" and Co-Founder of Dead Bound Publishing. Visit me at my blog or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006493366033

 

 

You’ve been caught on video before. Horrible, isn’t it?

No matter what the occasion or how much fun you were having at the time, when you see the video later on all you can think is… I look weird. I sound funny. I wish this wasn’t posted on the internet for the world and his dog to see.

I feel you. Seeing myself on video freaks me out, too. And from what other writers tell me, we’re not alone.

But the world is video-oriented now. Even books have video trailers, and adding video to your skill set means you can command higher rates for some of your online writing gigs by including a short video clip as part of the service package.

Time to kick this video phobia to the kerb. It’s a tough one, so it’ll take 3 kicks to get it done. You ready?

#1: Kick Out Your Fear

Oh gods, the fear. It’s coming to get you.

Wait, what is?

What is it that you fear? Looking silly? Saying something wrong? Making your bad hair day a public event?

You know video can be edited just like writing, right? Yep. That time your webcam fell over: cut. That weird face you pulled: deleted. That moment when every word came out wrong: like it never happened.

Listen, just get some basic equipment together –a webcam, maybe a separate microphone—and make a video. You don’t ever have to show it to anybody if you don’t want to.

Whatever you fear, it isn’t here. You can edit out anything you don’t like, keep the best bits, and nobody will ever know about the rest.

Or, if you’re me, you can string together a few of your embarrassing video moments for fun and encourage more bloggers to give it a shot. Here you go:

 

#2: Kick Off Your Shoes

If you’re not comfortable physically, it’s even harder to feel comfortable in front of the camera. Put on your comfiest clothes, get a chair or wear slippers if you want, but make sure there’s nothing irritating you to make you fidget or frown.

Once you’re settled and physically feeling fine, kick off your mental shoes too. This isn’t an interrogation chamber. You’re just sitting and talking to people, showing your face like in any real-world conversation, maybe showing them some stuff on your computer too. The people you’re talking to won’t see it until later, so you can edit your video as much as you want. Relax!

#3: Kick Into Action

What’s stopping you from making a video today? What would you have to do to make that possible?

Here are some of the most common obstacles I hear about from freelance writers who want to make videos:

• “I don’t have a good enough camera or webcam.”

OK, buy one. If you can’t buy one, borrow one. If you can’t borrow one, ask yourself if the webcam you’ve got right now is at least good enough to practise with. Then get practising.

• “I don’t know what to say.”

You’re a writer. Start there. Write it out just as if it were a blog post or an article. Then read it aloud in front of the camera. The first time you do this, it’s likely to be a bit stilted, but if you run through it a few times you’ll start to speak more naturally.

• “I don’t know how to edit a video.”

There are plenty of free video editing options, and they come with user guides that show you how to do the essentials. If you’re using a computer to read this, you may already have a basic video editor installed that comes with your operating system software. Or you can upload your video to YouTube—set it to Private if you don’t want anyone else to see it yet—and edit it with the built-in editor there. These tools are designed to make it easy on you!

• “I look too old/young/skinny/fat/whatever to make videos.”

The people you make your videos for won’t be watching them because of how you look. They’ll watch because of what you say. This isn’t a beauty contest, so don’t let your message go to waste. Make the video, watch it back, and if the message is good then it’s all good.

• “I get nervous.”

Confidence comes from action. Start practising now and you’ll be confident soon. But if you let this drift away, you’ll never gain the confidence to do it. The sooner you give it your first try, the better.

More clients than ever are interested in hiring writers who can create short videos too. Don’t let stage fright or a lack of fancy equipment stop you from making extra money with video—this is an opportunity to tap into a whole new market.

All you have to do is relax, practise, and keep it simple.

Action!

Sophie Lizard, the founder of Be a Freelance Blogger, is here to fuel your freelance blogging success. She's fascinated by both brain science and rocket surgery, but most of all by words. Talk to her!

 

This is a featured guest post entry by Leah Gonzalez for the Freelance Writers Academy Blog Carnival for August 2013. Please welcome her and tell us what you think by posting your comments below. Thank you Leah Gonzalez for this great entry!

I’ve been a freelance writer for only over a year and so far the best and worst part of being one all boils down to one thing--TIME.

 

I worked in a corporate office for almost eight years before I jumped ship and became a freelance writer. For close to eight years I was at the mercy of a set work schedule. Well, my actual schedule was 8 to 6, but since I worked in consultancy and my load depended on the projects we worked on, my work schedule ran anywhere from the expected 8 to 6 to 8 to 8-ish, 9-ish or even later than that, and that was fine. It was the norm in the firm and in the industry.

 

Then I became a freelance writer. Suddenly, I had control over my time, my schedule. I could choose when to work and when not to work. At first I had a terrible time managing all my projects. I would wake up late, do all sorts of other things, and then start working later in the day. Most times I ended up working until the wee hours of the morning and sometimes even during weekends. I thought to myself, it wasn’t a big deal since I didn’t need to get up early and go to an office anymore anyway.

 

Eventually, I learned that I had to set my own schedule. I divided my days into chunks and ‘scheduled’ in when I would surf the net for fun, when I would work on paying jobs and when I would practice my writing by doing things for my blog like come up with possible topics, create draft posts, and schedule posts. I used to make detailed and time-based daily to-do lists but I always strayed from them so I chucked them after a few weeks. I don’t have it written down but now I have a semblance of a schedule that I follow every day. I also don’t work on weekends anymore.

 

Being a freelance writer means you hold your own time in your hands. For me that’s the best thing about being a freelance writer because you can plan out your schedule the way you want and you can work only when you want to work. You can devote time to income-generating writing and you can also set aside time for personal writing.

 

However, having control over your own time can also be the worst thing about being a freelance writer because mismanaging your time can have some serious consequences. Missed deadlines or delayed submissions can have a negative impact on your reputation as a freelance writer and that can potentially affect your ability to get more work. How you manage your time is a big factor to your success as a freelance worker.

 

For me, deciding to become a freelance writer was not only for the love of writing, but to also have more time to devote to people and things I love. It’s certainly interesting that I find TIME to be the greatest benefit and challenge when it comes to being a freelancer.

Leah Gonzalez (http://www.leahgonzalez.com) is a freelance writer and blogger from Manila. She writes for @PSFK (http://www.twitter.com/psfk) and also works as an assistant for an author design and marketing team. Connect with Leah on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/leahgonz).

 

This is a featured guest post entry by A. Carina Barry for the Freelance Writers Academy Blog Carnival for August 2013. Please welcome her and tell us what you think by posting your comments below. Thank you A. Carina Barry for this great entry!

You want to know why you want to learn to be a writer, a freelance writer at that? Why you should study hard and listen to your language teacher really, really carefully? Ohhhh, let me tell you!

1. The hours are great! You write when you want to write. You have an appointment at noon? No problem. You like to stay up late to work? No problem. You need to take the weekend off to plan a graduation party? NO PROBLEM! You don’t have to beg some unsympathetic manager of a retail chain for time off; you can just take it. The flip side is, no one will be on your back forcing you to work. You have to crack your own whip over your head to make the work move forward. But if you have the self-discipline, or the need to pay bills and eat, I think you will find the power within yourself to do it.

2. No one is on your back. There’s no boss telling you how pitiful your performance is (no, reviewers do not count), no slack-a-rific coworker shunting chunks of their work onto your plate. There are no grumpy customers to appease nor horrific mounds of flesh trying to squeeze into something labeled juicy that you can’t ever un-see. Nope, the only horrific visions you will see are what ones you come up with for your characters. Well, that and any mistakes you make hunting up tidbits of research on the internet. Libraries are sometimes a bit safer depending on the topic you need.

3. Amazing and varied stimulation for your brain on a daily basis. Out there, you have to do the same repetitive thing over and over. Even at a prestigious job, it still happens, there is a repeated rhythm to your pitches or discussions or the dreaded “do you want fries with that”. This leads to mental stagnation, which is medically bad for your brain in the long run. But after a long day at work, all you want to do is unwind, not find the equivalent of electrodes to stimulate your brain. Writing is the answer. You will be looking up boxing moves one minute and how to make French onion soup the next. You will get better at geography as your characters go jet-setting and discover the joys of Google Maps and Google Earth. Your brain will be actively engaged in CREATING all the time and the research will make you seem even more knowledgeable and erudite when you see people at parties because this stuff will be fresh in your head instead of buried in the dark recesses.

4. You will have time for yourself. Well, obviously, there is the hours alone with you, your computer or notebook, and the dreaded white page. But I’m talking about how everyone wants to exercise, but who has the time? Or everyone wants to eat better, but there’s never enough time to cook. Writers rely on their brains and to have your brain function well, you will find yourself eating better and exercising more. Yeah, you are still going to be bad some of the time, but eventually, you are going to realize you have to do this stuff because thrombosis is bad and it is hard to write when you have heartburn from eating another chili dog or chili-mac dinner. And suddenly, your friends will be all envious of you.

5. Your friends will be envious of you. Put a quarter in a jar every time you get asked what you do, and you say “I’m a freelance writer” and hear, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write” or “I’ve had this great idea for a story”. Deep down, everyone admires the ability to create novels, plays, poetry, and movie scripts. Technical manuals, not as much, but they will still think it is better than their job. It comes with prestige! Never mind that you probably spent the day in your pajamas drinking soda and giggling softly to yourself as you figured out how to kill off another character. As long as you remember how to dress up well for a party, you are golden.

6. Writers enjoy nifty perks. Signing bonuses, royalties, requests to appear at conventions and speak or to SIGN AUTOGRAPHS! Yes, YOU will be someone that OTHER people want the AUTOGRAPH of!! You! Yeah, you may have to practice coming up with one that is fast and smooth without being an x, because if you get popular, you sign a lot of books. People will drive miles to see you. Yeah, some days no one shows up, but that’s every job. Trust me, you want to be a freelance writer! It’s the best job in the world!

 

A. Carina Barry is an eclectic writer that covers the gamut from horror to romance, from birth to death. She figures that if you can master the two biggest events in life, the rest will fall into place.

This a featured guest post entry by Elena Chevalier for the Freelance Writers Academy Blog Carnival for August 2013. Please welcome her and tell us what you think by posting your comments below. Thank you Elena for this great entry!

What is the best or worst thing about being a freelance writer?

 

Words. Absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt, words are the best and the worst thing about being a freelance writer.

 

Words! I love them when they draw me along on endless journeys and show me a world of wonder and laughter. They flow gently along like glistening streams. They sing enticing melodies like birds on an early spring morning. I read the sweet words again and again for the sheer joy of their creativity under control.

 

Yet, I hate them when they elude me and tease me for no good reason. They frustrate my senses with their relentless capacity of unpredictability. They’re masters of the masquerade and many a time they’ve messed me up by pretending to be a “there” when they’re really a “their”.

 

Words! On some days they play in my mind and run willy nilly down the hill from my head to my keyboard where they skip over the creek and frolic in the meadow of possibilities. I holler for them to come back and stand in a line like good-little-words, but they cavort and cajole each other into playing leap frog over my outline. Inspired by their winsomeness, I follow their direction and join them in play.

 

After a while, I glance at the clock and gulp. Taking stock of any reasonable possibilities of meeting my deadline, I demand immediate obedience. Fun becomes forced labor for the worrisome words, but they obey. One by one they lay straight on the page, holding hands in camaraderie, rooting for the writer who holds their life in her hands.

 

With a collective sigh I hit submit and nod good-bye to the perfect piece.

 

Until the day the newspaper arrives, that is. And there on the top front page I see my manuscript perforated by the editor’s knife. In the process of his perfunctory editing, a sentence about library walls newly painted lilac, transforms the walls to “lical”, a color I do not like.

 

Words are moody and don’t like to be embarrassed, so they hide. The next time I call for them to come play with me at my keyboard, they won’t. They hide behind some dusty insecurity or former forts of fear left in the layers of my mind. I coax them and bribe them. I demand they come to work. I plead and I beg them to come help me out. But they dig in their heels and blow strawberries in the wind.

 

Frustrated, I leave. I leave them all alone for a while and busy myself with other work. They don’t like this and conspire to begin a novel in my mind in the midst of a most important meeting that’s supposed to demand my undivided attention. I make faces at them playing for without my approval like that, and the director of the meeting scowls at me.

 

Yet in spite of it all, I love those pesky, playful words. They’re like people. You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them.

Elena Chevalier is a word-tamer, by trade. From the glorious White Mountains of New Hampshire, she writes features for the local paper, and sundry other stuff. Word-taming is a dangerous job, but someone’s gotta do it.

After grabbing a cup of coffee, you plop down in your chair and turn out your computer, ready for the workday ahead. You quickly scan your email and take a long look at your calendar. So many things to do today! There are emails to write and respond to, a blog post to write, and a special project you want work on today. Plus, there are the household chores and the kids to take care of.

 

There is also that pesky problem that you just can’t seem to solve in your business as well. Perhaps you have been struggling lately trying to get a higher-paying client or trying to figure out a new software application for your website. Whatever the obstacle may be, every time it rears its ugly head, you find yourself scratching your head in frustration. Moments later, you are on Facebook or Twitter, trying desperately not to think about it.

 

Because no matter what you do, you just can’t figure out the solution. It feels like you are beating your head against the wall. You start thinking that maybe you should just quit because you are never going to be successful with your business. You just aren’t smart enough to figure it out.

 

The problem may not be necessarily with your level of intelligence. You may just be dealing with a more insidious monster.

 

 

You may in fact be blind.

 

 

No, I am not talking about your eyesight. There is a hidden monster that attacks us all from time to time, preventing us from tackling those everyday obstacles in not only our business but in our personal life as well. His name is perceptual blindness. And if you can figure out how to defeat him, you will find that these every day obstacles in your business become a whole lot easier to deal with and overcome.

 

Perceptual blindness is a phenomenon that makes people unaware of things that are in plain sight. It is more commonly known as “blind spots.” It occurs because the brain can only absorb certain amount of information at one time in order to prevent overload. The rest of the information it absorbed gets filtered away by the brain as unimportant and thrown away.

 

When the brain starts processing the information it has received, it starts filling in the gaps with inaccurate information. The result is a misrepresentation of reality that can lead to costly mistakes and errors in judgment.

 

We fall victim to perceptual blindness in a number of ways. Multitasking is one of the biggest traps of perceptual blindness. We cannot properly pay attention to details when we are distracted by too many things at once. Even thinking about a particular task (what to make for dinner) while performing another (crafting a query letter), can greatly impact our ability to perform well and achieve success.

 

Our expectations also have an extremely powerful impact on our ability to notice critical information. When we come into a situation with preconceived notions (good or bad) of what it should look like, we will definitely miss out on important details we need to solve the problems we face and grow personally and professionally.

 

Each person’s capability to pay attention varies and can be influenced by a number of factors as well. Lack of sleep and/or the influence of substances such as caffeine, alcohol, and drugs can greatly interfere with attention capacity. A person’s age and genetics can also influence the ability to focus on a given task for a period of time.

 

The best way we can cope with and overcome perceptual blindness lies in how well we can be aware of preconceived expectations, reduce mental and physical distractions, and concentrate to the tasks at hand and their surrounding details.

 

This week, do some monster hunting. Where is the perceptual blindness monster lurking in your life?

 

 

 

Networking is an extremely crucial aspect for anyone looking to advance in a career or launch a new business venture. The common adage advised is that it’s not about what you do; it’s about who you know. The real truth is that it’s not who you know, it’s …

 

 

WHO KNOWS YOU!

 

 

Looking back at the various jobs I’ve had in my life, one factor stands out most prominently. In every single one, I never got the job solely on how well I filled out the job application or performed in the interview. Most of the time, I either knew someone directly in the organization, or I knew someone highly influential outside of the organization that those in charge of the hiring process would know and trust as a credible recommendation to help me get my foot in the door.

 

When it comes to freelance writing, many writers are pitching blindly to editors that have no idea who they are. These editors slough through hundreds of these emails every day. If you don’t absolutely tantalize them with the first paragraph in your query letter or even your subject line, you will end up in the slush pile quickly.

 

This leads many writers struggling to find clients. The failure lies in not developing those key connections first in a meaningful way before the pitch is made. Think about this for a second. When you go through your email each day, which would you open first: an email from a close friend or family member, or an email from a person you don’t recognize?

 

Editors are more likely to give the work to someone that they know firsthand or who comes highly recommended by someone they know and trust. They are also going to open emails from those they know and trust first. If your email is one of the first ones opened, it shows that you stand out from the crowd. 

 

Does the editor you are pitching to know who you are? Find a way to establish a personal connection with him/her. Doing so will significantly increase the odds that the editor will give you the break you are looking for. How can you get to know those people?

 

 

Social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn make establishing these kinds of connections so much easier. Look for ways you can connect on a deeper level with influencers that are in the market you are trying to break into.

 

 You ideally want to get to the point of having engaged in a few conversations with the person first before you pitch your great idea. If they get to know and like you, it will be much easier for him/her to be willing to take a chance on you. What things do you have in common that you can talk about?

 

Take a hard look at your networking approach. How effective are you? If the opportunities out there are not beating down your door to get to you, it may be time to freshen up your schmoozing in a whole new way. How are you building those connections?

 

 

In a recent interview with Sophie Lizard of Be A Freelance Blogger, Sophie raised a valid point concerning new writers trying to land a high-paying gig. Those who are most familiar to content mills are the most prone to making this fatal mistake.

I have witnessed many writers from the various writing groups I am involved in repeatedly request advice on which content mill is better in regards to making money. This is like comparing which fast food restaurant has the most nutritious menu. The reality is that all of them are bad for your health. The same is true for content mills. None of them are good for your financial health.

But when you are first starting out and have no idea where to look, where do you turn? Many writers turn to the Internet hoping to find those first gigs that will jumpstart their writing dreams. However, googling freelance writing jobs will do nothing for you either. There are several things wrong with this approach. First, many other new writers are doing the exact same thing. Second, what you will end up finding is companies who act like middle men who take part of your profits to help you land that great gig. The problem with that is: If you’re writing is good enough for them, why are you letting them take away from your bottom line when you could work directly for the client and keep all the cash?

There is a better way. The solution lies in your ability to rise up from the crowd and get noticed for the talent that you have. So, what sets you apart from the rest of the writers who are trying to land that great gig? The answer lies in what you are passionate about.  What do you know that others don’t? What do you love to talk about and what activities do you find yourself engaging in on a frequent basis?

I would encourage you to sit down after reading this and spend some time writing down your answers to the questions above. Post your answers below as well. I would love to hear what interests you have! What shows up the most and gets you excited? Perhaps you really love your pets for example. There are nonprofit organizations virtually everywhere that take care of animals. Research a local animal shelter and write up a sample piece for them. See if they have a website and look for any contact information.  Either email them or pay a visit and explain to them that you are a writer and you really love animals and that you would really love to work for them. Show then what you have written. You may get rejected at first but if you give them your contact information there is no telling where that will lead in the future.

This week pick 3 local businesses that match up with the items on your list. Write up query letters and gather your list of contacts. Then go after those prospects and see what happens. If you do land that great paying gig through this technique, I want to hear from you. Send me your success story and I will feature it right here on my blog. Now go take action and earn what you deserve!