12 Nov 09 What a Freelance Writer Worries About?

Freelance writing is an exciting career. It gives you an opportunity to break free from the shackles of regular 9-5 job. A freelance writer, for all practical purpose, is a knowledge entrepreneur. You noticed, I didn’t use the word “information”, instead, I chose “knowledge,” because that is what a freelance writer is: a knowledge entrepreneur. And like any other entrepreneurial journey, it also has its own hiccups which keep a freelance writer worried.

In this short post, I will provide a list of common cause of concern for freelance writers, especially when one is starting out on the freelance writing journey.

Investment

If you thought it is just the number crunchers who worry about investments then you couldn’t have been more wrong. Investment woes keeps freelance writer worried as well, but most of the time it is not the investment in stocks, bonds, and funds that worries a freelance writer, but it is the investment in equipments and stationeries.

Do I need to have that new Mac? Or will windows do? Should I buy a printer, scanner and fax combo, or will the faxing part be dealt with installing fax modem software? These and similar questions pops in the minds of freelance writers quite often, and answer to these depends upon the requirement one has, and the stage of career a freelance writer is.

Working too much

Some people have left their day jobs for freelancing in a belief that he will have to work a lot lesser than they do while in a regular 9-5 job. Well, if the work timing is your concern then leaving your job is not advised because a freelance writer may have to work long hours. If this seems like a problem then revisit your decision. I took this job because working more was never a problem for me because I love what I do. Having said that, I must say that in time, everything will settle down, and work hours will become more regulated, but not initially.

No clients

Not getting enough clients to keep one occupied is another common worry that most of the freelance writers have. If you are in the initial stage of your career then this worry is legitimate. Indeed, getting a new client is difficult, and that is why we stress on retaining existing clients. If you stick long enough to freelance writing, you will see that this worry also subsides in time, as you start getting more and more clients through referrals.

No Money

This concerns all of us. We all get paranoid when it comes to money. After all, this is what we get (along with experience, learning, excitement, and fun) from freelance writing. When starting out, a freelance writer often commit a mistake of grabbing low-paying jobs. This indeed gives you something but not what you deserve for the time you spent. Hence, a freelance writer gets frustrated. Do not fall prey to the clients that wish to take you for a ride by paying you less and making you work more. I once travelled down that road. It was fatiguing. Wait for some time, you will get well-paying clients.

Tags: Belief That, Buy Scanner, Day Jobs, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Journey, Fax Modem Software, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Freelancing, Hiccups, Investments, Love, New Mac, Number Crunchers, Printer Scanner, Shackles, Stocks Bonds, Woes, Worries

Filed in Writing with 0 Comments

23 Oct 09 Alternate Income Source for Freelance Writer

I write because I love writing, and I suppose you also feel the same. Writing is not like producing soap that you can do even when you do not want to. This is where writing is different from doing any other thing. But what if you are not satisfied with the income you get from writing? What if you want to increase your income because you need more money?

Should you leave your freelance writing that you enjoy so much and take some regular and more paying job? Or should you look for alternative source of income?

What you will choose from the given options depends on what is your priority. For me, the choice is simple. I would go for developing the alternative source of income. And I believe most of the readers of this post will want to do the same. Therefore, I will be talking about alternative source of income that you could develop to increase your income.

You can start an AdSense or any advertisement supported website.
You can write an e-book.
You can start a coaching program.
Become a corporate blogging consultant.
Create a team of writer and get bulk content done.
Become a content consultant

Your options are not limited to these. You can do many more things while continuing your freelance writing.

Tags: Adsense, Advertisement, Content Consultant, e book, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing, Income Source, Job, Money, Priority, Soap

Filed in Career Management with 0 Comments

19 Oct 09 When to Bid Freelancing Adieu?

When to bid freelancing adieu? This is a question that everyone asks us. A similar question is should I bid it adieu for other things?

The answer to both the questions is the age old “it depends.”

I know this answer sounds boring and it does not actually say anything. That is why I decided to write a brief post to describe when one should leave freelancing or one should leave it alone.

Should I Switch?

The decision to leave freelancing or not depends upon the answers to the following questions:

What will you do if not freelancing?
Can you support your family and yourself during the “switch period”?
Are you sure that you want to make a switch?
Is the switch worth the effort?
Are you confident that your clients will accept you in the new role?
Do you have what it takes to make a switch?

Switching career is not an easy task and you already know it. You first tested the sour water of switching when you switched from a full-time job to freelance work; therefore, you must be aware of the kinds of issues one faces when one decided to switch. After a switch, you will again be a fresher in the field. Hence, you should be prepared to fight the same battle that you fought when you first switched from full-time job to freelancing.

What should I do?

You can go for any career you want after free lancing, but there are some career choices which are more related to the works you have done as freelancer. Hence, before you bid adieu to freelancing let’s consider what career choices you have.

You can become a consultant. If you are a freelance writer, you can become writing consultant.
You can become a coach. A press release writer can become a better press release writing coach.
You can start a freelance agency. After working on many assignments for many years, you must know the nuances of freelancing business. Then why not become a freelancing hub that takes work from companies and redistribute among other freelancer.
You can become a freelancer manager for some company.
You can start writing on freelance career choices.

When to switch?

After knowing what you can do, it is time to know when you should switch. In order to find that out, you need to answer the following question to know when to switch from freelancing to another career.

How many years have you been into this? To become a coach, writer or consultant you need to have many years of experience.
Do you think you have acquired enough skill to manage a freelancing business?
Can you be a good negotiator? You must know to negotiate both from clients and freelancers, as it is important for you to make money as a freelance business owner.
Do you know everything that is there to learn to switch from freelancing to consultation?

Tags: Bid, Career Choices, Coach, Faces, Free Lancing, Freelance Agency, Freelance Work, Freelance Writer, freelancer, Full Time Job, Hub, Nuances, Press Release, Release Writer, Sour Water

Filed in Career Management with 0 Comments

12 Nov 09 What a Freelance Writer Worries About?

Investment

Working too much

No clients

No Money

19 Oct 09 When to Bid Freelancing Adieu?

Should I Switch?

What should I do?

When to switch?

Translator

Recent Posts

IT List Favorites

Categories

Gossimer Press Releases

Gossimer Promotions and Announcements