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28 Oct 09 Why Not to Become a Writer

Writing is easy, and you get instant recognition doing, isn’t it? Wrong! Freelance writing is anything but easy, and it is not a way to get instant recognition; if you are in it for this then look somewhere else, you have knocked a wrong door. In this post, I will tell you why and when you should not take writing as a career. You should not take writing as a career if:

You want to get rich quick

If anyone told you that writing is the quickest way to amass millions then he has made fool of you. Chances are that you may not ever be able to amass millions doing this. Not everyone who picks pen or strokes keys become millionaire.

You want an overnight success

If the bank balance and fame of J. K. Rowling have pulled you into this career then give it a second thought. This is not a profession where you become a superstar in one night. Ms. Rowling never became one in one night. She worked hard to achieve what she got, and many, I mean countless many, even never get half her success despite double her effort.

You want to sign a deal soon

Do not kid yourself in believing that you will land in a five-book contract as soon as your first book release. Getting a book deal or even a smaller gig is not an easy task. It takes days, if not months to get the first gig. If you are fortunate, you will get it quickly.

You believe you are the best

Writing career is not for you if you have paranormal self-esteem. Rejections are rule in writing, and if you cannot deal with countless rejections then do not join the party. You will be censured even when you are right. You need to have thick skin to survive here.

You cannot manage everything on your own

As a writer, you will have to do many things on your own.  It means it will be you only who will be fixing a meeting, pitching your idea, selling your idea, executing your idea, and handling finance. Do not think that you will get a literary agent or a manager from the day one.

If you do not demand any of these then welcome aboard, writing is fun and exciting.

Tags: Bank Balance, Best Writing, Book Contract, Fame, , , J K Rowling, Literary Agent, , , Ms Rowling, , , Rejections, Second Thought, , Strokes, Superstar, Thick Skin,

29 Aug 09 Freelance Writing Checklist Part -2

Taking our discussion on freelance writing forward, I will give you some more items that you need to include in your Freelance Writing Checklist, before you jump on the bandwagon. Without wasting our precious time in stretching the introduction, let us begin with the checklist items.

Is your résumé ready?

Sounds familiar? Yeah…every job requires you to have a résumé, and freelancing is no different in this regard. You will need an up-to-date résumé throughout your freelance writing career, and particularly when you are starting out when you have no portfolio to show. Your résumé will tell your prospective client about your experience.

How good is your cover letter?

You cannot do without a cover letter ever in your freelancing write. You will need this every day and for every project you bid on. It is a thousand times more important than your résumé. You need to know that you are not alone when you apply for an online writing gig. You are competing with hundreds of freelancer who is vying for the gig. Hence, to get noticed, you need to have a very attractive cover letter properly outlining your skills and experiences.

The things written above were good enough for any freelancer, but what makes a cover letter more important to a freelance writer is the fact that through your cover letter your prospective client will get the first glimpse of your writing; hence, if it is very impressive then consider your job half-done.

Do you know how to apply?

Well, doing this is not very difficult. It is just time consuming. Before you apply for a gig, you need to find out how the employer or the freelance board through which you are applying wants your application to be.

Some boards just need one cover letter, which you post with your bid, while others may ask you to write a brief introduction while posting the bid, and the rest of the details in a private message.

There is one more difference. The difference is in the way your client will accept your samples: some will ask you to send them links to your sample, while others will be okay with your attachments, and you will also find a handful of clients who will ask you to paste a brief article in the body of a private message. It is also not uncommon to find a client who wants you to write a custom sample for him on the topic or on the subject chosen by the client himself.

Get these things ready, I will be back in the next installment with some more checklist items. Meanwhile, I will also request you to tell me what you feel about the items I have listed above.

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