It’s no secret that being a freelance writer is tough. Work comes in waves, people don’t appreciate what a writer goes through to be successful and pay is often low, among other tough aspects to the job. However, you do have a certain amount of freedom, which is why the freelance writing career is so appealing to many. Yet this freedom can actually be a detriment to your overall work ethic. There is a discipline that is needed to be a successful freelance writer and a few tips on how to hone this discipline are listed below.
Write Every Day
You must write every day, even if you aren’t necessarily writing something you like. Writing every day for a writer is like a runner running every day. It keeps you limber and in shape. It doesn’t mean you have to write for an extended period of time or write that well, but it must be done to some degree, as a lot of work or inspiration can come in at any given time and you may have to drop everything and write without warning. So be sure to set aside a few hours per day, every day if possible, to do some writing. You’ll find that you can write just about anything.
Look for Work Every Day
A big part of being successful as a freelance writer is being able to obtain consistent work. This takes work in and of itself, but is absolutely necessary if you want to be a successful freelancer. So just as you will set aside a certain amount of time to write every day, a certain amount of time should also be set aside to write editor or client contacts, apply to content house websites or submit your work via query emails with hopes of publication. It may sound a little silly and pointless to work in order to get work, but until you reach a certain level of quality work contacts, it is something that every freelancer must do and become proficient at.
Meet Your Deadlines
If you can’t hit deadlines on a regular basis, if not all the time, then you will lose work as a freelance writer. This is almost a guarantee. It is critical that you meet deadlines you promise your employers or clients, which means you have to plan out your schedule carefully, so that life or other types of work doesn’t keep you from completing an assignment or writing a piece on time. This also takes a tremendous amount of discipline, because you may have to keep yourself from doing something you really want to do, in order to properly complete your work. With this discipline, you’ll learn that freelance writing is as much about looking for work and scheduling as it is about writing itself.
Eli K has been a freelance writer for the better part of a decade and has learned how to discipline himself over time and a lot of experience. This is not something that happens overnight.
