Every freelance writer has weathered some ups and downs in establishing their freelance writing business, and I"m definitely no exception. Many writer-bloggers will give you excellent, specific advice on things to avoid, so I'm just going to speak from firsthand experience and let you distill your own lessons, instead.
1) I procrastinated. Sometimes I still do. I've found, personally, that once I get started I'm like a runaway train, I won't stop. But getting to the starting point seems to be a slight issue for me at times.
2) I undercharged and over-committed. In the beginning, I definitely thought I had to take on every project and never turn anyone down. While I sometimes tell people that it took some 80-hour weeks to establish my freelance writing business, I'm not sure that it was absolutely necessary.
3) I worked weekends and evenings, and sometimes even overnight. To be fair, this might be an extension of #2. Many people write me asking about work here at About.com. Getting this gig was competitive. I put in several overnights during my training time. I'm okay with that, for this gig. But I have been much more picky in recent years, and would think two or three times before ever doing that again.
4) I worked for people I knew. This might be a personal choice, but I found that working for people I knew personally wasn't easy. It was harder for me to be honest with them. I now turn down jobs from people I know on a personal level.
5) Working at local rates when better rates were available. So, I live in Michigan. Cost of living is pretty low. I've found that local clients (with a few exceptions) are willing to pay a lot less than clients nationwide. In addition, local clients often want to meet face to face for coffee and chit chat. With 6 hours in my work day, I just can't justify that. I now set my sights higher.
Again, just opinion and personal experience. Care to share yours?
Very nice, candid advice on some mistakes that writers should avoid.
I think it’s important to note that most (if not all) writers will make mistakes when they start out. If not the mistakes that you listed above, then they will make other mistakes.
An important key is not to give up when you make a mistake. Try to analyze what went wrong and resolve to do better next time.
Your post indicates that you are doing this already.
I agree with all of the above and I’d add this one: I worked without a contract. Never again. It takes one burning to learn that lesson!
oooooo Good one, I’ve done that too.
1. Took assignments that paid almost nothing. I would go in thinking, ‘Well, it’s one dollar that I didn’t have an hour (or two) ago not realizing that I’ll never see residuals. These clients were also the most troublesome as far as meeting their needs was concerned.
2. Taking on too much work. The end result was either a revision request or a flat rejection.
3. Volunteer. The difference from #1 was that I wanted a business writing credit that was offline. The client specialized in a field I had no knowledge of and even after I expressed this along with my objective, they still insisted on using me but the duties changed from writing to editing to reviewing. That type of fluctuation was not good for me when it came to meeting paying deadlines.
Perfectly stated Allena. And JSwindell, your comments echo my experience too.
The eagerness to have work has us under quote, overwork, and get discouraged. And yes, working locally is a losing game because the rates do tend to be lower for local people and then there is the expectation of meetings and coffee and chat and for every hour spend chatting, we end up taking on quick work for ridiculously low prices.
And yes there is that weird thing that happens where the low paying clients tend to be the crankiest.
This should be a meme. We could all learn so much from one another by sharing our mistakes.
I’ve ignored my instinct and waived my requirement for a deposit. BIG mistake!
I agree with the comment about working for a tiny amount in order to–in my case–break into a statewide magazine. The editor asked for numerous photos, then different formats for the photos, then a rewrite of the article. I sent the rewrite last fall and I still haven’t heard from him. Lesson learned.
Oh, I’ve made all of the above mistakes, too! Thanks for posting this, and for all of the comments. I wish I had read them years ago.
I definitely was undercharging…not anymore! I met with someone who asked me how I got started in freelance writing. After our discussion, I realized I’m undercharging. I updated my fee schedule and will stick to it.
I mostly work with people out-of-state so I’m not meeting anyone, but I’m not opposed to it because it’s good to get out!
I definitely procrastinated pitching my brilliant ideas to editors, not anymore. I just pitched an article only to find out the publication doesn’t use freelance writers. The editor said she’d keep my info on file. I’ll pitch my idea to another publication. My goal is to do three pitches a week. I’m working on pitch #2 today!
Like Dana, in the beginning, I once let the client talk me out of the 50% deposit required up front for new clients. Never saw a dime of the money. Lesson learned!
I have a few comments to leave. I have been trying to get writing from home jobs, and I don’t want to land in the wrong job. It looks like it takes a lot to get a writing gig. How do you start your business if you just starting? I need client tale. I want to write from home so much that it hurts that I keep getting rejection. I often ask my self what am I doing wrong and I know the people that work for these companys had to have worked here for a while but what did they do because they had to start some where? So where do I start. How do you do articles? I don’t understand why I can’t work from home as a writer.