Freelance Writing: Simple Tips on Complicated Topics
Facilitate Your Self-Education Efforts
Self-education is a must for any freelance writer. Since there won’t be any teachers or exams, you are personally responsible for your continuing education, and its results.
It’s an enormous responsibility, because your progress in expanding your educational base has direct impact on your future freelancing success.
If you decided to make a career of freelance writing, then you need to accept that this is one of your main tools for advancement. You simply cannot make progress with learning something new.
You are your own CEO, manager, and supervisor, and no one will push you if you do not push yourself. What can you do to facilitate your self-education? What steps should you follow? Let’s take a look!
Aggregate Information
A freelance writer should keep current on news and trends in his/her niche from all over the world. You never can tell what piece of information will give you an inspiration useful in your next gig. You can’t be sure what tidbit of data will enhance your writing. In order to collect such nuggets of gold, you need to skim through a variety of sources, perhaps limiting yourself to the Internet.
For example, I start my day by browsing a number of sites and blogs dedicated to my specific field of specialization. To facilitate this process, I use Google Reader. Of course, you could use any other RSS reader. With time and practice, you will get better at spotting useful articles and news stories.
Eventually you will learn to stay on top of current developments in your field. It is not necessary to read every word of every article you stumble upon, at least initially. Bookmark the most relevant sites, come back to these regularly, and concentrate on the best stuff. You will eventually identify the most efficient sources as you practice.
Attend Professional Gatherings
Whenever you have a chance to meet up with your colleagues – do it! Is there, perhaps, a seminar for freelance writers meets in your area? Attend it! Maybe there’s a local amateur poetry club? Some of these are now called spoken word events or ‘slams’.
You can always learn something from other people doing their own writing: the basic concepts and techniques of writing are universal, and thus anyone can offer a legitimate contribution. Perhaps you can find inspiration in those ideas, thoughts, and tips.
There’s another popular phenomenon on the rise – webinars (web-based seminars). The beauty of these gatherings, is that they are held online, so you can attend them from anywhere in the world. They are usually practiced by real freelance writing professionals, if you find one that addresses freelance writing. Thus, there’s definitely a lot of stuff you can learn from them.
Make Note of Your Mistakes
Indeed, people usually learn from their own mistakes faster. However, some people tend to forget these mistakes, and so are bound to repeat them. If you fail to learn from your own mistakes, then you have to do something about it, otherwise you will fail in freelancing.
Furthermore, this pattern will affect you negatively as a person, because our professional and personal lives are deeply interconnected. You can read more on this issue in this article. This is why I am not addressing solely the mental aspect of this problem.
You need to be your own coach and facilitate your own corrective process. Make up a real list of your most frequent mistakes, literally – write it down in a document. Print the document and post it next to your working space. You won’t believe how this can positively affect your work. Look at the list from time to time, especially when proofreading your documents. I’m sure that eventually you will be able to eradicate all of your mistakes.
Don’t Stop at One Degree
I know a lot of freelance writers who pursue a second, or even a third, degree. Market wisdom is that the more diverse your background, the better. If you study economics, eventually you develop an economist’s perspective on issues. If you study psychology – your thinking leans towards a psychological interpretation of the world around you. This is why truly enriching your mind requires learning different disciplines, because this will endow you with a more rounded and objective point of view.
Nowadays, there are an increasing number of online and distance learning degree options, offering credible programs. This is a tough route but a manageable one. A great example of this is the Hollywood actor James Franco. He has gone way past a mere BA, and is enrolling in a Yale PhD program in English.
Simultaneously, he has made movies, and become a major heartthrob on the red carpet. You have to believe in yourself, be determined, and be eager to learn to duplicate this achievement. The benefits will be substantial and tangible.
We hope that these tips will help you to accelerate your freelancing growth and personal development! Good luck with your writing gigs! Cheers!
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