I have been a fulltime freelance writer for a couple of years now. I have
had challenges throughout my journey which is why I thought of dedicating this
post to helping upcoming freelancers. Being a freelance writer isn't easy. If
you are getting into freelance writing because you don't like working hard,
then I am afraid to burst your bubble but it won’t work for you. You have to work
harder as a freelance writer than you would on a 9 to 5 job. This is because
your income is dictated by how many jobs you handle in a month. With that said,
I have compiled a list of what you might be doing wrong as a freelance writer.
1. You're not working hard enough: You need to put in at least 4 hours daily
for research, creating professional profiles online, registering with freelance
writing sites, joining freelance writing forums e.t.c. to start getting work.
2. You're not looking for work in the right places: It is possible to work
hard i.e. put in even more than 4 hours daily and still fail to get work. If
this is the case, you might be looking for work in the wrong places. There are
very many freelance writing scams in the internet today. Make sure you
investigate a website before you sign up and start working. There are many
legitimate freelance writing websites. You can check my previous posts for
legitimate freelance writing sites.
3. You aren't offering quality: You must offer quality to survive as a
freelance writer. If you happen to have problems with grammar, consider using
online grammar tools. If you aren’t familiar with certain citation styles (if
you are an academic writer) consider learning first before you start writing
otherwise you won’t succeed.
4. You are not consistent: You can't fail to get freelance writing jobs if
you are consistent enough. It took me approximately 3 months to get my first
freelance writing job. You should never give up looking for work because jobs
are there. Giving up isn’t an option.
