Take this quiz.....
If you’re thinking of making the leap to full-time freelancing, first take our quiz to find out if freelancing is for you — and to improve any areas you may be weak in.
1. I’m self-motivated. Yes__ No__
When you freelance, there’s no boss looking over your shoulder to make sure you get your work done. You’re the boss. When you have an article due and the TV and laundry and phone are calling your name, what do you do?
If you’re not self-motivated (yet), don’t worry — this is something you can fake with external motivators. For example, you can partner up with a goal buddy who will hold you accountable for meeting your goals. You can also tell all your friends and family what you plan to do, so you’ll feel a responsibility to get it done. Or you can remove home distractions, for example by working at the bookstore (though that provides distractions of its own!). Here are more ideas for getting motivated.
2. I love to market. Yes__ No__
This is a sticky one. Most freelancers hate to market. It’s all about the writing, man! But in order to make it as a freelancer, you have to sell yourself to editors and clients. This means sending out letters of introduction, writing queries, making calls, sleuthing out the names and contact info for potential editors/clients, and maintaining a website. The only advice I can give is to just do it. You may hate it, but as you’re doing it, imagine all the wonderful things this marketing can bring you — the freedom to work where you want, to set your own hours, to write about things you love. If it seems that somehow you always run out of time in the day before you get any marketing done, set aside a certain day — such as Fridays — where you do nothing but market.
3. I can handle rejection. Yes__ No__
Let’s face it: As a freelancer, you will experience rejection. Even the best writers get rejected! You can get upset and lose a day of writing because you’re so angry/sad/frustrated, or you can suck it up and move on. I recommend the suck-it-up-and-move-on method. Just keep in mind that each rejection brings you closer to an acceptance, and, to be clichéd, the only way to fail is to never try. Also, remember that not all rejections are flat-out no’s…a personalized, friendly rejection from an editor is an invitation to send more ideas.
4. I have an emergency stash of money. Yes__ No__
Many experts recommend you have three to six months worth of savings stashed away before you start freelancing full-time, though of course more is even better. If you don’t have enough to get you by as you gear up your writing business, you may want to freelance on the side as you save up money from your day job. When I started out, I had a part-time office job, and I wrote queries and did assignments on my days off. If you work full-time, you can do interviews on your lunch hour, or before or after hours (thanks to sources in different time zones), and write in the evenings or early in the morning.
5. I’m fine with being alone all day. Yes__ No__
As a freelancer, you won’t be gathering with coworkers around the coffee machine chatting about last night’s Project Runway. I’m lucky that my husband is also a freelance writer, so we keep each other company. But if you’re an extrovert and don’t have the benefit of a freelancing spouse, you can call friends during breaks from work, have lunch dates with other freelancers, and work at Starbucks, the bookstore, or the library so you’ll be around other living beings.
6. I’m good at other things besides writing. Yes__ No__
As I wrote in a blog post last week, only about 15% of what I do is writing. The other 85% is marketing, invoicing, researching, interviewing, and other non-writing tasks. To succeed as a freelancer, you have to be good at all aspects of the business. Not so hot at all of your non-writing tasks? It may be worth it for you to hire a virtual assistant research assistant, accountant, or other expert who can take over what you’re not good at so you can concentrate on what you are good at.
7. I’m an extrovert. Yes__ No__
It would seem like writing in the perfect job for introverts: You sit in your office all day pounding at your keyboard, without having to deal with other people. But a lot of freelancing is about networking — with writers, with editors, with sources. I’ve made more than $30,000 in the past few years by networking with other writers on online forums, and I met several editors who were looking for writers at a conference I spoke at last year — one of whom gave me an assignment. I also go to New York City once a year or so to have lunch with my editors.
If you’re afraid to schmooze, start small. Join an online forum such as Absolute Write and respond to other writers’ posts. Send cards to editors you’ve worked with to thank them for their business. E-mail your family members and friends to let them know that you’re getting started as a freelancer; maybe they know someone who can help you. Soon, you’ll be talking to writers and editors like a pro!
Are there any questions I’m missing? Please post your tips in the Comments section!
www.PamPerryPRCoach.com
Posted By: Pam Perry
Monday, January 5th 2009 at 10:33PM
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