How To Succeed As A Part-Time Freelance Writer — Part 2

May 23, 2012

Following on from part one in the series, here we take a look at the importance of knowing when to say no (and yes) and continual networking when it comes to succeeding as a part-time freelance writer.

Don’t Think You Have To Be A Yes-Man

When you’re a part-time freelance writer, you have to pick your gigs to ensure you’re getting the most from the time invested — not just in terms of money, but also the experience and the publicity you’ll receive. When you’ve got several hours to spend freelance writing each day, you can afford to carry out some projects that may not necessarily be great paying or which don’t increase your prominence within the industry massively, but you do them because you enjoy the topic or you just want to earn a few extra dollars.

As a part-time writer, you often only have a few hours each day — or sometimes, each week — to dedicate to writing and so you must be certain that every job you do is of benefit, meaning it’s important you don’t fall into the trap that many writers do of being a ‘yes-man’.

I openly admit I was one of them and I would say yes to almost everyone who approached me for work or anyone who replied to my e-mails enquiring about work. I was worried that by saying no to someone, word would get around that I didn’t want to work on a certain project for a certain fee and it would damage my reputation and development as a freelance writer.

I was like this for many, many months, until I actually couldn’t say yes to one project — and nothing happened. The client was disappointed I couldn’t work with them, I was disappointed I couldn’t fulfil the work, but that was it. No negative comments. No bad press. Nothing.

This was kind of a turning point for me, as I realised that as great as being a yes-man might make you seem to your clients, it will very often only hamper your development as you carry out 10 different projects each week when only one or two are going to be of benefit.

Look at the gigs you’re applying for / the work that people are approaching you with and really work out whether they’re going to be beneficial. Are they worth the money? Will they make a great portfolio piece? Will they lead to other work? How good of a networking opportunity are they?

And that last point in particular leads on to one of my favourite freelance writing tips.

Always, Always, Always Network. Always.

When I first started freelance writing, I used to spend hours on blogs and forums. I would read piece after piece on freelance writing and I learnt a lot.

But — and I’ve said this before — I didn’t interact. I didn’t communicate with other writers or engage with the community at all and I honestly believe this is one of the reasons why it took me longer than others to get to the position of writing regularly.

Now don’t get me wrong, anyone can be a freelance writer if they’re willing to put the time and effort in, but just like in most other industries, a lot of your progression as a freelance writer, particularly in the early days, can be very much down to who you interact with and the relationships you build up.

For example, I got one of my first regular blog writing gigs after contacting the owner of the freelance writing blog, talking to them and it just so happened they had an opening. Once that gig finished, I moved onto one of their other projects and I’m still working on that today.

I’ve said it time and time again, but the freelance writing community is one of the friendliest out there. You should never be afraid to interact with others or ask questions. As I said above, time is really, really important when you’re a freelance writer and you have to make the most of the time you’ve got — sitting in the shadows and only reading what others are say is, in my opinion, not making the best use of your time.

Get out there. Talk. Ask questions. Comment. Make friends with people. Do whatever you can to build relationships and increase your professional network — it really will help you develop and succeed as a freelance writer tremendously

I really hope you like this series and the points continue to be of help. More to come soon!