Absolutely! Successful freelance writers have a lively, energetic imagination. It’s the heartbeat of the very work that creative writers design. However, that isn’t the only element that freelance writers need to be successful. In fact, imagination alone could find writers struggling to build ways to transfer the many ideas filling their head onto paper (or onto a computer screen).
Without these other 10 “must haves,” freelance writers could also spends weeks or months (dare I say . . . years) trying to land quality clients (who doesn’t want their savings to grow?), sharpen their craft or grow their readership. Absent a few of these “must haves,” freelance writers could also start feeling frustrated and (oh, no!) quit.
So, without further ado, here’s the 10 “must haves”. How many of them do you already possess?
Determination – Freelance writing isn’t always easy, especially at the start of a career. By being determined, you can hang in there when client work has dropped off, novel sales are sluggish or you find yourself racing to catch up to lightning fast technology advances.
Open Mind – No one knows everything about anything. An open mind makes it easier for you to receive new ideas, continue to learn and accept reader feedback without losing focus of your writing goals.
Solid Skills – Okay. You don’t have to be an English professor to enjoy phenomenal success as a freelance writer. But, you do need to have a good handle on grammar basics. If you feel you have room for improvement in this area, consider enrolling in an online or offline course so you can get up to speed.
Marketing Drive – Whether you work as a copywriter, technical writer, medical writer, etc. or as a book writer (fiction or non-fiction), you’re going to need to market your work to pull in more clients or readers. Participating in marketing discussion forums is one way you could start learning about tricks you could use to attract a larger audience for your work.
Financial Acumen – There really isn’t much sense in working hard to make money if you’re only going to waste every cent you earn. A budget (as well as sticking to a budget) could keep you on track, helping you to grow savings.
Courage – Should this one be Number 1? Okay. These “must haves” aren’t in any particular order. But, that said, courage is HUGE. Without courage, you might avoid contacting interview subjects (i.e. CEOs, celebrities) so you can land freelance writing gigs. You might also steer away from reaching out to book club presidents, readers, etc. to gain reviews for your latest novel. In fact, courage probably impacts everything you’ll do as a freelance writer.
Humor – Despite your best efforts, there’s no guarantee that you’ll always get the winning results you seek. It’s also highly unlikely that you’ll never make a mistake. Learning to laugh and take all that comes with freelance writing in stride could save you lots of frustration, disappointment and anger. Try it!
Appreciation – Although we writers often work alone, our lives don’t unfold in a vacuum (and, who would want that?). Appreciation for other people can help you remember what’s primary as a writer (regardless of the type of writing you do) — readers . . . aka “other people”. By focusing on writing to improve other people’s lives, you could really start to win as a freelancer. This cannot be overstated.
Great Editors – Sure. You can edit your own writings. In fact, it’s a great idea to do so. However, if you want to truly improve as a writer, moving closer and closer toward ongoing success, there’s a huge chance that you’re going to have to work with editors — great editors. The better the editors you work with, the better your writing will likely be.
Vision – That’s right. Imagination alone may not be enough. You need to “see” what you want, including how you want a story to unfold, what you want to achieve as a freelance writer each day, week, month and year. It’s this inner vision that can help you to know which choices to make (i.e. what to say “yes” or “no” to).
Resilience is another ingredient that can propel you to the top as a freelance writer. After all, down times might come, but if you are determined and resilient, you can stay the course, holding on for more and more writing success.
Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com ($3.03 – lowest price I’ve found so far) and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.
