This has been an exciting week for me, with some great new projects in the works and some old ones coming to fruition. Here's a little rundown of what has been going on:
- Received payment from client that had seemed to have disappeared. Woo! Paranoia got the best of me in this case, I guess.
- Alternative Health website that I have been writing for has finally launched. Have to love the expert status I get through this one!
- Picked up a great new gig through a client, that could be a huge deal for me in the future. I'll share more about that whenever I am able. VERY good stuff though!
- Started a new blogging gig with the Today.com network. I'll be talking about cooking with kids. Not much to look at right at the moment, but I think I'll have some fun and exciting posts that many will enjoy
- I now have hosting and have arranged to buy a laptop very soon. Two major goals met! Up next, building that elusive professional site.
- On a more personal note, my baby turned one on Tuesday. It really has me feeling a bit sad, but happy at the same time. He's getting so independent now. I just can't believe that it has been a year already.
As part of her 3 year blog anniversary celebration, Deb over at Freelance Writing Jobs just posted a piece from the archives about making her move from keyword content to professional blogging. I remember this post well, as it inspired me to take on some new challenges, which have certainly paid off. I can't say that I will ever be as bold as Deb, to completely walk away from keyword content, but I find now that it makes up much less of my income.
The nostalgia got the better of me and I started to pour over my own archives, for the first time in months. What a rollercoaster ride my freelance career has been, up to this point. From my first post about my reasons for working at home to my mother's heart attack to the challenges I took on after returning to the freelance world after having my youngest. I have grown so much as a writer and have learned a heck of a lot about the business.
Blogger friends, take a minute to walk down memory lane and see just how far you have come. It will give you new inspiration to keep pushing toward your goals and to continue to grow as a writer.
Image: Flickr
Work, work, work, and more work...what a crazy couple of weeks! I am finally caught up on everything after wrestling with deadlines for the past few days.
I have some regular client work due later in the week that needs attention, but I'm taking a step back tonight to breathe, regroup, and enjoy life for a few hours. Who knows, I might be able to get to bed at a decent hour.
Even with all the hard work and stress I have been under, I am still feeling quite confident about the way things are going. I am starting to put together a mental plan for my professional website and am looking to develop my business even further in the coming months.
I have some small financial goals that I am trying to meet, as well. The first is to finish catching up the bills that have been behind since I took my "hiatus" after having the baby. I should hit that goal within the next few weeks. Yet another pile that I will have crawled out from under. Once that is cleared up, my extra cash is going to purchase a laptop and router, so that I can start taking the kids outside while I work.
Of course there are big financial goals for the future, but I feel like setting these smaller goals and meeting them will help me keep the drive I need to take things to the next level.
Image: http://www.sxc.hu/
I know what you're thinking...oh great, another whine about deadlines and clients and irritating keywords. While I can't say I've completely finished beating that horse in my career, today's frustration is a little bit different.
Will someone please explain to me why people are under the impression that freelance writing is easy? If I have one more person say to me how easy my job must be or see one more error-laden post on a message board about "Oh, I passed middle school English, I bet I can make a fortune writing online!" I am going to blow my top!
OK, so the message board posts are a bit exaggerated, but I just can't understand why people think that writing is so easy. I had the opportunity to do some editing for a friend who has a content writing company and was astounded at the things that I read. Half of the articles had to be scrapped due to plagiarism and a large part of the rest could have been written better by my 13 year old. It was just unbelievable! I know I make occasional spelling and grammar errors, everyone does, but when you have to read a sentence 10 times to even come close to figuring out what someone has to say, they might want to consider the idea that writing is not for them.
I am certainly not trying to deter people from attempting a career in freelancing, but please do not jump into it thinking you can throw some words on a page and get paid. Writing takes time and effort, and developing a freelance career takes hard work and perseverance. You might get a luck break from time to time, but in the beginning it can be a tremendous struggle.
If you are considering a career in freelancing, educate yourself on the rules of writing and grammar, then learn how to research properly. While you may be able to throw a few random sentences on a page and get paid from certain sites or clients, the only real way to make money in this business is to take the time to learn. Talk to some people who have had success in the business and learn from their achievements and mistakes. Understanding how much work it takes to build a client base and a reputation is very important to your future as a freelancer.
I hope that my little mini-rant made some sense and my advice helps someone who is thinking about giving freelancing a shot.
What Has The Biggest Influence On Your Productivity?
2 comments Posted by Shannan Powell at 10:21 AMProductivity can be the downfall of many freelancers and finding the right formula to crank out the necessary amount of work in a day is tough. Those of us who work from home, particularly those with small children, have dozens of factors that can mess with our productivity for the day. For instance, today my middle child has decided our house needs a bit of seasoning, and half my morning was spent cleaning up that mess.
I have learned to not count on daytime hours, when I'm alone with the babies, to get anything major accomplished. If they are content or napping, I might squeeze in some research or work on a project for a few minutes, but I try to make sure that there is nothing pressing me to complete it during the day. I write at night, after my hubby is home and after everyone goes to bed, so that the daytime distractions have less of an effect on how much I turn out in a day.
The thing that seems to get me the most is procrastination. I tend to put things off, for a variety of reasons. Kristen King wrote a wonderful post about beating procrastination a couple of weeks ago, that I somehow missed until last night. She talks about finding your root cause to help combat the problem of procrastinating. Within her list of causes, I can identify with each at different times. For me, there is no one solid answer as to why I procrastinate. I'm just glad that I work well under the pressure of a deadline!
I have found that if you know a certain time of day or a specific situation is a complete productivity killer, plan your smaller projects for that time. Leave the bigger things for times that you can concentrate and work uninterrupted. If you do that, then you will only have to fight your own personal demons, rather than battling the outside interruptions on your work.
Getting paid to blog is becoming huge in the world of freelance writing. I admit that I am always writing for other people's blogs, often neglecting my own. (Sorry guys, the clients pay better than the adsense clicks have been!)
Two amazing professional bloggers have come together to provide a plethora of advice for those who earn their living as bloggers and for those who are just starting out. Deb Ng and Jennifer Chait, both successful bloggers with major blog networks, have started Network Blogging Tips, to help answer the big questions that many of us have about finding blogging jobs, driving traffic to your blog, and deciding if the pay is right.
I have read through quite a bit of the site and have found loads of information and tips that I plan on putting to use in the very near future. If you blog for pay, or are considering applying for a blogging position, do yourself a favor and see what these ladies have to say!
I think I may have finally found my rhythm. I have reached a place as a freelancer where I feel as if I belong. I know what I am doing (sometimes), know what I want, and am heading in the direction that will get me there.
For the first time in my freelance life, I am able to take the weekend off. I am not stressed over deadlines and can enjoy my family fully, until Monday morning. I have cleared my plate and am comfortable with the week's income. This is the feeling that I have been waiting for.
Granted, I have a fairly full plate ready and waiting for the coming week, that I may pick at if I get bored enough, but it is nice to know that I don't have to.
Maybe this will last, maybe it won't, but I am certainly going to do what I can to keep things this way!
