Freelance Journey - Step 0: My Plan

 

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I am about to embark on my freelance writing journey. This is step 0. Step 0 is building up my practice as a writer. It is posting on my blog(s). It is continuing to write fiction. It is learning how to run a writing-related business. That's where I am right now. 

At nearly 24, I'm only now earnestly starting down this path. Before now, I was focused on college: how to get in, how to get through it, what to do after it. Now that I've graduated, it's time to begin my career.

Step 0: Research and Writing Practice

Writing

My writing has continued to improve over the last eight years. Some of this comes naturally as I've grown older, but a lot of it came from the hard work I put into writing. I've written a lot of essays and research papers in the last four years. Learning new genres and writing constantly taught me the value of time management, thorough editing, and learning how to break the rules the right way. 

I also learned my writing is valuable. First, I now find it valuable. The labor I put into my work is something I'm proud of now. I'm proud of how my labor can be seen in the writing I create. It's also valuable to others. Receiving praise from a professor who doesn't know me well is completely different from praise my loved ones give me. I earned first place in an essay writing class, because my professor told me I should submit an essay about Little Women I wrote in his class. Knowing that my professors (and others) think I'm a good writer is one of the best things I got from college. 

I don't let myself think I'm a bad writer anymore. That doesn't mean I don't write bad things sometimes, but it does mean that I've improved, I'm improving, and I can be proud of that. 

Research

I used to spend many hours doing research for various assignments. In fact, I often spent too much time researching. Sometimes, I had to fit in writing at the end. I found myself procrastinating, even though I researched the topic for weeks. I always knew I could have done a better job at getting my point across. If only I'd made more time for it.

This principle is a constant in my life. I spend so much time on preparation that whatever I'm preparing for often falls flat. Right now, I'm doing research and preparation to launch into a freelance writing career. I find the research interesting. I want to know all I can about how to create a portfolio, where to look for jobs, and how to make it as a freelancer. 

Then I get to actually writing, applying, going after a freelance gig, etc., and I slow down. I'm hesitant to hit the "send" button, because I'm nervous about possible rejection and failure. 

I am going to make this the year where I push send anyways, despite the fear. In fact, I already have.

I submitted a writing sample and my resume to a company yesterday. They promptly responded saying they weren't hiring writers at the moment. They would look at my resume and sample when they were hiring again. It wasn't a failure or a rejection. It wasn't really anything at all, but it allowed me to get started on Step 1. 

More information coming soon.