So you’ve probably heard that there are various opportunities to be had in freelance writing and you heard right. There are indeed opportunities in it – personal satisfaction, learning, earning, widening social relations, and many others depending on one’s goal in pursuing it. All these however do not come automatically. It is even possible that you will never get to attain any of this especially if you are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
Here are five of the worst reasons to pursue freelance writing:
You Don’t Want a Full-Time Job
The most common misconception about freelance writing is that it is an endeavor that can be taken up any time, or at any one’s spare time. While this may be true in a sense, freelance writing with serious goals like the ones mentioned above would require a lot more. The most successful freelance writers put in time at regular hours. The only difference here is that you get to decide when and how much those hours will be.
If you are particularly opposed to holding a regular 9-5 job and would want to pursue a writing career, then freelance writing can be a good option. But to think that you will not be required to give it ample time is a mistake. Like any other successful venture, you will need to work on freelance writing. You will only be limited by what you are willing to give. It can happen that you will actually put in more hours than what a regular job entails but all rewards go to you instead of your employer.
You Want to Earn the Easy Way
If you want to earn the easy way or as easy as child’s play, then freelance writing is definitely not for you. Given that you love writing so much that doing it is effortless and enjoyable, this doesn’t mean that you will earn from it. Writing and earning do not always come together.
It is a fact that you can earn from freelance writing, there is no question about that. However, you will need to find the people and the places that can make that happen. Your work’s worth should also be convincing enough to paying clients. At the start, you may have to make that happen by searching for these resources. Once you have established a good name for yourself, offers do come. When this is achieved, you will even have the privilege of choosing but not without proving anything through hard work. Freelance writing is not among the Get-Rich-Quick schemes which many people are on the look-out for.
You Think Anyone Can Write
Because you believe anyone can write, you decide to dive in head first into freelance writing. You do it without knowing that there are certain rules that need to be observed in spite of the seemingly nonchalant attitude many freelance writers adopt in public. And then your head hurts from thinking why your exceptional post is not appreciated by any one, especially by the paying kind.
Of course anyone can write but not every one will have that factor which will make his or her writing fit for public consumption. Not every one will be able to produce content that businesses and advertisers are more than willing to pay for. The bright side here is that writing skills can be learned up to a certain point and the rest will have to be determined by other factors such as experience, persistence, and being at the right place at the right time to take advantage of opportunities as they come.
You Only Need to Write About What You Want
Freelance writing can allow you to write about what you are passionate about, what you like, and what you want to. An important component however of professional freelance writing is the ability to adjust to the writing topics that may be required by paying clients. To say that what you will be asked to write about will not always adhere to your idea of an ideal topic is probably an understatement.
Of course as a freelance writer, you can always choose not to accept but there will always be factors to consider like client relationship, pay which is too tempting to refuse, or simply the call to professionalism. Whatever it is, reasons that will make decision making more difficult than usual will come at some point. Thus, freelance writing will not always be about what you want.
You Think You Have No Other Work-at-Home Options
Someone you know must be a freelance writer and you hear many good things about it. You do an online search and just about every person from all walks of life are into it. Every one seems to be talking about the advantages of being a freelance writer.
All of these look attractive to you who may be tied up in the house, unable to seek employment outside for some reason. Freelance writing is one way of earning while at home but it is not the only way. You would just be torturing yourself in forcing the issue especially if writing is not something you would like to do for the most part of your life. It would be best to find other work-at-home options that you actually want to do.
The Best Reason to Consider Freelance Writing
After going through the 5 worst reasons to pursue freelance writing, you may be interested to know what I think the best reason would be to pursue it. I believe that it is the desire to earn from an existing passion in writing. You have the basics to work on which is the genuine interest in writing. Cliche as it may seem, work becomes a lot easier when you are enjoying it. Trying to live off the success of others while wallowing in continuous disappointment and frustration because of the inability to replicate what others can do may be a sign that you’re into freelance writing for all the wrong reasons.
Think about it now and get out. There is something else waiting for you.