19

May

You Don’t Have to Be a Lone Freelancer

So, how are you doing? Are you having a productive day or you progressing slowly with your writing assignment or blog?

Do you feel frustrated that the ideas are just not coming in and your head feels like a bowl of jelly, a great glutinous mass of nothing substantial?

Are you having difficulty in staying focused? Being a freelance writer probably means you are working from home where a thousand and one things are in place to distract you.

Are you having a bad day in your supposed freelancing  career?

Don’t worry. You are not alone, even if you are sat alone staring into your computer wondering what the next word will be, and worrying perhaps if you will ever make any decent money.

Maybe it is time to find some company that isn’t furry and doesn’t meow incessantly at you every five minutes. I have just put my cat outside to give me time to think and write!

Consider joining a writers group local to you. I attend one every week and we sit and share our work, talk about our struggles and attempt to motivate each other. Occasionally we even get criticised (with kindness) and if justified we can allow that to spur us on and take on board the experience of others. We tend to bring all our different writing tastes to the table and have learnt that we are not alone, even if our writing is vastly different to somebody else’s.

For example I write fiction, poetry, occasionally blog, and work freelance in article and copy writing. Another chap is writing a play on Russian history and another writes primarily about classical music. I know absolute nothing about Russian history so I cannot offer precise information but I can offer advice on structure, mood, atmosphere, and possible dialogue options to him. I can also encourage him by being ‘there’to listen and to talk.

You may prefer to look online for support. There are a number of writers groups, some of which are free to join, while others require you to pay a membership fee.

I recommend you join LinkedIn, which costs absolutely nothing and contains over a thousand writing groups. This platform networks you to people in the business, some of whom who may be able to offer helpful advice. Perhaps you can offer some too.

The Writers Digest publishes lists of the best websites for writers and offers a variety of online forums and blogs. You need to subscribe to the Writers Digest newsletter, which is free, but you will have a valuable and wide source of information at hand. You will also be a part of a growing community of writers too, all of whom will have experience of the frustrations, and hopeful joys, that you have gone through.

Do not be alone then, even when you are alone. There are people out there just like you and you can benefit from each other. Your writing will be enhanced and you will hopefully find the contacts you need to allow your work to grow and find a wider audience.