by Joe Wallace
Freelance writers are good at one thing, that’s for sure–writing. Other things? Sometimes not so much. There is a laundry list of items that can hurt your business and cost you money in ways you won’t even notice until you start doing them right. Are you ready for the n0-B.S. treatment? Brace yourself. And don’t worry, most of us have been guilty of at least one of these–it’s human nature.
1. Failing to accept and heed constructive criticism. Nobody should be writing in a vacuum. Believe it or not, writing is a collaborative process. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself what happens when your reader starts on the material you’ve written. That’s right–the reader participates, and that’s collaboration. Even if it’s only to engage the imagination. Some writers get very touchy when others comment on their work. Leave that nonsense for the amateurs. Listen to criticism and ask yourself how you might use it to become a better writer. The critics aren’t always right, but give it a fair shake before dismissing the criticism.
2. Turning in second drafts. You can get away with that on blog posts, sure. But serious writing isn’t even started yet on a first or second draft.
3. Failure to self-promote. If you want to get paid in this game, people need to know how great you are. If you don’t sell yourself, you can’t sell anything, including your work. Don’t bother being modest.
4. Making Facebook and Twitter accounts “private”. Folks, we are in the business of shameless self-promotion. You want to be private? Go work at a bank. Get a personal account AND a “business” account and use the hell out of that business-related social media. As a groundbreaking, confrontation UK noise band once wrote on an album cover, “Assume the phone is tapped.” At least where your work is concerned. And rejoice, ‘cuz you need the exposure.
5. Failure to make big announcements. If you just landed an article in your first glossy newsstand mag, don’t keep it to yourself. Mention that on social media and anywhere else your name should be popping up. ANNOUNCE yourself, especially on your own social media sites and mailing list. What’s that? You don’t have a mailing list?
6. Not making the RIGHT big announcements. Personally, I think when you’ve landed your first glossy newsstand magazine article or high-profile blog post, you shouldn’t announce that it’s your first one. I think simply saying “Here it is” will suffice unless you’re in such an early stage of your writing career that landing your first article shows what a child prodigy you are. Opinions vary, but my tendency is that you should just make the big announcement without letting it slip that you’ve never done it before.
7. Not finding your own way in the freelance game. Many freelancers make the mistake of thinking their careers SHOULD go in a certain way and then try to shoehorn that career into a particular model. Don’t bother. Go with the flow of your career–just wander where it takes you. Keep what works and lose what doesn’t. If magazine articles aren’t paying the rent, move towards what does. If you beat your head against the wall long enough, you’ll get a headache. Try going around the wall instead.