There are plenty of ways to screw up in the early stages of your freelance writing career. The first way to do it is to give up and stop writing. A good 50% of your competition will give up and go away long before they make it to the freelancer’s dilemma of when to quit the day job.

In my mind, that’s mistake number one, but for those wise enough not to make THAT mistake there are plenty of others to trip you up. Here is a little list of the all-time worst mistakes you can make when actually going after those freelance jobs. If you’re like most writers, you’ve already made at least one of these mistakes starting out, but you can use this list to remind yourself NOT to do these things again—and often these lists inspire you to make lists of your own you can use to further push you in the right direction. Don’t wallow in self-pity if you make these mistakes, just grit your teeth and resolve to do better next time…

Brace yourself for some real doozies here, this is the real deal. Continue reading Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Freelance Writing Gigs →