10 Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming a Freelance Writer

When I quit my day job to become a full time writer, I knew freelance writing would become a large part of my income.

Sure it would be nice to be able to make a living off my own books (and that’s the plan eventually) but that’s a long term goal and I will definitely need more than the six titles I currently have available.

While freelancing for others might not be every writer’s idea of a good time, personally, I love it. I would highly recommend anyone who is serious about becoming a writer give it a go, at least short term, simply for the things you will learn.

Here are the ten things I have learned since becoming a freelance writer:

I’ve Learned to Be A Better Writer

It’s true that the more you write, the better you become at it, and my actual writing has definitely improved, but I’ve learned so much about the technical side of writing too.

I’ve Learned How to Plot Properly

I’ve always been a wing it kind of a writer. I like to start with a general idea and no real outline. I still enjoy writing that way. I like the characters to take me through the story and show me their path. But realistically, this isn’t something you can always do when you have a deadline looming.

Freelancing means I have often been writing several novels simultaneously, and I need something to come back to to refresh my memory when I jump from project to project.

Writing a good, clear outline is also important because the majority of clients want to see it before you begin writing. And once they approve it, you have to stick to it (for the most part).

I can now easily plot out a book and stick to it.

I’ve Learned How to Write to A Word Count

Have you ever started a novel and realised the story was finished and you only had 30,000 words? Or started a short story to realise it was going to be a novel length piece? I have. Multiple times.

It’s not always a bad thing when you’re just starting out and no one is telling you what to write. But to become a disciplined writer that might one day be writing to word counts set by a publisher (I can dream right?), you have to get the pacing right.

By freelancing, I’ve learned how to plot properly according to the word count and make sure there is the right amount of plot for the length of the project. This is something you’ll get good at quickly because when you’re freelancing, you have deadlines and having to keep re-writing things to get the pacing right isn’t sustainable long term.

I’ve Learned How to Be Self-Disciplined

When you only have yourself to answer to, it can be tempting to not write. We’ve all had those days where we open our work and just think nope, not today, and waste the day on Netflix (just me then?).

When you have clients waiting for your work, you just can’t do that – at least not if you want to be seen as a professional.

I have learned to force myself to write, even when I don’t want to. And you know what? Once you push yourself to start, it doesn’t take that long to get into it.

I’ve Learned the Tropes of So Many Genres

Before I started freelancing, I mostly wrote horror. I also read horror, crime and YA fiction extensively so I think I had those down.

After starting working with clients, I soon had the tropes down for romance, sci-fi, self help, parenting books (yes even though I have no children), fantasy, erotica and more.

Not only is that useful for if I branch out into other genres in my own writing, but it also lead to my new book, Parodies and Piss Takes, being born, where I mock the genre tropes in rhyme – and yes, I’m taking the piss out of myself because I’ve wrote in all of the genres included in the book.

I’ve Learned a Lot About People

Perhaps it would be more accurate here to say I’ve had some assumptions about people confirmed, but a freelance writer and a client is quite a unique relationship and you definitely get to see both the best and the worst of people.

I’ve Learned That Not Everyone Is Honest

Yes, I already knew that, but I think this has really brought home to me that unfortunately there are people out there who want to spend their time scamming other people.

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I want to, because I want to make sure no one else is caught out this way. I remember one of my first clients, a woman named Emily. She seemed ok on face value, but there was something just off, you know? Gut instinct I guess.

I was new to this so I ignored the spidey senses that were tingling because I figured I was being paranoid. I wasn’t. I still can’t put my finger on what was wrong with the project, but it was just off somehow.

Anyway, Emily commissioned me to write a series of articles. She explained that pay was weekly (which should have made me suspicious as the platform she found me on works on a pay per piece model). She also wanted to pay me through Paypal not the site’s payment system. I foolishly agreed to this even though I didn’t know her at all.

She talked as though she was from a big firm, so somehow, it seemed ok. It sounds so dumb saying that now.

I started writing the articles and when pay day came, she had an excuse about a hold up at her bank. That was definitely the point I should have cut and ran, but I still didn’t. I think I wanted to look like I was a bit seasoned and I knew what I was doing and that these things happen. Actually, they rarely happen and I must have looked like the clueless newbie I was.

Two days later, I still hadn’t been paid and this time, I wasn’t going to be taken for a mug anymore. Better late than never right? I contacted her and told her that until she paid me, I would retain all rights to the articles.

Long story short, she didn’t pay me. I later found out she got jobs from another site and farmed them out to newbies to write and most likely made a lot of money.

I took solace in the fact it had only been four or five hours work and I now had a portfolio of ready made articles that I still use as writing samples.

I do feel a bit sorry for the people that bought them off her in good faith thinking she actually owned the rights, which is why I only use them as samples and haven’t sold them to anyone.

On the plus side, I learned some valuable lessons quickly:

• If something feels off, say no
• Question everything
• Set up a proper payment system that ensures no one gets ripped off

I’ve Learned That Client’s Expectations Aren’t Always Realistic

Some clients expect me to work magic – they want a 100,000 word novel delivered in a day (ok, I’m exaggerating slightly there) or they want me to make plots with more holes than a piece of edam work.

I’ve learned when to say no, that just isn’t going to happen. I’ve also learned how utterly amazing it feels when you can work some magic and make it happen for them.

I’m not going to give examples here because most of these clients were well meaning and just a little naïve to the process. I’ve learned from that too. Most people are happy to lower their expectations if you are honest about what you can do for them.

You will also always encounter the ones who want a 50,000 word story and want to pay you $50. Just say no and move on.

I’ve Learned That Some Clients Are An Absolute Dream To Work With

I really wish I could name these people and give them the credit they deserve, but of course I can’t because it’s confidential. If they read this (and some of them do read my blog) then I hope they know who they are.

There are two types of clients who I absolutely love:

1 The ones who aren’t writers, don’t profess to be and let me do my thing

And

2 The ones who are writers and just get it

I love working with writers to bounce ideas off each other and ultimately build something we both love. Incidentally, working with writers is a great way to get an honest critique of your writing – they don’t hold back and try to sugar coat things because they’re paying you to write something saleable.

I’ve Learned That Not Being Credited for The Novels You Write Is Both A Blessing and A Curse

It is so frustrating at times not being credited for the work you’ve done (but in fairness, you know that going in).

It’s beyond annoying when you’re pitching to agents or publishers and you want to be able to tell them that you wrote five of the current top twenty Amazon best sellers but you can’t because NDA and all that.

It’s also annoying when people ask you if you’ve written anything they’ll have heard of and you want to be able to tell them about something you were a part of but you can’t because the people you sold the rights to use a name of someone established so the work will be taken seriously.

I always feel like people will think I’m lying when I say I’m working on a project but I can’t say what it is.

So how is it a blessing?

It took me a while to see the silver lining on this one, but when I did, I thanked my lucky stars that my name isn’t added to some client’s books. I’ve worked with a lot of clients who aren’t writers. Most of them publish the work I send them as is, or hire an editor and we work together on the final draft.

However, I’ve worked with some clients who decide that even though they have never written anything in their life, they can add things or change things and make it better.

• I’ve seen my work published with chunks missing that leaves giant plot holes.
• I’ve seen someone add a scene or two and get the main character’s name wrong in it.
• I’ve seen so called edits that have made something grammatically sound read terribly.

It makes me cringe, but ultimately, it’s their manuscript once they’ve paid me and if they want to butcher it, that’s up to them. But I always say a silent thank you that my name isn’t on it.

This is by far the most important thing I’ve learned. Now, I try to avoid looking at things I’ve written for someone else once it’s published so I mostly avoid the cringe moments.

As I said at the beginning of the post, through freelancing I have learned more about the technical side of writing and the publishing industry as a whole then I ever would have just writing my own stuff. There’s some harsh lessons, but as long as you take something away from it, it’s all good.

I’ve also learned that I was right – I love being a writer and I don’t want to ever do anything else for a living.

If you’re looking for a freelance writer for you novel or blog (shameless plug time), check out my website, or email me, debbie@myrandommusings.co.uk

Have you done any freelance writing? What did you learn from it? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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