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I've learned a lot in my first half-year as a writer. One of those is the importance of keeping up my own blog. For a while now (obviously) I've neglected this blog, and justified it with having too many writing assignments. This excuse is okay as far as excuses go, but it's still an excuse. Well, I found a perfect, compelling purpose for my first real blog post to motivate me. That purpose is sharing with you what this journey has been like.
It's been 7 months since I turned in my first unpaid guest blog post, and 3 months since I turned in my first paid piece. I couldn't have imagined before I started this adventure that there'd be so much to learn. Don't get me wrong—I did some research before I jumped in, but I've mostly learned things by trial and error. I have a feeling there will be many more errors yet.
Most of the work I've done is in listicle format. To honor this, I present to you now the most important things I've learned about freelance writing in true listicle fashion.
1. Flowery writing isn't better writing.
Those of you who know me well know I love some big, fancy words. I also love semicolons, hyphens, ellipses, and every other kind of punctuation. Probably the very first lesson I learned the hard way was that flowery writing doesn't pay. No matter what kind of writing or for what purpose, it shouldn't ever be hard to read.
I've had to start running everything I write through something called the Hemingway Editor. It scans my writing and tells me what reading level it's at. While I don't like shortening sentences, replacing words, or sticking to basic punctuation, these tricks make my writing a lot more marketable.
2. There's a huge range in pay.
In my experience, there isn't really such a thing as "entry-level" work. Either you have the skills or you don't, and you show you have the skills with example pieces. I got some examples by writing guest blogs, which I did for free. These paved the way for paid work, and how much you get paid is more based on factors like length of the piece and how much research is needed. Some websites offer really low pay for what they claim is "entry-level," but this is basically just a scam.
That being said, though, pay isn't everything. Maybe this is just a personal thing, but I'd rather take an easier, lower-paying job than wait for the right higher-paying one to come along. Sometimes money is money.
3. Apply for everything, all the time.
There have been a few times already when I thought I was all set for a while with steady work and could take a breather from applying for more jobs. But the campaign ends, or the site owner decides they have enough articles, or the job is complete. The work always runs out faster than I expect it to.
Applying constantly adds more work, and I run the risk of overwhelming myself, but I'd always rather turn down work than find myself with none.
4. Deadlines are nothing to mess around with.
I had an unrealistic expectation about deadlines when I started. I was so naive with my expectations. Editors have fast turnaround times... like, two days. I thought this was super unrealistic at first, but I soon learned this is normal.
I can't really complain, though, because I get to crunch that work into the gaps in my schedule. I write on weekend mornings, during my lunch break at work, and in the evenings before my husband gets home. Two days isn't so bad when I get to do a little here and a little there.
5. I can become an expert on anything.
Okay, I'm not literally an expert on everything. But with enough research, I can be knowledgeable enough on almost any topic.
I say almost because some topics just have too much of their own jargon. For example, I've never and don't think I will ever write any tech-heavy articles. But this means I don't have an excuse not to apply for just about every other job I come across.
Speaking of tech...
6. There's always more to learn about SEO.
I didn't know I would have to learn any SEO when I started writing for other people. I thought I just needed to know how to write.
WRONG!
It turns out there's a lot more that goes into writing, especially copywriting, than I thought. Copywriting means writing for the purpose of advertising, and if a business can't get its website to rank on Google, then there isn't much point. I don't claim to be an expert, or anything close to an expert, on SEO, but I've already learned more than I thought I would or could.
7. I even get to use some HTML.
I actually like HTML. It's one tech-related thing I don't mind learning more about and using. Sometimes editors want me to format my posts so they can go right up onto their website. The skill level is very, very basic, but still. I get to use those HTML 101 skills I learned on Neopets, finally!
There's a lot about this business that's outside of my comfort zone. I... don't really like going outside my comfort zone. Look at me doing it anyway, though. I really do love what I'm doing, and that helps a lot.
Thank you for reading! I hope you'll continue to follow my journey. ♥
Victoria