I want to talk about a couple of misconceptions that I hear time after time:

1. Anybody can become a freelance writer. This one drives me nuts. I hear it all the time. Simply put, it is not true. It is unfortunate, but I know many people who have tried a career in freelance writing and failed miserably. They believed it would be easy, but found out soon enough that this was not the case. It is very important that you go into this industry with the right thoughts in your head. Believing that you are going to be on easy street is not a good idea.

2. You cannot earn a good living as a freelance writer. This misconception is every bit as common as number one. But once again, it is far from the truth. I know freelance writers who make a few hundred dollars per month, as well as those that pull in $15k or more on a regular basis. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to income potential.

Are there any other freelance writing misconceptions you should be aware of? There sure are. In fact, there are so many that it would take forever to list them all. That being said, the two above are the ones that I hear most often. They are also the ones that annoy me the most because they are simply not true.

By avoiding misconceptions and only dealing with the truth, you will be in better position to succeed immediately as a freelance writer. 

It is not so much the confusion that will kill you; it is what comes next. When confused, some people will sit back, find an answer, and then move on. These are usually the freelance writers that achieve the most success. On the other hand, there are those who don’t know how to deal with confusion. Instead, they act like it does not exist and hope that it goes away. This is never the right thing to do. If you are confused about something you need to find an answer before you do anything else.

I will never be confused! This is something that most new freelance writers believe. Of course, they are usually wrong. I got confused by many details early in my career, and this still happens from time to time.

Everything from how to communicate with clients to receiving payments to sending invoices can be confusing. The good thing is that every situation, no matter what it may be, can be solved if you put your mind to it. Every question has an answer.

As a new freelance writer you will want to do everything right; the same will hold true as you gain some experience. If you are confused, find an answer before moving forward. A clear mind will help you reach all your goals soon enough. 

To start your day off right, get up on time. If I sleep through my alarm it throws my day into disarray. Not only will I feel bad physically, but my to-do list will be more difficult to follow. Yes, it can be hard to wake up on time but it is something you have to do if you want your day to start right.

What about breakfast? This is something I strongly believe in. That being said, I know many people who just don’t like eating in the morning – and there is nothing wrong with that. For me, eating breakfast is a very big deal. Even if I don’t do this right away, I try to get something in my stomach within a couple hours of waking up. This energizes me while giving a boost that helps me work through the morning without missing a beat.

Everybody is different so you will probably have to develop your own plan. Just because I get up before the sun does not mean it will work for you. As long as you know how to start your day off right, and follow through with this everyday, there is nothing that will stand in your way.

Over the years I have found that to work effectively as a freelance writer I need to be on top of my game. It is better to take some time off when sick than to stick with things and hope that you get through the day. If you do this there is a good chance that your work is going to suffer. You are doing more than making phone calls. If your work suffers you are going to be able to see it in the words you write. To go along with this, clients will recognize the poor quality as well. Is that something you want?

Where do I draw the line? There are obviously different levels of sickness. Working with a cold is much different than sitting at your desk with the flu. You have to know when to forge ahead, as well as when to pack things in and call it quits for the day.

My advice is simple: if your work is going to suffer you are best off staying away from your computer for the time being. On the other hand, if you can do your job without compromising quality you may want to give it a go. Simply put, working sick as a freelance writer is more of a judgment call than anything else.

First things first, remember this: there is more to freelance writing than web projects. Sure, there are millions of people out there looking for SEO articles. While these jobs can be fun and profitable, you want to keep in mind that the internet is not the end all.

You should consider other types of freelance writing projects such as magazine features, corporate content, sales letters, etc. If you can write it you can work it into your career. Don’t let anybody tell you differently.

Should I only accept jobs that I enjoy? This is a tough question to answer. Early in my career I did not know which types of projects I liked the most. For this reason I was willing to try everything. While I still feel the same way to a certain extent, I try to be a bit more selective about who I work with.

If you do not know what type of freelance writing you enjoy you should continue to work hard day after day until you formulate an answer. It may take a couple of years to really find your niche. When you finally realize what works for you, your future becomes much clearer and the path to success opens up. 

What should I be looking for? This is a difficult question to answer because everybody is at a different stage of their career. On top of this, your goals are not going to be the same as mine or the next person. That being said, I always look at the past, the present, and where I want to go in the future. This alone shows me if I am making enough progress, and of course, how the future is shaping up. Obviously, if you look at the past few months and realize that you were lazy it is safe to say that you will be anxious to change things around in the days to come.

Don’t be surprised if you look around and realize that your career is not progressing as you thought it would. Even though I am happy with my current client load and income, there are some things that I wish I would have done differently earlier in the year. It is never fun to play the “what-if game” but looking at the past and learning from it is the only way to ensure that your progress in the future is what you want it to be.

If you are happy with the progress of your freelance writing career you should continue on the same path. On the other hand, if you are not heading in the right direction now is the time to make a change.

Here are three time management tips that I use on a regular basis:

1. Prioritize. What needs to get done first? It is very important to take care of everything on your plate, but at the same time you need to know which order to work in. Simply put, some projects and tasks are more important than others. Make sure you know your priorities and then work in the proper order.

2. Have a to-do list. With a list in front of you at all times it becomes simpler to manage your time in an effective manner. This gives you the ability to know what needs done weighed against how much time you have.

3. Make changes as time goes by. For example, I used to wake up between 8 and 9 in the morning. Soon enough I realized that this was not working for me from a time management perspective. As soon as I bumped up my start to 6am things got better for me. An early rise helps me feel fresh in the morning, while also giving more time to complete more tasks.

To achieve great success as a freelance writer you need to manage your time effectively. The three tips above have worked for me, and hopefully they can do the same for you.
 

Entirely too many freelance writers apologize for increasing their rates – this is a big mistake. Here is a good example of what may be said: “It has been a pleasure working with you over the past few months. Unfortunately, I am increasing my rates. I hope this does not bother you, but it is something I have to do.” While this may not be exactly what you would say, it goes to show you that apologizing for increasing your rates is a bad idea. I would never want to say this to a client, and hopefully you feel the same way.

Keep this one tip in mind: as a freelance writer you are in charge of setting and changing your rates as you see fit. You do not have to clear this through a boss, or make sure that everybody is okay with it. While you do not want to go overboard, it is important to know that the final decision is yours.

If you are in the midst of increasing your rates you will need to tell your clients. Be careful about how you do this. Those who play this situation smart can keep all their clients onboard, while earning more money. 

The new blog is called ChrisAdsense.com. As you can see, I kept with the “Chris” brand. Over there, all the posts will be based around my goal of earning more money with AdSense. I plan on posting almost everyday on the steps I am taking to build out more sites and increase my income. You will find everything from how I choose my topics to best keyword research practices to how much money I am earning.

Just like this blog, I hope to supply high quality information that can help many of you take your online income to the next level. Working for yourself as a freelance writer is a great joy – it has treated me well over the years. With additional income streams, such as Google AdSense, you may be closer than you realize to replacing your 9 – 5 job.

So, if you get a chance check out my new blog. I am confident that you will enjoy the content! 

I enjoy freelance writing so much that I plan on it always being my number one income stream. That being said, I have been growing other areas of my business. Most notably, I have been building AdSense sites as a way of generating some extra money and setting up a passive income stream.

Over the past few weeks many members of my freelance writing course have asked me to talk to them more about my other income streams. While I don’t have a problem doing so with members, I don’t want to bring the topic into this blog too often. After all, most of the people who come here are interested in learning about freelance writing. For this reason, I have decided to start another blog showing others how to make money with AdSense. I plan on it being a “journal” type blog in which I show readers what I am doing everyday of the week. To go along with this, I hope to include some income statistics for motivation.

Once the blog launches, which should be in a day or so, I will post the URL and invite everybody over. From there, I hope to build a solid and dedicated readership – much like the one that Chrisblogging.com has.

So, if you are interested in additional income streams I hope to be able to help you in the very near future. Stay tuned!