Not to Be a KillJoy – But Here’s the Truth About Freelance Writing Success

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It could be a fad or maybe I’m just more aware of it now. But does it seem like everybody and their brother are trying to sell you something?

Here’s my guilty confession.

Every morning when I open my email, there is usually about 90 spammy emails staring back at me. Except Google can’t catch the spammers I actually subscribe to.

I understand that everyone has to make money. And I bet a lot of those people are selling really good things. In fact, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t invested in a few.

But when I get emails on how to get more writing or join this and you will be a freelancing success, I’m a little more skeptical.

What Really Helped My Freelance Writing Business

When I ponder my life a few years back, the moment I really decided to give this freelancing thing a go, I remember how scared, naive and desperate I was. I took loads of classes-and actually got a lot out of a few. {A few out of the dozen or so that I enrolled in.}

But as I am writing this, I can finally say that my writing business is on its way to my own kind of success (with two new exciting projects in the works!). And when I think about what it was that got me here, I can’t really credit the courses I took. [Although they helped. And if you need a course on marketing or a touch up on grammar or how to write a query letter, you might still consider taking one.] *What I’m talking about are those programs that say they will help you make a 6 figure income in 30 days and what not. I would be leery about those.

What Worked:

1. Getting encouragement from wise women like her and her.

2. Learning to believe in myself.

3. Having patience with the process.

4. Honing my craft by writing daily.

I realized one night as I looked through my now 3 binders of writing samples, that it took all these things and having the courage to keep going to get to where I am today. It was good old fashioned hard work + perseverance with a sprinkle of faith that helped. Step by step. Day by day. Every project (no matter how small) got me that much closer to my dreams. It was worth it.

It was all worth it.

But maybe a little less money spent on those classes and programs that promised the world would have left more money in my wallet and more confidence back in myself.

That’s just my 2 cents.

If anyone out there has benefited from such programs, please feel free to comment below and let us know what worked for you. I’m always open to being proven wrong. =)