I’m not a magician, but over time I’ve learned the magic of transforming nothing into everything.
Here’s what I mean.
When you have a dream to work at home as a freelance writer, you basically start from nothing. You may have a handful of clients to begin with (and if you do kudos to you!), but in general you’re starting from scratch. When you blog, for example, all you have is a blinking white screen staring at you. You’ve got no fans on Facebook, zero tweeps following you on Twitter and no one reading your blogs. If you’re on a mission to see your name in print, it’s the same thing. You may not have any previous published articles or clips to your name.
And while you’re sitting there waiting, wondering if turning nothing into something is as likely as transforming sand into gold, your wallet’s getting lighter and everyone else and their neighbor are getting published.
So the question is this: What do you need to go from 0 to 100 in freelancing?
Time: First you need to become buddies with time. When you’re just starting out, it may seem like forever and a day until you reach the top of the mountain, but you need time on your side to reap the benefits of your work. I spent a year on my blog before things started happening, but this meant I needed faith and patience to get me through. What’s the most amazing thing to me is that I’m still getting positive responses now for posts I’ve written almost a year ago. You never know when things will start to happen, so you’ll need to flex your patient muscles and wait and see.
Perseverance: Even if you write/blog/query every day/week/month without any positive response or feedback, you need to keep going. There will be moments when you feel like giving up and question why you’re doing it. I know because I’ve been to that dark place and still visit from time to time. In fact, there have been many times when I asked myself, “What’s the purpose of writing these blogs?” I really didn’t have the answer, but I kept doing it because I felt compelled to do so. If you are doing something you love, there’s a good chance it’s your life’s purpose and even if you can’t see any rewards right now, wait, keep trying and I can bet you’ll start to see some results. Give up and you’ve ended the game before it started.
Faith: The evidence of things unseen. That’s exactly what freelancing is like. Sometimes you’ll write, and write and write and nothing will happen. You’ll start to doubt yourself and your abilities. I know I have. But when fear and doubt really start to creep in, don’t take it as a sign that you should quit, take it as a sign that you need to call on your staff of positive peeps. Turn to your friends, family, books, or even quotes (your tools) that have helped you in the past keep the faith.
Your Best Shot: Here’s an embarrassing little tidbit I learned about myself. I seem to dance better in class when I think someone is watching me. Hope I didn’t lose you all to that, but there’s a real lesson in there. Imagine you have an audience even when you don’t and you’re more likely to do your best. And when trying to transform nothing into something, you’re going to have to give it all you got. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent writing blog entries after my regular full-time job and going to the gym in the evening. I would stay up until one in the morning just to get them done. If I obsessed over my 0 audience (well maybe 1-my husband), I might start letting things slide. If I let things slide, no one would read my blogs and then things would slide more, and well you know what would happen next.
Sharpen your craft: While you’re waiting for someone to accept a query or the world to embrace your blog, do everything you can to hone your skills. For me this means taking classes (online and in person), reading magazines/books/posts/articles, watching podcasts, listening to audio seminars, signing up for writing groups and newsletters, etc. I’ll do anything to get better at what I love to do. It’s my passion so the good thing is that I don’t mind spending a Saturday reading about grammar or writing about writing. I enjoy it and I only want to get better.
Don’t lose sight of your goals: During freelancing dry spells, desperation will start to set in. A low paying gig could start to look like a dream job. Stop right there. Take a deep breath and reorganize your thoughts. If you want to turn your dream of no business to your dream career, don’t lose sight of your goals. Remember why you quit your day job and sacrificed it all. It definitely can be tempting like a chocolate chip cookie to moi on a diet, but when you keep your goals in sight (I prefer an online inspiration board) it’ll be easy to say no to this and yes to what you really desire.
How about you? Any pearls of wisdom you’ve learned on your own mission to transform nothing into something?
