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Freelance writing: Advice and encouragement.

It's inevitable that there will be ups and downs during your freelance writing career. The trick is to enjoy the ups and weather the downs. In fact, enjoy the downs, too, because those are the times that give you the real emotions to write about.

Writing is a lonely business. Essentially you have to go into a zone of your own, delve deeply into your own mind and pull out words that will not only convey a thought but capture an emotion. From a creative sense, a technique called Morning Pages helps freelance writers flush out thoughts that bring their writing to a halt. Morning Pages are an invention of Julie Cameron who wrote "The Artist's Way." Every morning write three pages without stopping. Don't stop to edit, don't censor what you write. Put it through a shredder when you are done if you must, but just write. Not only will this get rid of negative thoughts, it will also bring creative thoughts to the surface.

Another way to survive the creative lows is to accept rejection. Rejection is part of writing. Even the greats had to submit their books multiple times before they were accepted. And many turned to self-publishing to get their writing out there. The sooner that you accept rejection as a big part of freelance writing, the sooner you'll free yourself to move forward in a productive manner.

On a practical level, here's how to survive the lows and how to make the most of the highs of freelance writing:

1. Sock away 6 months of work or six months of income before you go out on your own. If the quantity of your writing is what keeps you afloat financially, you will want to ensure that you can make enough money through your writing to support yourself before you go out on your own. And, you will want to make sure that you have work and payment of invoices coming in that will support you for the next few months before you quit your day job. Being able to keep up financially will go a long way to ensuring that the lows are not so low.

2. Be sure to have a website and to take advantage of all the marketing techniques available today. One of the best ways to bring some attention to your writing is to put up a blog and to bring attention to it through participation in the many social media opportunities out there today.

3. Write a newsletter and send it out electronically to those in your address book. Make it helpful in an area you are known for and be sure to leave an area to tell others what is going on with you and your creative work. It is always good to keep your name before those who might use your services as a writer.

The most important advice is that you are a writer, so be sure your writing is perfect every time you put it out for others to read. Take the time to proofread everything you publish and you'll earn a reputation for reliability as well as creativity.

Learn more about this author, Lou Belcher.
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