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people are famous for. It gives you new information, jogs your thought process to think of markets and tactics you may have overlooked, and it functions as a motivational tool.

JUST DO IT. I've written an entire column on the muse and why you will FAIL if you rely on that to get the job done. I won't repeat it all here. I'll expand on it a bit to include specificsthe how to's, if you will.

Even as I am in the process of coming up with the overall marketing plan and searching out new markets for my work, I stop the process to write. See, no magic there. Write. Each day must have time set aside to put words on paper which are either a creative endeavor for a long-term project, or an article or a query letter.

We've all met those people who will endlessly rearrange furniture in their new shops or design one long-term budget after another for the new business. What they don't do is the job at hand. All of the planning does you no good if you never get around to doing the work.

Set writing goals. Generally I hear people give the 1,000-word mark, and that's very do-able when you are doing other things. If you are ONLY in the writing process, strive for more. Think double. The point is: make it quantifiable. You want to be able to see something/hold something in your hands at the end of the day. It's not only for production purposes. Even if you are not at your most creative, it forces you to keep at it. For most people, that skill has to be learned. You have to produce even when you wake up thinking you are not at your best. Just seeing those words come out will reinforce the concept that you are doing this for real, that you are working this like a business. So, while you may wake up in one frame of mind, seeing the production may give you the push to keep going.

Make Some Noise

BE YOUR OWN CHEERLEADER. Network. You may not think you'd have to do this as a freelancer; moreover, perhaps part of why you got out of the day-to-day job world is because you tired of the power lunches and happy hour parties where you had to network and make small talk. As a freelancer, you're not part of the coffeemaker or water cooler scene, so it will be vital for you to get out there. Think of your writing interests, then find organizations that fit those interests. Then get involved. Attend meetings, dinners, etc. Odds are you will not get an article assignment from any of this, but you may get requests to do newsletter editing or public relations or news release work. After all, you're

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