Brutal Honesty About The Freelance Writing Business

Every now and again, I get emails or have people adding me on my Facebook account asking me if it was possible for them to become a freelance writer because:-
a. They’re a mother who is looking for extra income
b. They’re a fresh graduate and is looking for a job
c. They think they’re bored with their current work and think they can string a couple of words together to make a living
d. They’ve just got laid off and is in the middle of a financial crisis
I would love to say that it’s possible for ANYONE to make it as a freelance writer, no, seriously, SERIOUSLY, I would. But honestly, it’s not true. I would be lying to you and at the end of the day, you’re going to hunt me down and spew curses down my throat for misleading you.
Freelance writing, much like anything else in life, needs skills and talents. Stringing a couple of words together does not a writer make. Hang on. I need to rephrase that. Stringing a couple of words together not a SUCCESSFUL freelance writer make. Freelance writers need, not only talents and skills, but he or she needs to WANT to be a writer.
Allena Tapia of about.com explained it at length about what makes a freelance writer a successful one and she has been spot on. During the early days, writers like me offer encouraging words to aspiring writers to spur them on so that they don’t despair. But it’s wrong.
Other ingredients essential to the cauldron of concoction that makes a good writer are:-
a. Creativity for times when you need to entice the readers, engage them and help your clients achieve what they want to achieve
b. Ability to be flexible because one client could be selling books and the other repairing windows. Bending yourself in various ways and placing your feet into different shoes many times within the day is crucial if you want to earn a decent living writing from home.
c. Discipline for times when (most passionate and successful freelance writers are book lovers)
Wanting to work at home does not AUTOMATICALLY mean that you’ll make it as a successful freelance writer. It takes desire, persistence, training, a little bit of inclination and most importantly, the PASSION to ‘string a couple of words together’ VERY NICELY and EFFECTIVELY.
But who am I to discourage anyone, right? I am not. If the truth is to be told, this is it. Freelance writing, just like any other businesses, need passion and skills. It’s not a rope to grab when things look hopeless.
Think about it carefully before dabbling in it because if, in the eventuality, that you trudge along the wrong path for the wrong reasons, I would hate it that no one told you how hard freelance writing can be.
The word is ‘hard’, not ‘impossible’.