One of the hardest parts of being a freelance writer, for me anyways, is the need to market myself in order to make money. I am a shy person in general, and a very shy writer. I went years without showing anyone anything that I wrote. One day, in a fit of temper because my husbands volunteer fire department needed equipment they couldn't afford because of the lack of community support, I wrote a short piece about volunteer firefighters. I made the mistake of letting him read it and the next thing I know, every person in his department had read it and it kept spreading. I got emails from other departments asking permission to use it. People stopped me in the grocery store to tell me how good it was. My confidence in my writing ability soared, and my writing career began at that point.
But even now, I still have lapses of confidence in my writing. I don't let friends or family members read my blog, except for few exceptions. I swear every time I send a writing sample to a potential client that it is the worst thing I have ever written. I am my own worst critic, so I don't like to take the risk of putting myself out there for others to criticize.
But, if I don't market myself I won't have much of a career, will I? So I do it anyway despite my fears. Because writing is what I do. It's all I want to do. No other career would fulfill me like writing does.
What is your biggest struggle in your freelancing career?
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Carrie, I am an extremely self-conscious freelancer myself. I feel your pain. It does get better with time, but rejection always stink. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and submit the next bid. You'll get there!
ReplyDeleteI find marketing very hard, too. I do find it is easier online than in person. I am also finding it is sometimes hard for people to see me in a different light than they viewed me before. I have landed strangers as clients easier than people who know me on a professional level in another venue. It can be hard to "sell" the new you. I am working on it as it is the only way to avoid writing the stuff I hate and doing the stuff I love.
ReplyDeleteI have a marketing background, so that's easy for me. I love people and I dig writing, so that's easy, too. My challenges? Thinking too hard about what to write, what slant to take, my audience...I get way too technical and become stumped. That said, I'm great with client material - never had a problem writing for others. It's my stuff that I over-analyze. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am my own worst enemy. I am another one who does not really want family to read my stuff. I try to not think about it. I just don't feel I am that good of a writer, and that holds me back from ever finishing these book ideas I start.
ReplyDeleteI understand everything you expressed, I too have qualms - until now about promoting my blogs, fear of being read by friends and family because I admittedly still have that self-doubt that I am not good enough. It's difficult for me too, really makes me squeamish to share my blog with friends though I've got plenty of them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, am glad that I'm not alone! I guess each blogger has this issue every now and then, and we must overcome! :)
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