10 Things No One Tells You As A Writer

In the midst of what I thought was a job I’d love, I rediscovered an old passion — writing. What was once just a hobby turned into a temporary job after quitting a 24/7 IT position. Of course, temporary quickly turned into full-time as I realized freelance writing was a viable and even enjoyable job.

I dived into freelance writing and content writing head first without a clue as to what I was doing. Since starting in 2007, I’ve learned more than I thought was possible. I’ve also dabbled in topics I didn’t even know existed.

I learned how to write for the web, as a few early gigs referred to it, through trial and error, scouring writing blogs, and getting training at several content marketing agencies. Through it all, there were some things I wish I would’ve known from day one.

1. You Don’t Have to Pay to Learn

I’m not talking about having or not having a degree in journalism, creative writing, or any other writing field. I’m saying you don’t have to pay for classes that promise to teach you everything you need to know to make 4–5 figures every month in just 30 days.

I bought two books in my first few years. The first was on managing finances and handling taxes for freelancers. The second was an online style guide featuring multiple styles since different clients preferred different styles, such as AP versus CMS.

I hated seeing some writing sites lure new writers in with false promises. There were bootcamps, dens, communities, clubs, and so on. I was curious and did a free trial to one. The lesson — don’t waste your money.

Read writing blogs, subscribe to newsletters, and write for agencies and sites that welcome beginners.

Let me tell you what you’ll learn by paying for most courses online:

• How to create your own writing course
• How to interview someone
• Understanding keywords
• Why headings are important
• How to market your writing course

You’ll quickly find most courses involve creating your own courses about writing. It’s kind of like a pyramid scheme. Only a handful will make any real money and you’ll waste all of your time on marketing versus writing.

Okay, so not every course is bad, but just use Brave or Google to search for anything you need to know. It’s much cheaper.

2. Content Mills Aren’t Evil

Writing snobs love to put down writers who write for content mills. Back when I started, the big players were Associated Content and Helium. They’re where I began and learned a lot about what does and doesn’t work. I also got paid to learn.

Those same snobs will tell you to write for free by guest blogging (which usually requires you to have published samples already), paying for web hosting and domain to write your own blog, or submitting free content to their sites. For those of us writing for a living, all that writing for free doesn’t pay the bills.

Sure, I wasn’t making a huge income, but the articles for content mills are usually easy to write. At the time, I was being paid around $5 per post and $2 for every 1,000 page views.

Since my income depended on my articles being seen, I used the forums on writing sites (including Associated Content and Helium) to learn about keywords and SEO. Within a few months, my $5 posts were pulling in an extra $5-$10 every month. In one year, one of my articles had earned over $500 for around 600 words. It was just a simple tech tutorial, but it was a highly searched for topic.

No, you won’t make a fortune, but you will get published samples that are at least earning you something. At first, I felt like a horrible writer for starting here, but I soon realized I was learning and advancing my career faster than those who were putting down content mills.

3. You’re Not Just A Writer

You’ll never be “just a writer.” So many people thought I’d have tons of free time because I was just writing. Instead, writing is a mixture of numerous jobs all rolled into one. And, it’s up to you to figure out how to do them all without burning out. Just a few of the hats writers wear:

• Marketer
• Researcher
• Interviewer
• SEO specialist
• Accountant
• Social media expert (still haven’t gotten this one down yet)
• Manager
• Editor

Of course, as you’re starting out, you’ll likely find that even if you try to specialize in just one topic, you’ll need to branch out at least a little to help pay the bills while establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

4. Time Management Is Critical

When you’re used to a set schedule, it’s difficult to jump into working from home as a freelance writer. It seems so easy at first. Create your own schedule and work. But, it doesn’t always work out that way.

You’re at home. You’re going to be more easily distracted. Without a boss, you’re completely on your own to ensure you’re managing your time correctly to meet deadlines. Clients don’t care what your excuses are. And, if you’re making excuses, you’re not going to have those clients very long.

I thought I was great at time management. But, I quickly found out it’s not easy. Plus, friends and family assume that if you’re home, you’re free. Adding in time for those distractions also takes some getting used to, but it’s well worth it for a more flexible schedule though.

5. People Will Think You’re Crazy

Don’t expect the full support of those around you. Leaving a “normal” job for uncertainty of freelance writing will make people think you’re crazy. It’s not until they see the results of your work and that you’re able to support yourself doing this unusual job that they’ll be more accepting.

So, I guess another hat you’ll need to wear is cheerleader. You have to be your own support system at first and that’s okay. It’s kind of fun to say “I told you so” as you’re succeeding.

6. Forget About Sick Days

When you’re writing for clients and agencies versus content mills or your own blog, forget about sick days. Saying “I have the flu” doesn’t mean much to many clients. Since you don’t have to “go to the office,” you’re still expected to get the job done no matter how much your nose is running or your head is pounding.

However, the key is staying ahead. You never know when something might happen. If you’re always several days ahead of schedule, you can afford to take a few sick days when you need to.

Also, as you work your way into better content agencies, they are far more understanding and realize things do happen. They value their writers and are happy to give you a few days or even weeks to recover when you’re ill. One I used to work for even gave a writer six months off due to cancer treatments and had other writers fill in until he returned.

7. No Paid Vacation

I’ll admit that this one should have been obvious. After all, you’re not actually an employee for any of the clients or agencies you work for. And, if you’re writing solely for yourself, it takes a while to build up enough passive income to pay for days off.

However, freelance writers still need days off and not just weekends. They need actual vacation time. I was lucky enough when I was starting out to build up a passive income pretty quickly which was enough to give me at least a few extra days off a month.

For most freelance writers, it’s a different story. You have to factor in vacation into your earnings. If you need $2,000 month for expenses, factor in another $100-$200 a month to account for two or three weeks off per year.

Your schedule can be flexible, but the work still has to get done. So, when it comes to taking time off, you need to be financially ready, get your work done early, and let clients know that you’ll be away temporarily (but won’t get behind on their projects).

8. Your Feelings Don’t Matter

After 15 years as a writer, I thought I had heard it all. I have had clients tell me I wasn’t good enough and that I had no clue what I was doing. I’ve had rejections with absolutely no reason, even after working hours and days on a project. I’ve had nasty comments from readers who claimed I was clueless, even with expert research to back up my words.

Yet, recently, I had a client that had been happy with my work for over a year suddenly send a lengthy email complaining that I must not speak American English. He claimed my post sounded like I was writing “Indian English” and must be using another writer to save time.

I hadn’t changed anything about my style. I offered to let another writer in the agency I was working with handle the post for him. What he didn’t know was I actually edited the post just a little to make it seem different. He loved it.

You can’t let your feelings factor into whatever a client throws at you. No matter how long you’ve been doing the job or how good you are at it, you’re not going to please everyone. And yes, I dropped that client immediately after.

9. Gigs Will End Without Notice

I was happy with several content mills and earning a respectable income every month. I was actually earning more than I was at my IT job. In the blink of an eye, Google destroyed many writing platforms with a single algorithm update.

Keep in mind that this same update killed traffic on some of the highest ranking sites in the world for months. It was a difficult time for content writers.

Within a few months, I lost almost 75% of income. I had to scramble to find more clients. What’s even worse was when the platforms I was using shut down, I lost my samples too. Clients had been seeking me out after finding my work via search engines. Now, all that was gone. I could upload my articles to my own site, but they’d never get the same traffic they once did.

Now, I always have at least five different sources of writing income. I may have several clients with one agency, two from another, passive income from another site, and multiple private clients at any given time. The odds of losing all of this at once is slim to none.

10. It’s Okay To Say No

When I was first starting out, I was happy to take almost any job, unless it was something shady or on an illegal topic. I just wanted the experience and to get paid while I was learning.

As I started working with a larger variety of clients, I realized I just didn’t have the time to manage it all anymore. It’s easy to get caught up in the starving artist mentality. After all, what I say no to a new client and a long-time client ends the gig tomorrow?

Yes, any client could disappear at a moment’s notice. But, it’s always okay to drop a client that’s being disrespectful or demanding more than what you agreed to. I actually got banned from one platform because I refused to give the client twice as many words as what we agreed to.

If you’re overwhelmed, take stock of which clients treat you best and what you enjoy writing most. Respectfully let go of the rest and only take on clients when you can.

Being a freelance writer isn’t easy. It can be rewarding, but don’t go into this career thinking it’s a quick ride to fame and glory. While a few do experience this, the other 99.9% won’t. It takes hard work, long hours, and determination that you didn’t even realize you had.

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