Three of the Goal Areas for a Freelance Writer

Whether you dabble in writing an occassional article online for a few extra bucks or you strive to call yourself a full fledged freelancer it is important to have goals. There's a lot of things to consider when setting your writing goals; who you are, what kind of writer you want to be,  how much money you want to make and more. If all goes well you should be able to mesh your goals together and obtain some sense of personal satisfaction as a writer.

While there may be many aspects that a writer could consider, today I am going to focus on these three: production, money, and staying creative. Other goals echo in my mind as well, writing more offline, increasing my quality, writing fiction that sells -- but that will come in due time. First, I need to find my writing rhythm.

So step 1: Production goals.

 Lately, I have been writing mostly SEO copywriting and ghostwriting blogs, with fewer informational articles like I was doing a couple months ago. Some of these are harder than others, and they don't have as much excitement of "learning something" as I did when I was writing more informational stuff. So, my production goal this week is 12-15 pieces, with at least 2 informational articles and one purely creative piece.

Step 2: The money.

Yes, there was a time when I wrote purely for the love of the craft. For a long time I didn't want to branch out into writing for money because I didn't want to feel like I "sold out." But there is a lot you learn by trying to be marketable, and face it, getting paid for you writing is satisfying-- not to mention it's nice not to have your electricity shut off. So, at the moment I am going to say I want to make at least $100 this week. Hopefully, I'll make more, but $100 seems reachable.

Step 3: Staying Creative

As I write this, the current assignment lingering over my head is on postage scales. Wow. How fun can you get? Writing about super practical products can drain your creativity, which is why you need to step away from time to time and mix up your mind. I'm a fiction writer and poet at heart, but right now no one is seeing me as the next Maya Angelo, Stephanie Meyer, or J.K. Rowling, and I need to support myself. This is why I added the "write something purely creative" to my production goals. As much as I would love for creative writing to be my main course, for now it needs to be dessert. My reward for doing everything else I said I would do.

Giving Up the Ghost: Moving on From Writing Sites That Don't Work for You

In January 2006 I joined an online writing site called Gather.com at the suggestion of my sister. I had written online before that, first at a diary site (I actually wrote most of the first draft of my novel on the diary site), I also wrote on Fanstory.com, under the name of Greta Quinn, and also tried out Write.com and Zoetrope.com. But Gather was the first that rewarded writers for their work.

Gather never paid much, at least not for me. For the majority of members there's a straight point system. 625 points equals $10. In the beginning it was all gift certificates, unless you could make 3000 points in a month-- then you got cash. Over the last couple years they introduced the $25 paypal option, and most recently $10.
In the last couple years I branched out, and last August when I lost my day job, the money aspect became more important. But I liked the idea of Gather, and the fact that I had a long friend list. But for what I do the earning rate is painfully slow. As I write this, I'm 11 points from 625, at which time I can cash out. I posted a poem this morning called Winter's Reprise in hopes of boosting views enough to cash out and be done for a while. Maybe even for good.

These days, I'm picking up most of my writing work from Textbroker.com and Writeraccess.com, sites that pay upfront for assignments and don't have a SEO revenue aspect. I've had a little success on Associated Content, and I haven't given Suite 101 enough of a chance, so I will try to write more for them as well.
Although I've written since I was a little girl, I've learned a lot about what works and doesn't work for me online. There have been a couple sites that especially did not work for me. But I've gone through the trials and errors, and I finally feel like I have enough knowledge to really move forward. Not all of what I write is glamorous or particularly creative, but I would moch rather be able to be a freelance writer than anything else, and ultimately, I will make it work.

As for creative work, I will make sure I find the time to do something on a regular basis fueled by my muse-- even if it's only a quick poem. Most of my creative stuff will most likely wind up on Associated Content or here on my blog, informative artciles split between  AC and Suite 101, with copywriting and ghostwriting going to textbroker and Writeraccess.

I did like Gather, but the site is a mere shadow of what I once knew it as, and it is time to give up the ghost. That's not necessarily a critcism. It's a good fit for a lot of people. Just not me. I've received a lot of guidance and support on Gather that I haven't been able to get anywhere else, but for now it's time to go and see where I can go without it.

Calling it a Day

One way to force yourself into thinking of writing as a "real job" and not just something that brings in a little mad money is by actually punching a time clock. As much as I like to write I do get distracted, so I downloaded a time clock. When I decide to me in serious writing mode, I start the clock, if I start to wander, play stupid games or just surf I have to hit stop.

I've decided on a monthly pay period and have a goal of how much money I want to be in my paypal account by that date. It's my job to see that I do whatever I need to do to get there. I only partially recorded my writing related activities today, but now that I have given myself a set of rules and a system to abide by I expect that my tracking system will be very telling.

I'm still definitely in the "starving artist" mode, but I am finding more opportunities all the time. I applied to two new websites today, and am awaiting their decision. More than ever, I believe I can do this, but no more today.

Tomorrow's agenda looms large, but I will make it work. But first, I am calling it a day. A drink of water and bedtime beckons, and that is all for now.