As some of you already know, I lost my full-time job in April, and have been working on building my freelancing business with the intent to write full-time. The past few weeks have been an often frustrating and very educational experience that has ultimately shown me I still have a lot to learn, but have also provided some reassurance that I am on the right path. For anyone else getting ready to enter the world of full-time freelancing, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Don’t do more work than you’re getting paid for. When I was freelancing part-time, it didn’t really matter how much time I devoted to each assignment. I’m used to being able to mull over sentence structure and write multiple drafts. But a $15 article written for SEO purposes doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. You should always turn in quality work, but don’t do more work than you’re being paid for.
2. Writing faster is a skill that has to be developed. I know that I can’t shortcut my creative process. The three-step writing process I use may at times seem overly structured, but it works for me. When I try to rush into the writing process without conducting enough research, my left and right brains start getting cross-wired and I’m left feeling scattered. Use a system that works for you, and you’ll eventually find ways to make it work faster.
3. A lot of tasks aren’t as bad as you think they’re going to be once you get into them. I tend to put off assignments that I think are going to be boring, but I’m often surprised to find myself enjoying the writing process even when dealing with less-interesting topics. I try to focus my work on subjects that are interesting to me, but you don’t always have the luxury of being selective, especially when you’re starting out. But being capable of producing well-written articles on a wide variety of subjects is both a confidence booster and a marketable skill.
4. Tweeting, checking my blogger feed, reading industry-related blogs, and keeping an eye on my Google Analytics are all time-wasters that are easy to justify. But If I’m going to be productive, I need to practice what I preach and get my time under control.
5. Speaking of Twitter, it’s a great place for job leads. My TweetDeck is constantly feeding me leads from blogging jobs, writers jobs, and hot freelance jobs . But …
6. There are a lot of low-paying gigs out there. Of course I had often read this, but had yet to throw myself into the fray. One dollar for a 600-word article? No thanks. My time is worth more than that, and I’d rather work for a client who knows that they get what they pay for.
7. Like Deb over at FWJ says, smaller jobs have their own value. Demand Studios fact sheets are a great way to shift gears when my brain starts getting fried. And being able to whip one out in short order makes me feel productive and more confident.
8. It takes time. Just like starting any new job, things are going to be rocky and uncomfortable for a while. I’m not going to super successful right out of the gate. And I’m sure glad I had a good client base and some funds saved up to get me started.
9. You have to be tough to get through all the low-revenue days, or not hearing back about gigs, or even getting an article returned for rewrites. But …
10. The rewards are, so far, pretty good. I’m slowly but surely becoming a better writer and more adept at navigating this crazy freelancing world. I get to do what I love, and hopefully eventually make a decent living at it. I still get excited every time an article (with byline!) gets posted on a client site. I’m building a solid portfolio and creating a name for myself in the writing world. The possibilities are endless, and I know I’m on the right track.