Every freelance writer has to go through somewhat of an initiation process, where they learn the ways of the web and how it differs from the real world. I have been freelancing for a long time now, and I have gone through just about every mistake you can think of. I wanted to write this article as a crash course of sorts, showing other freelancers what not to do so they can be more successful in their careers. Here are ten mistakes every freelance writer makes at some point or another.
- Outsourcing: As tempting as it may be to send your work out to other writers for less money, it is going to get you in trouble. Their work is not going to be as good as yours, or they’re not going to be around when you need them to be. You have to do the work on your own if you want to succeed in this industry. (See “Beware of Outsourcing” for more information)
- Asking for upfront payments: Sites like oDesk allow writers to request upfront payments for work. This may seem tempting, but it usually scares away the clients. Rather than getting paid up front, do a little bit of work and get paid for a milestone in the project. That way you can make sure the person will pay and that person can make sure you will do the work. (See “Should You Get Paid Upfront for Freelance Work?” for more information)
- Not writing samples: If a client asks you to write a sample so he or she can test your writing, do it. That is just a part of being a writer. The client is investing in your services, and he or she just wants a “demo version” of your work. If it doesn’t land you the job, then you can just use your sample for a project in the future.
- Indenting: Don’t indent your paragraphs. Just keep them justified to the left when you write.
- Using exclamation points: Just because you’re excited about something doesn’t mean your readers are going to be! Reserve exclamation points for blog posts because they make the rest of your articles sound unprofessional!!…! (See “The Unprofessionalism of Emphatic Writing Techniques” for more information)
- “Rewriting”: Some people try to rewrite existing articles on the web by just replacing words within the article. This sounds stupid, and it usually comes out as plagiarized in the end.
- Plagiarizing: This isn’t necessarily a common mistake, but it is something that you may be tempted to do. Your clients will run your work through Copyscape on you articles and instantly fire you if they catch you plagiarizing. (See “How Copyscape Works” for more information)
- Not communicating: You have to stay in communication with your buyers if you want to get consistent work. Answer your emails, keep your chats up, and make sure you are accessible at all times – just in case someone has a question to ask you.
- Working slowly: Freelance writers that work on an hourly basis tend to work slowly because they want to get in as much time as possible. That is counterproductive though when you think about it. Clients want to get the most work in possible in the shortest amount of time. Thus they will replace slow writers with productive ones if they have to. I write three times faster than most of the other writers for one of my clients, so I get all of the excess, higher paying work that the client needs on the side. I also get paid by article, not by hour. Thus I make a sh*t ton more than other people because I write quickly. In the end, speed definitely pays off. (See “Fixed Price vs. Hourly Jobs” for more information)
- Changing keywords: If the keyword for an article is “forensic science degree,” you can’t use “forensic science degrees” or “forensic scientist degree.” You need to use the exact word that the client tells you to, unless he or she says you can adjust it. If you want to use variations, you can. Just make sure you have the original in there somewhere.
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