Freelance Writers Manifesto

Do you ever wonder if your writing is really and truly good enough to make a living out of? As writers, we’re always told to continue ‘improving our craft.’ But without clear signposts, it’s not always easy to know which direction we should be heading. It is, in fact, refreshing to ever find something that can be considered truly helpful, and truly enlightening.

I’ve just been reading a great little article by Stephen King–yes THE Stephen King. Every writer, fiction, non-fiction or whatever, should read this. It’s a must for our craft.

Many writers wonder if they have the time to devote to blogging. Still others wonder if it would do anything to boost their business. If you’ve ever considered blogging but been held back by concerns about its effectiveness, you should read this great post by Randfish over at SEOMoz. It’s really well worth the read.

I have been having some serious doubts about the writing community lately. I started Freelance Writers Manifesto in answer to a need, thinking it would be a hub for writers to discuss their problems and that it might quite possibly develop into a useful resource. After the initial frenzy, which I suspect was because some people thought they might be getting something for free, interest has died down completely.

This is sad. I don’t particularly need Freelance Writers Manifesto, because I have a steady little business going. So if no one else is even prepared to make comments on my posts, I’m thinking seriously of taking it down.

For today I’d like to make some points:

1. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
2. No one can make breakthroughs except you–headway can only be made by hard work.
3. Ultimately, a person only gets paid what they think they’re worth. It’s a sad fact of life. If you agree to work for peanuts, then that’s what you’re worth.

Comments anyone?

In the business of freelance writing, perhaps more than any other business, it is vital to keep up-to-speed with what the most successful writers are doing. It is also critical to keep pushing yourself.

The stereotype of a writer is that of a recluse, tapping away in a back room somewhere to produce words that the world will read. For some of us, this is only too accurate. But it’s not the best way to launch a career. We all need to get out there and market ourselves. This applies more than anything to a commercial writer. After all, if you can’t market yourself, how can you hope to market someone else or their goods?

So on this dingy pre-Spring day, I’m urging you as a fellow writer to pull out all the stops. Apply for some more jobs. Do something to learn more about your craft today. This needn’t cost you money. After subscribing to many online job boards that were fee-based, I came to realize that the free ones were just as good. Two of my favorites are Craigslist and GenuineJobs.

As for learning your craft, sign up for a few newsletters with real-life writers for some of the best free tuition you’ll get anywhere.

There’s Gary Bencivenga, Clayton Makepeace and Bob Bly to give you a head start. Let’s see if you can’t all break some barriers by the time summer is in full swing. Don’t forget to let me know how you’re all getting on with your careers.