Get Down With the Sickness
Falling ill while having work to get done used to be hard to get out of when you were stuck at a 9 - 5 job at the office. You’d have to call in, explain your situation to your boss or manager, and in some cases, get a note from your doctor that woud excuse your absense. I hated that! Now that I am a freelance writer, I don’t have anyone to deal with except my clients.
Talking to your clients isn’t always as “great” as it was when you had to explain your situation to a boss. Some lousy clients don’t see why you can’t just perk yourself up in bed and write the freelance writing projects they’ve sent you. I mean, you get to work at home! It’s not a real job, right? To us freelance writers, it is our job, and being ill is being ill. How should you handle your clients when you just don’t think your body could take 8 hours in front of a computer screen?
[image by cutglassdecanter]
Stevie Should Stop Worrying and Just Do
I love it when you guys send me emails! They are awesome and let me know that people actually find my freelance writing blog one way or another. I got an email from one such blog reader of mine. Let’s call that person “Stevie” because people named Stevie are awesome for sending me emails.
Anyways, “Stevie” had a question for me. Stevie is stuck in their corporate office all day, and it has gotten to the point where Stevie needs to get the hell out of there! And what is the issue Stevie needs some solutions for? Stevie just doesn’t know how to get reliable work and seems to be scared that the whole world of freelancing (not just freelance writing) is a world of gimmicks. Stevie asks for tips on getting that good work, and staying away from the crap that many of your friends/”web-noobs” get sucked into.
Original Photo by andertho
Your Freelance Writing Clients… They’re Watching You… O.O
It’s kind of freaky to think that your clients and worse off, possible clients know a lot more about you than you think they do. It pays to be careful about what you say on the Internet, as it can all be tracked back to you, especially if you use your name, website link, or anything else in reference to you in the open. That can add to what a possible client, and even current clients think about you. That in turn could affect whether or not they want you on their project.
Take possible discussions that you largely disagree with on forums with a spoon of sugar. State disagreements casually and don’t attack anyone. Hell! The person you disagree with could be a client of yours in disguise.
Posting things online that aren’t appropriate could get noticed by one of your freelancing clients. Sure, we all have things we like to do in our free time, but the Internet is a scarier world than you could imagine. Those naughty things you do late at night might have a user name or link attached with them that goes straight to your freelance writing website.
It’s not hard to see where you are getting links from, and outsiders can track them just as easily. If you are worried about past internet activities coming back to haunt your freelance writing goals, you might want to find some better ways to cover your internet tracks. Use obscure forum names, use a generic Yahoo, MSN, or Gmail account to send out emails, and avoid the use of signature links on forums that lead to your professional freelance writing website.
The best thing to do would be just avoid speaking out harshly against others, don’t use your link on non-coinciding forums, blogs and websites, and learn a little about Internet privacy.
I think I probably am one that needs to swallow a bit of my own advice, though. Heh heh.
Don’t Be Such a Cry Baby
Yesterday, I typed a really long, hopefully informational piece on not draining yourself physically while you undertake your career as a freelance writer for hire. Today, we get to review what you should do to keep your emotions on the low-down - that is to keep ourself away from burnout and emotional drainage.
Writing is a tedious, sometimes, repetitious task. While the glam of working from your home is seen as a superb opportunity for those stuck in their office, many freelance writers yearn for the office when it just gets to hard to handle. We are bound to our home writing space, often without the chatter of fellow coworkers in the background. It is lonely, and for me, loneliness has sent me on long drags of depression making it almost impossible to want to write at times.
A man’s best friend is their for you 24/7
A solution to the emptiness a freelance writer might feel can be dissolved when there is always our best friend to cheer us up. A pet relies on a human’s love and affection for it, and assuming you are a freelancer of some sort, you are probably an a human an animal can depend on. Animals provide the perfect pick-me-up, purring and playing with us, and demanding we feed it and spend time on it. Dogs are excellent, as they should be walked daily. This activity gets you away from your computer during your break time, which is an excellent source of exercise. Those with animals are proven to have a lower chance of being diagnosed with severe heart conditions, as well.
You like that, do you?
I’m attached to my computer, and that isn’t a great thing. It’s enough that I spend several hours a day on it doing my freelance writing work, but then I stare at my screen another 5 hours checking my social sites and reading countless other blogs. It’s time to get a hobby. A hobby can be anything, but it should stay away from your computer monitor. It gives you time to get away from the drain of your freelance writing, and lets you lose yourself in something you truly enjoy. You don’t need to be good at your hobby as it is just something that can help you build up a skill further. If you really enjoy writing that much though, do it, but start out with pen and paper first.
Maybe it’s time you sit this night out
You say you are getting tired of working on all your freelance writing projects at 3 A.M. in the morning? Stop complaining, because that isn’t my fault. Wake up earlier, and start that project up at 9 A.M. Then call up your friends, invite your neighbor, or pull your spouse along to the nearest bar or club. Loosening up at a party is an awesome way to give yourself a pat on the back for getting a long project finished with. Just make sure you don’t have any projects the next morning that are urgent. Even if this is the case, I find letting myself look like a fool on the dance floor extremely exhilarating. I don’t even need to drink to get my emotionally burnt out brain bright and perky for more freelance writing projects in the coming week. Making this your reward at the end of your project is a way to keep yourself pushing through your writing until you complete it.
I $#(sh^**ing hate that client!
Justin Dupre - Professional Freelance Writing with an Attitude - While I use that in reference to my writing being spicy, catchy, and a little more on the trendy side than other freelance writers’ manuscripts, I guess it can refer to me on top of that. I’ve got quite a temper, and have exploded when I can’t get things to run the way I’d like them to. When I have a client that asks for too much, or fails to pay me on our scheduled date, I get a little more than ticked off. Those clients should be glad I’m probably on the other side of the world and behind a computer monitor. Anyways, to get over this I let it out on people that experience the same problems as me - other professional freelance writers for hire.
We carry a common goal - to make money from freelance writing - and when our emotions kill us, it is always good to have someone to talk to. Other freelance writers will probably be very understanding of your situation as chances have it that they’ve probably had the same thing happen to them on more than one occasion. Talking about your emotions is completely okay, and should be supported. If you need to cry, let it out. You’ll feel better afterwards, unlike how horrible you would feel if you kicked that client in the shins (and I know you want to).
It’s 4 in the morning here, so I am cheating. Failing to listen to my own advice should be against the law. Luckily, I’m in the safe zone. It’s bedtime for bonzo, so I will see y’all tomorrow. Mmm kay?
Love and Respect,
Justin
Just Gotta Shake It Off, Sonny
Sitting at your computer all day is the unfortunate life of a professional freelance writer. It’s tiring, exhausting, depressing, lonely, but worst of all, horrible for your body if you aren’t taking proper precautions. Take a look at your current workstation and the habits you have while doing your freelance writing jobs. Here are just a few tips to help you get a little more comfortable, as well as things that can protect yourself from aches and pains down the road.
The Importantest (creative freedom is expressed on this blog) of your Freelance Writing Setup
Look at what you’re derrière is being squished by. If you look at your tummy, I wasn’t referring to that (however, if it’s a bit larger than average consider writing some sale copies for gyms in your area in exchange for free membership). I meant that chair. Is it that simple wooden stool you stole from the kitchen bar, or worse yet, you prop yourself up with pillows and write for your clients on the bed? Seriously consider investing in a high-backed leather or fabric office chair. You can pick them up from any big box department store starting at 100 dollars.
Squatting is not a Good Writer’s Position
After purchase, sit down in it with your butt as far back as possible. Adjust the height so that your knees stand at the same level as your hips when your feet are flat on the ground. I prefer to wear shoes, as well, to keep my feet balanced while I work. It’s silly, but it adds a definite boost in production.
Feel That Burning Sensation
It’s 3:42 A.M. as I type out this sentence. I’ve got some poor sleeping habits. It is something I should fix, and if you regularly work on your freelance writing projects until 5 A.M. (my bedtime), you might want to start working earlier, longer hours during the day, or hold back on those few extra projects your clients proposed.
Besides getting sore and burning eyes from my late night procrastination sessions (I mean from wanting to provide you with the absolute best in freelance writing tips and solutions), working at a computer all day has a way of doing plenty of wear and tear on your eyes. Buy a bigger computer monitor to see your text more clearly (as well as giving you a boost in productivity space and time), and look away from that monitor every few seconds. Sometimes when my eyes get that bad, but I know I need to write that little bit more, I’ll look right above my computer monitor and type it blind, run a quick spell check, print it out to avoid more eye-to-monitor contact and make further edits from the paper copy.
Wrist-wear for the Fashionable
If you don’t already have a wireless mouse, purchase one as they are masters of cleaning up valuable desk space. Then, get yourself a keyboard with some wrist mats (might as well order a mouse pad that gives you a place to rest your wrist while you are at it). Shiny ones with gel wraps work perfect. While my young, beautiful wrists haven’t been torn apart by the ravages of my desk (thank you Logitech for your wonderful keyboard and mouse systems), reports of freelancers obtaining “growths” from the balls of their wrists sitting on the corner of their desks have been reported. Eek!
Stand Up, Soldier!
It’s okay to give yourself a break, even while you are in the middle of a sentence. In fact, set a timer to go off every 15 minutes. When it goes off, stand up, walk around your house, grab a snack (should be low fat, you aren’t exactly shedding pounds off when you type) or drink some water, stretch out, relax, and head back to work after a few minutes. At the end of an hour long shift, take 5-10 minutes and really sink back into your chair.
This is where freelance writing becomes a great profession. Not many other people get to decide when they want to take a break during office hours. While you should take regular breaks just to loosen up those stiff muscles, missing it a couple times won’t kill you. However, if you are skipping your four hour breaks (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), you are setting yourself for a quick burnout and might not even feel energized enough to get yourself back into your freelance writing chair. Never skip a meal and always eat your vegetables – just like Mommy told you.
Alright, this is past the general point where your attention span clicks your other bookmarks. I think you should subscribe to this blog as this is just part 1! Oh! Yippee Skippy! Tomorrow we get to talk about the emotional aspects of being a professional freelance writer for hire.