Get Started Writing: More Than a Dozen Ways to Build, Maintain, and Even Increase Your Momentum as a Freelance Writer

by Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer's Coach

Whether you’re just starting your freelance writing career or you’re wanting to take it to new levels, you need to create momentum and maintain that momentum if you hope to build your business. Here are more than a dozen ways for doing that.

1. Write no more than 3 major long term writing goals on a sheet of paper, and put that paper somewhere where you will see it every day. Read your goals every morning before you start work for the day.

2. Develop your weekly action plan (also called a marketing plan) every Sunday night. Don’t give up on this. Make sure you create your action plan every week and stick to the plan as well as you can each week.

3. Expand your network - think of ways to help promote others as you continue to promote yourself.

4. When you face an obstacle or challenge, think “outside the box” to come up with a way around this obstacle or a way to meet this challenge. Don’t be stopped by the first little obstacle or problem that crops up.

5. Start every day with positive thoughts and maintain these thoughts. Let go of any self-limiting thoughts, feelings, or actions. Just BELIEVE that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to doing even if you aren’t sure HOW you will do that. You’ll figure out HOW as you go along.

6. Be confident when you tell people you are a writer. Create a tagline that tells them exactly what you do. For example, your tagline say, “Freelance Writer, Author, and Speaker.”

7. Attend at least one writers’ conference, course, or workshop every year - more often if you can afford it. Get to know the people in charge. Volunteer to help out at the event.

8. Get business cards made, then pass out your business card everywhere you go. Leave cards on the bulletin boards in coffee shops, book stores, grocery stories. Leave your card in the bowls at restaurants to win a free meal. Make sure you have plenty of cards with you at all times. Give your card to friends and tell them to give the cards to people they may know who need a writer.

9. Create your own e-books, special reports, workshops and teleclasses to sell, then work with other writers who can help you promote them.

10. Write articles for article directories on a regular basis - at least one article written and submitted every week.

11. Write a press release about some new aspect of your business every 6 weeks and send it to local publications and have it distributed online. There are many free online distribution services available.

12. Continue to grow your mailing list any way you can. Read articles about growing your mailing list at ezinearticles.com. You’ll get plenty of suggestions in these articles. Get creative and think of new ways to add to your mailing list.

13. Visit blogs of other well-known writers in your field and leave a meaningful comment, along with your name and URL. Develop an online relationship with these people. It will help you acquire more readers.

14. Be sure you belong to at least a few listservs for writers. Then stop lurking! Become active! Get to know the other writers on these listservs by leaving comments, asking and answering questions, and by providing information about jobs, publishers, editors, etc. whenever you can.

15. Join at least one or two professional organizations for writers. Take part in their events. Volunteer to be a group leader or organizer.

Follow some or all of these 15 suggestions and you're sure to keep moving forward with your freelance writing career!

Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She is a former classroom teacher and was an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature for over 8 years.

Lieurance now lives and writes by the sea in Jensen Beach, Florida. She offers The Morning Nudge free every weekday morning to writers who need a little inspiration and motivation to get their writing done.