On Becoming a Freelance Writer: One Guy’s Story

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I’ve met a lot of great people online since I started freelance writing and some of them have been very encouraging.  Most of them really.  Most recently, I’ve become familiar with Carson Brackney and his writing.  I immediate fell for his writing style and have been hooked on his blog ever since.

And today, I’m lucky enough to have him as my very first guest poster!

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From the Recliner of Carson Brackney on a late morning in June

Danielle asked me to write a guest post for this blog and I decided doing so was a perfect excuse to take a break from an ongoing project. I moved from my desk to the recliner, flipped on the television and open the laptop.

She thought it might be interesting for me to write about how I got my start in this crazy business. Did I dive in headfirst? How did I prepare myself? What made me think it would work? Would I do anything differently? What inspired me to take the plunge?

I’m starting with the last question. Inspiration.

One of my inspirations is ten feet behind me in the next room. She’s six years old and she’s making a greeting card for a friend in the playroom. A few minutes ago, she yelled out for some spelling help.

Another inspiration walked by me less than ten minutes ago. You can’t get to the laundry room without sneaking through the corner of my basement office. She just moved a load of wash to the dryer after putting the baby down for a nap.

That little sleeper wasn’t around to inspire me to get started, but she’s part of what keeps me going now.

The sun is shining through the sliding doors of the split-level, streaking across my propped up bare feet. I found Channel 199, the MLB Network. The Rays have a 1-0 lead on the Padres. I’m thinking about firing up the grill again tonight.

I just looked at the clock. 11:27 a.m.

Right now, I know there are guys in suits checking their clocks. There are guys in Dockers and snug polo shirts with nametags on lanyards looking at their watches. In thirty-three minutes, they can walk out of their offices or away from their cubicles for a lunch break. Maybe they’ll call home and check on their kids. Maybe they’ll call their wives. They’ll eat and gripe about work. They won’t see Longoria steal second on a one-hop Hundley peg. They’ll go back to work. I’ll answer another spelling question and I’ll give my wife a kiss.

This is the story of my inspiration: Our first child was a few months shy of entering the world and I realized that I didn’t want to be one of those dads–the kind who make it in the nick of time to the preschool Halloween party, out of breath and anxious, hoping they can get back in time for a meeting or presentation. I knew I couldn’t be a “hug you in the morning, kiss you goodnight and hope the stuff in between is going well” kind of father.

I liked the idea of bare feet, an office at home, and being there. If I had known that the MLB Network was going to be part of the deal, I would’ve liked that, too.

I was always a good employee but that came from effort, not instinct. I don’t take orders well. I don’t like answering to anyone.
Money? Yeah. I wanted money. As much as I like Thoreau, I’ve never had a desire to hide out in the wilderness. I like things. I’m not greedy, but I’m not into self-deprivation, either.

So, that’s the tale. The baby was coming and I knew a change was in order. I had at least some idea of what that change needed to look like.

The question, of course, was how to make that vision into a reality.

The Internet seemed like a good place to start.

I started looking at ways to make money online. I did my homework. I read, read, read, and then I’d read more. I learned everything I could. I developed the ability to separate the bullshit “get rich overnight” schemes from reasoned advice. I learned how things worked, why they worked and what things might continue to work.

My first project of note, which I completed during my spare time, involved the creation of a series of Adsense-monetized free Blogspot blogs. Good keyword research, good content and a lot of good luck combined and it worked. I went from making a quarter per day to cashing nice monthly Google checks very quickly.

Those checks were nice, but they weren’t going to replace my income and there was a limit to how much I could scale my little blog network. There was also a reasonable amount of risk involved–sometimes those seemingly perfect projects would crash and burn. That’s fine when you’re a hobbyist. It’s not good if you want your income to buy diapers.

I experimented with affiliate marketing, too. I had some success utilizing article distribution and a pre-sell landing page bearing my affiliate link to generate commissions. Between the affiliate sales and the Adsense, I was generating a nice little side income.

During all of this experimentation and learning, which took place over the course of a few months, I reached a few realizations:

• My greatest strengths were in writing and research.
• I’ve always loved writing.
• Much of the online world was convinced that “content is king”.
• Much of the content online looked like semi-literate little kids wrote it.
• My own experiences confirmed the value of quality written materials with respect to generating online earnings.

I connected the dots.

My first writing job involved creating little informative profiles about various famous golf courses. I was surprised at how easy it felt. I was encouraged by the client’s effusive praise for the work. When I did the math, I discovered that I made pretty damn good money on that gig, even though the per word rate was well below what most people would find acceptable.

I took another gig. And another. I didn’t use the job boards and I didn’t work for third parties. I found a handful of good clients and that led to others through referrals and the connections I made. Eventually, I started reaching out to people I thought I could help.

Originally, I planned on slowly but surely building up a fund equal to about six months’ of my salary. That would take about a year, I thought. Then, I could “go full-time”.

Well, the requests for work were coming in faster than I thought. The only way I could keep up with them would be by quitting my day job. I had to choose between taking a big chance and riding the brakes.

I took the chance. The baby was still a baby and I didn’t want to stall another minute. My wife supported the gamble.

And now I’m watching Adrian Gonzalez roll a ground ball to second with one out in the third, knowing that I’m no more than twenty seconds away from finding and hugging my inspirations.

I’ve made a million mistakes since I started writing for a living. Some are small and specific to me and my circumstances. Others have been big, nasty whoppers. If I were going to start all over again, I would do a number of things very differently.

I think that’s true for everyone, though. I don’t feel bad about those blunders. It’s part of growing.

We’ve had great months when we feel like part of the Rockefeller family and, I’m not ashamed to admit, there were times when macaroni and cheese seemed like a smart choice for a dinner entree. I’ve made clients swoon and I’ve infuriated people so much that they still might give me a well-deserved gut punch if we met on the street.

Along the way, I have figured out a few big things.

I won’t call them secrets for success, because they’re not that secret and because I’m not willing to call myself a success. I’m a work in progress. But I will tell you that these are damned good recommendations if you want to find a way to make a living as a writer. They may not be right for everyone, but they worked for me and I know they’ve worked for others.

Write. Putting your ass in the chair and working consistently is the most important thing you can do. If you’re working, you’re earning or you’re setting yourself up to earn. When working becomes habit, income flows.

Learn. Never stop learning about new things. Keep your eyes on new trends. Read what other people in the business and your clients’ businesses are writing. Knowledge is power and its fuel for creativity.

Grow. I started as a would-be Internet marketer. I became a content writer. I transitioned into doing better-paying copy projects. I started doing more consulting work. As I’ve grown and changed, I’ve maintained the best parts of those experiences and have jettisoned the others.

Believe. Danielle asked me why I was convinced the writing thing would work for me. I don’t really have a good answer for that. I didn’t give it a great deal of thought to it. It made sense to me. It felt right. I believed in it and I believed in my ability to make it work.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of this recliner and move back to the desk before I fall victim to a nap. I need to get some work done if I want to sneak off to the swimming pool with the girls for an hour this afternoon. I’m not turning off the game, though.

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Carson Brackney is a freelance writer and consultant. He thinks you should follow him on Twitter and become a regular reader of his freelance writing-oriented blog. He is currently sporting a Mohawk at age 39 because his daughters think it’s funny.

Tagged as: Affiliate marketing, blogging, Carson Brackney, freelance writer, Freelancing, Writer, Writers Resources

Article by Danielle

I'm a social media junkie and professional freelance writer living in small town Manitoba, Canada. I drink a lot of coffee and love my computer (named Garcia after Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds - the ultimate girl geek!), my kids, my husband, and my cats. In 10 years I hope to be that crazy lady travelling across Canada and the States with her three cats and her loving hubby. :) If you're interested in my professional services please visit my professional writer's site to find out more about my services or check out some testimonials from some of my clients.

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