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Changing Your Career to a Full-Time Writer
Being employed can have its ups and downs. Not only are you subjected to a very rigorous schedule, but you also have to answer to other individuals that may be on top of you in the corporate hierarchy.
At the workplace, you will also face endless challenges which you may find difficult to cope with even after many years of experience. For example, you will always need to figure out how to be part of the companies work culture, which is usually very frustrating.
The people that you work with may not be all that friendly, and you may end up feeling out of place.It is also challenging to get people to reason out with you.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and in the workplace, it seems that yours is not always relevant.
Time management when you are employed is also complicated, and you will need to adjust your entire life just to be able to work and stay in touch with family and friends.
In fact, your social life may suffer, and you may end up missing out on all those great trips with family and friends. There is just no easy way to say it, but a career is one of the most challenging things to pursue, especially when you are employed fulltime.
Well, is the same issue with being a full-time writer? Many of us have an understanding of what freelance writing entails and al the perks. As a part-time writer, you get to work when you want, and you also get to create your own working schedule depends upon your writing services.
This is usually convenient, but you need a high level of discipline and a good saving culture to get the most out of it. Finding gigs as a freelance writer can be a little challenging unless you have a steady flow of orders, or you are employed by a freelance agency that can guarantee you jobs every day. As a full-time writer, you can avoid all the problems associated with the low season and get to maximize your earnings.
So how do you change your career to a full-time writer?
So it is never easy to change your career, and nobody should lie that you can do it overnight. This is an important decision that needs to be planned, and steps need to be taken in a well-thought-out manner.
You will otherwise not succeed, and you may actually end up on the list of unemployed people. SO how do you actually move from your career to writing? Do you need to quit your job right away and take on writing? I would not suggest this as a sustainable strategy; however, there is a way to achieve your ambition using baby steps.
First and foremost, do not rush to quit your 9—5 job. Instead, look for some freelance writing gigs that you can take on the side as a freelancer. In this way, you can be assured that you will earn from your job, and make some extra pounds on the side as a freelancer. In freelance writing, nobody will dictate the number of hours that you will need to work. If your mind and heart are in the right place, you can sacrifice some hours of sleep for that extra income. You can actually make some good money from blogging if you have the right skill-set. All you need to do is identify the right niche for yourself and start your freelance business on the side.
The biggest challenge that you will encounter as a first-time freelancer will be the fact that you will not have a suitable portfolio to show to your potential clients.
However, you can solve this by writing guest posts for other websites, although it may not pay off at the beginning. A second solution would be to create your own site. You can then write some great blogs that you would post on the website.
Once this is done, you can pitch to potential employers using your new website. This is a great idea, especially if you trust your writing skills, and you can come up with great content. The site will generate high traffic, which employers are most likely to admire.
Creating an Image
As you conduct your freelance writing, remember your primary goal is to switch to a full time writing a career. Learn and understand how to write well and work at constantly improving your capability.
Figure out the kind of writer that you would like to be depending on the demand in the market. Remember, there are so many kinds of writing that can keep you engaged, and you need to choose between articles, blogs, copywriting, ad writing, website copywriting, and academic writing. You can choose to participate in any of the above, but you need to focus on at least one niche.
The second step would involve you figuring out exactly what you want to write about.
You need to identify a set of topics/subjects that you find exciting and carry out research on them. It is always good to focus on developing something that you love. For example, if you love sports, you can focus on writing about games or available sporting gear. In this way, you can develop your skills in an organized manner, and you can also carry out focussed research on a topic without having to struggle.
You will then need to write the content and place it on your own website. You can at first find great websites or company blogs that focus on writing your content of interest.
Try and write your content in a similar way but do not copy what they do, make your content unique, introduce a new approach of writing, and then place it on your website.
This will act as your portfolio and give you a very god mage as a writer. When you have written at least 3 articles, you need to find someone with experience to have a look at your work and perform some relevant edits in your chosen niche.
Reach out to experts on well-known writing websites like Peachy Essay and get a professional opinion. In this way, you will be sure that your work is great and that you can get people hooked to your content.
Ake sure that you improve your writing. This is very important, and if you ignore this step, you may never switch your career path.
Good content creation requires tonnes of practice, and you will need to put in more time into becoming a proficient writer.
No one is limited to their current level of writing, and with enough practice, you can amaze yourself with how good you will become. No one reads poorly written and improperly formatted content.
Make sure that you are continually improving on these areas by writing at least 1000 words daily. The most basic ways include:
- Writing in a friendly and active manner that educates your readers
- Keeping your sentences short and concise
- Do not use large and complex words
- Make use of adverbs but never overdo it
Always remember that once you are able to create good content, you will start earning some good income, and more clients will read your work.
Once you have done this, you will be ready to create a kickass portfolio that will be a major boost to your writing career. The next step will involve getting good companies that can pay you.
Find Companies that will pay you
Your major goal is switching your career, and you, therefore, still need to get paid. You will need to conduct some research on companies that can pay you for posting content on their websites.
Depending on your area of specialization, this will not be an arduous task. Consider the significant audience that you will be dealing with once you choose your company.
For example, if the audience is made up of students, you will need to consider your capacity to carry out academic writing.
Show the company the past academic papers that you have written and the subjects that you are good at.
This is where your portfolio will come in, and you will be surprised at the number of interested parties if you have an excellent portfolio and the relevant writing skills to back it up. If the company offers tech services, you should show them your ability to help them pull in more customers, and you will be good to go.
Focus on Growth once you have potential clients
Once you have a great customer that can supply you with enough work, focus on growth. Dedicate a good percentage of your time on your writing business and ensure that the quality of your work is incomparable to any other.
You will be amazed at the number of opportunities that will be extended to you and the amount of money that you will be able to pull in from your writing career.
At this point, you will be able to decide to go full-time. You will be assured that you can easily score writing gigs and that your portfolio will always attract potential clients.
This is an excellent opportunity for you if you can remain inspired to write while at the same time creating quality content.
