What a momentous start to the day – back in the office and everything where it should be. Ever since the beginning of January we’ve had towels and buckets at the ready, taking up approximately one third of our desks. But they’ve gone, the sun is out and everything looks just fine. I’ve got some work done already – a couple of short news items and some very short blogs – so the day has started well.

I may finish early to tidy up in the back garden; the windows need cleaning after all the dust and grit that came down from the roof, and I also need to rescue my plant pots from the safety of the end of the garden. Jasper has already gone out – he was flying around the house at 0750 this morning and seemed eager to go out. He then shot out in such a hurry that he missed the hole in the chain link fence and headbutted it instead. Poor little love – he looked more embarrassed than anything. After 3 days cooped up indoors he’s loving the fresh air.

1601 – I’ve decided not to go outside today. I popped into town and it’s incredibly warm for February. Makes me want to plant seedlings and mow the lawn, but it’s still a little early for that. I’ve gone through my Google Reader feeds but there are no new jobs worth applying for today. I have a list of potential sites to approach for work though, all of which have been garnered through general Google searches. You just never know what will come of these – sometimes I don’t find anything. But the other week I found a company that I have since started working for with great success. It’s so nice when you click with a client and you get on extremely well together. It’s a solid working relationship that will hopefully continue for a long time to come.

I’ve also had a potential client come to me through my professional site, and if it comes together it could be a MAJOR new source of work. It could even help pay off the new roof

I get emails from people from time to time asking how to find freelance writing jobs, and to be honest the best thing to do is to read blogs like mine and just look online to see what you can find. I don’t recall asking anyone for help when I started out; I don’t think it even occurred to me to do so. I just looked and thought there must be work out there – I just had to find it. It sounds very matter of fact, I know, but it’s true. There are different ways to find writing work and different sources to get it from. Providing you don’t rely too heavily on just a handful of sources (in case any of them disappear) you should be able to build up a good career if you are reasonably talented.

1716 – okay I’ve finished my client work for today and it’s time to post this blog and write one for my client site as well. I’m pleased I’m keeping up with my goal of populating it with more content; it seems to be bringing in more traffic and potential clients too. If you don’t yet have a site focused on drawing in more clients, now is the best time to get started on it.

I’m back for day three of the roofing process and I’ve got another quiet day ahead for my online writing. But here is the strange thing – my work seems to have fitted around the roofing job automatically. We only found out last Friday that the roof was being done this week, and yet the past three days have been very quiet as far as my writing was concerned. It’s ideal because I would have struggled to write consistently with all the noise and dust.

And yet today, an hour or so after finding out that they should be finished by the end of the day, I’ve had two more lots of work come in. This is basically two significant batches of articles that will fill up the rest of the week. Isn’t that strange? I was thinking I’d have to juggle clients and deadlines all week long, but it has all quite naturally and spookily slotted in almost without my assistance! I love it when things happen like that…

1504 – the roof is done! It looks very nice and is completely watertight, which let’s face it was what we were looking for most of all. I’ve got a lot of work done this morning as well, so it’s been a nice day. And we get to test it straightaway as no sooner had they finished than it started raining. Typical. But we can now have the Removing of the Buckets Ceremony in the office. Hurrah! We can finally work again without having to look up at the ceiling and wonder whether or not it will leak whenever the rain comes down.

Time to run the vacuum round I think…

Ok it’s 1738 and I’ve tidied round, vacuumed up all the dust and grit and had a bath. I just need to post this and write an article to promote the next website we’re going to launch and that’s it for the evening. Oh, and we’re having a glass of wine with dinner tonight to celebrate our new roof and the fact that we don’t need buckets and waterproof sheets in the office anymore! See you tomorrow.

How often do you really search for freelance writing opportunities?

I’ve been a bit more active on LinkedIn lately and I’ve noticed some people tend to take part in a lot of conversations on there, many of them about freelance writing opportunities. That’s great because there are a lot of really nice people (writers from all walks of life and in all specialities) who use LinkedIn.

But that’s beside the point. The point is that some have bemoaned the ‘fact’ that there are no freelance writing opportunities around to be found. I have to question that. I’m kept pretty busy in my own business and whenever things have gone quiet – and this is true of every single occasion this has happened – I have always gone out to look for more work. And within about a week or so, more work has appeared.

This makes me wonder how hard some people look for freelance writing opportunities.

I’m not criticising those who are struggling to earn a living from freelance writing opportunities. But it is too much of a generalisation to say there is no freelance work out there. There IS. I have some. I know a lot of other writers who have plenty as well. But it depends on how willing you are to get out there and do everything you can to get the work you want.

Here are some of the ways I search for freelance writing opportunities whenever I need them:

• I look on Craigslist. Yes there are some scams on there and you have to be careful. But I have been ‘lucky’ enough to get two or three really good jobs from that site from time to time, so don’t leave it out. It can provide you with some good freelance writing opportunities.
• I search on Google. I actually love this method because you just never know what you’re going to find. I use all kinds of search terms like ‘looking for blogger(s)’ or ‘seeking an article writer’. I spend an hour or maybe two looking for all the terms I can think of. I sometimes work on behalf of media agencies and companies, and in this case it is sometimes worth looking for those terms plus ‘freelance’ or something similar. Sometimes you won’t find any freelance writing opportunities using this technique, and other times you’ll turn up gold over and over again. If you do strike it lucky you can always make a note of everything you find and tackle them bit by bit.
• I set up notifications with sites like Google Alerts and Simply Hired, with my job search terms specified. This means you can get emails on a daily basis focusing on the kinds of jobs you want to get. You probably won’t turn up too much on a regular basis, but every now and then a potential job lead will just plop into your inbox and lead to a new client.

The point is that if you have the time to interact with people in long conversations online talking about the dearth of freelance writing opportunities, you’re spending time in conversation when you could be looking for those jobs. I don’t think I am particularly lucky – I think I am well prepared to go looking for freelance writing opportunities when I need them. And I don’t stop looking until I have enough work to be getting on with. Try the above methods for finding freelance writing opportunities and see how you get on.

I love my freelance writing career.

I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But a freelance writing career isn’t something to be picked up and discarded when something better comes along. Unfortunately a lot of people seem to think this is the case, and we have the economy to thank for it.

I can fully understand why so many people are floundering around trying to find something else to earn money with. But writing is often seen as the easy option. Just sit down, bash something out and send it off to a website that pays a few dollars for your trouble. Alternatively you might earn a few dollars from advertising options, depending on the type of website you go to.

The bottom line is this – if you’re seriously thinking about starting a freelance writing career, you need to consider whether the word ‘career’ should apply in your situation.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer – I never wanted to do anything else. This is very different from bumbling along quite happily in a job, only to find you suddenly have to look for another form of income because your hours are cut or your job is at stake. It’s also different from writing for fun and entertainment in your spare time, when earning a full time living from it doesn’t matter.

Make no mistake – an online freelance writing career is NOT an easy option.

Anyone who is doing it for a living will tell you that it requires a lot of hard work and discipline if you want to do it properly. You might well succeed at this if you really have what it takes and you’re like a terrier with a bone – you won’t let go once you’ve got your teeth into it. But if you’re only looking at this career because you have found yourself in a difficult situation, you might want to think twice before diving in. You need as much determination and pigheadedness to succeed with a freelance writing career needs as you would in any other career.

It’s been a strange old week really as far as my freelance writing career is concerned. I have been writing a travel blog for one client for around fifteen months now, and the last day in February will be the last day I will be writing it for them. For a while anyway – they have some changes in the pipeline which mean they won’t need the blog posts for a bit.

But in the same week I have been asked to do another daily blog for an existing client. So one blogging job has replaced the other, without my having any real say in it! This is just the kind of bizarre thing that tends to happen in my freelance writing career. It will no doubt happen in yours too, if you decide to go down this route.

Do you feel as if you are in total control of your freelance writing career?

Don’t worry if you don’t – I think it’s quite normal not to, at least at first. I remember when I first went full time I felt nervous if I had a day that was even halfway approaching quiet. Anything less than full throttle felt like danger times were coming, where not much money would be coming in.

After a while I began to learn that a full time freelance writing career was not necessarily a steady stream of work.

Instead it was peaks and troughs (although thankfully very few troughs, not any that have been very deep anyway!). If I could check my calendar and see a quiet few days ahead, I would immediately start looking for work to fill up the gaps.

This is not a bad thing to do, since it does bring in more work. My freelance writing career has revealed that every single effort to find more clients has met with success. If I applied for a dozen jobs, say, I would normally get one. It’s the ‘throw enough mud and some will stick’ tactic and it does work.

But now I don’t always go out and find more clients whenever things get even slightly quieter. Instead I take the opportunity to work on some of my own freelance writing career goals. I write for this blog. I tweak my Squidoo and Hubpages content to bring in more visitors and earnings on those sites. I might even do some promotion for my blog or website, depending on what my needs are at any one time.

The point is that a freelance writing career can be composed of many different things.

Some weeks will be fairly regular with regular clients and regular jobs left, right and centre. Other weeks will be marked by a job ending, and perhaps a new one beginning. Still more weeks will afford you more time to write for yourself – developing your own blog and looking for ways in which your own content will bring you in some cash. Think affiliate marketing and you will get the idea, I’m sure.

My freelance writing career has changed a lot in the three years since I first went full time. But those changes have been small ones on the whole. I have developed skills I never knew I would need in the first place. I am more selective with my clients now. In the past I would take on more than I do now, simply because I was frightened about the ‘feast or famine’ feeling some writers get. Grab it while you can, that was my motto.

But now I feel differently. I am confident enough in my freelance writing career and in the marketplace I work in to know that jobs will come, jobs will go and clients will sometimes change as well. But there will always be work there and I can afford to pick the things I really want to do, rather than writing things I don’t really like.

Are you scared of changes in your freelance writing career?

Don’t be – they come naturally. And in my experience, every single time a job has ended, a new one has been just around the corner. You will probably find this to be true in your own freelance writing career as well.

It’s a common enough feeling, since having a writing blog means putting your own thoughts and feelings on the page. But then that is generally what a lot of readers will read your blog for – they want to know what it’s like to be a writer and much more besides.

Personally I love having a writing blog.

Do you have your own writing blog?

I remember being very excited at starting to blog for the first time. I had a sticky start with a free blog that was eventually got rid of (by the blog network I was on) for having an affiliate link in it. Shame on me! At least I think that is why it disappeared; I discovered they don’t bother replying to emails to tell you why you strayed off the path.

Anyway that’s a different story. I realised that if I wanted a writing blog I could control 100%, I needed to have my own domain and hosting. And let’s face it, neither of those things costs very much.

Don’t put off starting your own writing blog – the sooner you do it the sooner you can get the benefits from it.

There are lots of benefits too; I listed as many as I can think of here, but you can probably think of more:

• you get to share your writing experiences with other writers
• you get feedback and interaction with other writers
• your writing blog can be monetized in various ways to provide another stream of income
• you can find clients directly through your blog
• you can show potential clients what you are made of and how solid your writing skills are
• you can gradually start to reach a bigger audience – something you wouldn’t have been able to do before

I think those are the main plus points to having your very own writing blog. There must be more. I know I have found clients via this blog who I wouldn’t have found otherwise, and because I also have a professional website under my own name, I can direct people there if they want any more specific information about hiring me.

So am I glad I got started on my own personal writing blog?

Absolutely! I have noticed a steady increase in readers and visitors over time (thank you!) and while it may not always be visible on a daily basis the visitor numbers have definitely been moving up month on month.

Hopefully this will all provide you with some encouragement for starting your own writing blog. Believe me, it’s worth it in ways you may not realise straightaway. If you are a new writer and you haven’t got any clips to show people when you apply for work, it’s good to be able to direct them to your blog – especially if it has a reasonable amount of content on it. It can bring you work, clients, colleagues and much more besides.

What will your writing blog bring you?

Freelance writing online is an amazing profession.  Okay I know I might be a teensy bit biased because this is what I do for a living.  The most amazing thing about it is that I have always wanted to be a writer.  But I thought that once I actually started doing freelance writing online – and had been doing it for a while – I’d probably get bored or the shine would wear off a bit.

It didn’t – freelance writing online is just as good as ever

Can freelance writing online be boring sometimes too?

However with that said, I know there have been days (few and far between maybe, but they are still there) when freelance writing online has not been the #1 thing I have wanted to do.

The first time I got bored with freelance writing online, I panicked.  Had I actually chosen the wrong career after years and years of yearning for it?

Of course the answer was no.  But I did learn something valuable after the initial panic from that first experience ebbed away.

I learned that freelance writing online can have its dull days, just as any job can.  You can certainly do things to limit that boredom, i.e. you can make sure you only take jobs that you will really enjoy.  If you hate gardening and you take a job to write 20 articles on the subject, you are going to be bored silly by the end of it.

You have total control over your freelance writing online career

Remember that.  For me, the feeling of being out of control is most likely to occur in the first few months after starting a freelance writing online career full time.  As time goes by – I’ve been doing this full time for two and a half years or so now – that feeling dissipates.

In short, if you are starting to feel bored with freelance writing online, take some time out to analyse the reasons why.  The chances are you are just going through a minor slump.  Once you’ve ironed it out you can get back to freelance writing online and enjoying it as much as you do normally.

Taking a different direction with freelance writing online

If the feeling persists, you could try taking a different tack altogether.  Stop writing articles and go for blog posts instead.  Change your client base if you must.  Take a few minor steps and make a few minor changes, and see where it gets you.

You will probably find you don’t need to do this though.  I find a half day spent doing something else entirely – or even taking a couple of extra days off if I can – solves the problem when I feel bored or below par.  This usually means freelance writing online becomes more vibrant and entertaining again.

Were your online writing efforts badly affected, or did you barely notice the recession brush past you?

Are you overwhelmed with online writing tasks - or struggling to find things to do? (with thanks to julosstock for the image)

Probably most people who have an online writing career will have been affected in one way or another by the recession.  I think I have weathered it quite well all in all, but that’s not to say I haven’t had to make changes and alterations to my writing business as a consequence of the larger global picture.

Silence in the online writing world…

For example a few months back (probably around October time last year) I came back from a week’s holiday to find I didn’t have much in the way of writing work to do.  I was slightly concerned but after that initial blip I resolved to go out and find more clients.  I think this was the first time I ever had to consciously make that decision as a result of not having enough online writing work to do.

Luckily (or perhaps not, since I did put the work in to get the results) I came up with a couple of new jobs within the week.  I am still working with one client, supplying five short articles on a weekly basis as a result of that search.

Things were relatively busy from then on until the end of January, when things got quiet again.  So I repeated what I did before and once again I came up trumps.  This has taught me that no matter how dire things look and how light you are on work, you can always come up with something if you just start looking and putting yourself out there.

Online writing – and the amount of it you have (or don’t have) – is under your control

Sure, I had some non starters and plenty of applications for information or actual writing jobs that didn’t come to anything.  But since I decided to forget about every job application the minute I sent it off, I wasn’t really affected by all the ones that came to nothing.

I think that by focusing on the positives – the fact that I continued to find jobs worth applying for, people worth working with and so on – kept me positive and it gave me positive results as well.  Not everyone will agree that positive thinking works in this sense, but that’s fine.  It works for me.

So how have you been affected by the recession?  Has your online writing career suffered a dip, and if it has, what have you done to get yourself back out of it again?  Share your thoughts below!

I’m not talking about evenings or general days off here.  I’m talking about proper holiday time.

I’ve scheduled in six days off next week as my niece is coming to stay for a few days.  Should be good fun – and the break will do me good as well.

But it is necessary to prepare for it a while in advance so I can be mindful of deadlines and when certain projects are due.  I have also needed to make sure I don’t take on too much work in the run up to this break so as to avoid that scenario we are all familiar with – it has to do with a chicken and no head.

Seriously though it has worked out rather well this time (so far at least).  I’m booked up until Saturday so I can have Valentine’s day off .  And then it’s back to work for one more day on Monday to tie up the loose ends before heading off for my mini-break.

Luckily I have also booked in a long course from the end of February onwards which should take about six weeks, possibly longer, to complete.  So with any luck I will be back with a vengeance right from the start.

How do you cope with arranging any time off like this?  Do you find you have quiet periods leading up to it and when you come back, or do you get the balance just right?

It’s that time of year again in my household where we stop working and give ourselves a well earned break.  It’s been a good year on the writing front but not such a good year personally.  My partner’s mum passed away earlier in the year after a brave battle against cancer, so we shall be starting 2010 minus one very special lady.

That makes this Christmas difficult in many ways, but it also makes those of us who are left determined to have a good time because that is what she would have wanted.  We’ve donated £20 in her memory to the local hospice this Christmas, illuminating a light in memory on their Christmas tree.

Season's greetings - a time for remembering those we love and those we've lost during the year. In memory of Ann xxx

This isn’t a writing orientated post as you can tell, but this time of year always makes me look back on what has passed and forward to what is yet to come.  We can’t do anything about what the year has brought us – it is all done now, bar a few more days.  But the New Year – that is something different.

We may not be able to control every aspect of 2010, but we can resolve to meet it head on whatever may come our way.  This applies to our writing careers and every other aspect of our lives.  Think ahead and ask yourself what you could do to make 2010 memorable with regard to your writing.  Is it time to make a name for yourself?

I’ve got some changes planned for 2010 and I’ll be sharing them with you here.  In the meantime, as this may be the last post for 2009, may I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful and happy 2010.

Look out for a few short articles from my Ezines collection published over the next week or two while I’m off.  No pictures, just content!  Enjoy!