WWL Newsetter #003

There are so many things I love about freelancing: the different projects I get to work on, creating my own schedule, and being in control of my own income.

But it takes some major emotional bandwidth to enjoy those things.

After all, freelance writing sometimes also comes with tight turnaround times, an overbooked schedule, or a Google doc filled with an editor's comments and suggestions.

And even worse than that…

Getting ghosted by a client.

I'm not talking about never hearing back about a proposal to a potential client. I’m talking about never hearing back from a regular client. 😭 This happened to me a few years ago with a major anchor client and I almost quit freelancing in favor of a regular old full-time job. 

I'm still not sure what happened. The client was a one-person operation and I had been their primary writer for a few years. I could count on this project for a couple of thousand dollars a month, making it a cornerstone of my (and my family's) income.

In retrospect, there were a few red flags. I noticed several other writers being hired. My projects shifted to a second website rather than the owner's primary site. But I was shocked when weeks of follow-up on upcoming assignments resulted in absolute crickets.

In all honesty, it hurt big-time and I spent a lot of time doubting my talent as a writer. But then, something happened.

All of a sudden, it was like a switch flipped in my brain.

I could make it as a freelancer, but I was going to have to change how I viewed my work. Even though I made a full-time income at the time, I didn't really view it as a business.

So I pulled on my big girl pants and dove headfirst into learning how to grow, get better clients, and diversify my clients in a way that wouldn't scare me shitless the next time I lost a major project.

Here's what I did in the months after getting ghosted that completely changed the trajectory of my business:

🌟 I joined Facebook groups with other freelance writers

🌟 I attended FinCon for the first time, which helped me network with other writers and clients in real life

🌟 I took a freelance writing course to learn new ways to grow my client base

Like so many things in life, there was a rainbow after a rainy day (or month…or two).

If you've had a setback with your freelancing lately, I encourage you to keep going!

Try something new — follow other writers on Linkedin (have we connected yet?), watch some YouTube videos, or spend some money on a course to figure out the puzzle piece that you're missing.

It never hurts to learn something new and the best thing to invest in is yourself!

Happy freelancing,
Lauren

PS: Need a starting point to learn something new? Grab my ebook: The Fully Booked Freelance Writer.