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 by: Amber McNaught

Sometimes a freelance writing career can feel very much like "feast or famine".

At the very beginning, its almost all famine. You spend more time looking for freelance writing jobs than you spend actually writing, and, quite apart from being utterly demoralizing, when you have a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed, it can be absolutely terrifying, too.

Of course, once you get past those early days of struggling for work and start to build up a portfolio and a reputation, you move into the "feast" era of your freelance writing career and everything should be rosy.

The problem is however, that those early days can be hard to forget. You cant help but remember the days of living off ramen noodles while trying to get your freelance writing career off the ground, and theres no way in hell you want to go back there. Like Scarlett OHara you vow never to be poor or hungry again and so you accept every single assignment that comes your way, and end up working yourself into a greasy spot at the same time.

Rather than a feast, it starts to become a binge, and before you know where you are, youre struggling again albeit this time youre struggling to get the work done, rather than to find it in the first place. Your home life and health starts to suffer, and, if youre not careful, so does the quality of your work.

So what do you do?

Well, if you think you could be on the verge of a writing binge, here are a few tips:

1.Dump your toxic clients

Toxic clients are the ones who cost you more in terms of time and effort than you ever get back from them in dollars. These are the clients for whom everything is a problem: theyre not happy unless theyre complaining, and you end up spending more time coddling and cajoling them than you do working for them. At the start of your career, youll probably just put up with the toxicity. Once you start to get busy, however, its time to get rid. If a toxic client feels like more trouble than theyre worth, they probably are: so dump them, and stick with the ones who actually reward your effort.

2.Look carefully at your prices

How much are you charging? Writers who are new to freelancing are often tempted to reduce their prices in order to secure work. This can work very well; once youre more established in your field, however, it can start to backfire on you, because once you have a reputation for being good and cheap, youll end up with more work than you can reasonably handle. If this sounds like you, it may be worth considering accepting fewer projects, but charging a higher rate for them. That way the quality of your work and life remains high, and you still have the opportunity to increase your earnings.

3.Learn how to say no gracefully

Turning down work can be frightening. No matter how successful you are, when youre a freelance writer theres always going to be a little voice whispering in your ear that although youre doing well this month, next month the work could dry up. While its never a good idea to become complacent, you do need to learn when to switch this voice off. If youre good at what you do, and youve built up a strong portfolio and network of contacts, there will be more work. Sometimes its better to turn a project down than to take it on when you dont have time for it and risk your reputation by doing it badly.

4.Make friends with your competitors

Yes, really. Your fellow freelance writers dont always have to be "the competition". If theres another freelancer in your area, or in your field of expertise, why not contact them when its busy and offer to recommend them to the clients you dont have time for, on the understanding that they do the same for you next time theyre busy and youre not? This kind of reciprocal arrangement can work out very well for both parties: it means that youre not having to flat-out refuse work, for one thing, and it also gives you something of a safety net if things suddenly get slow, but your competitors workload is more than they can handle.

About The Author

Amber McNaught is a freelance writer and editor, and the owner of WritingWorld.org, an online agency for freelance writers, editors and proofreaders.

Chat about all aspects of freelance writing in the WritingWorld forum!

Amber is also co-owner of Hot Igloo Productions, a UK website design and marketing firm specialising in helping small businesses grow through the use of internet technologies and public relations

amber@writingworld.org