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This is a guest post by Deevra Norling

“Maybe I should just go out and get a job.”

I uttered these words more than once in my first six months as a freelance writer. Why didn’t I? Two reasons.

Becoming a Freelancer: 2 Reasons I Didn’t Give In and Get a “Real Job”

1) My gut told me to push on – that I was doing the right thing. 2) The thought of working for a boss again made me sick to my stomach.

So while I half-heartedly kept my options open by occasionally browsing through jobs and even applying for a few, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted. So eventually I stopped and focused solely on building the business.

The First Three Months

Clients were few and money scarce. I had four clients in the first three months and charged a low rate because I was just starting out. The good news is all of them were very happy with my work.

The Second Three Months

Three more months passed with no clients – zero, zilch, nada.

I was starting to panic. Money was fast running down and nothing was coming in, apart from some transcriptions work from a friend who was doing her thesis (and which had absolutely nothing do with writing).

What I Did the First Six Months of My Freelance Writing Career

A fair amount of time during the first six months was spent on getting set up – creating a website and online presence, having business cards printed and so forth.

I also tried to find work online and landed one client, which didn’t pay very well though. Trying to find work on online job boards and freelance sites such as Elance did not yield much results.

By month five I knew I had to start stepping things up a bit. I needed to start networking. I needed to get out there, connect with people and market myself. This is when things started to improve. I attended three business networking events, all of which yielded leads.

* I picked up one new client. * I landed a contract with a PR agency. * I landed another contract with someone starting a new company which will assist clients to set up websites and blogs and manage social media. * I was given the opportunity to market myself to members of an organisation that helps small business owners. In addition, they suggested that I could run workshops on business writing with their members and requested a proposal.

Things were looking up, and while money was still not in abundance, at least there were things in the pipeline.

Landing a Plum Writing Gig

Plus, out of the blue and much to my surprise, The Huffington Post contacted me and invited me to blog for their Third Metric section. I sat staring at the computer screen for a while thinking it was some scam email, but much to my surprise, it was real. Wow!

One of my goals was to get published on The Huffington Post (the other is The New York Times. Any New York Times editors out there reading this – give me a holler!).

But back to Huff Post. I had not got around to pitching them yet, and instead – they contacted me! I laughed with giddy delight. That’s crazy, I kept saying! There’s a lot of controversy over the fact the Huff Post does not pay its bloggers, and while I agree with the detractors, I nevertheless felt that it will be good exposure. Many bloggers would love a chance to blog for Huff Post, and I got invited. Cool. Really cool! I was thrilled.

How I Landed a Gig Writing for The Huffington Post

But perhaps I should backtrack and explain how that happened. There was another blog called Think Simple Now that I was keen to get a guest post on. I eventually did get a post accepted.

The response from that post was amazing and it drove a lot of traffic to my website. One reader of that post was an editorial assistant at Huff Post who passed it on to the Lifestyle Blog Editor who then invited me to blog for The Third Metric, as the topic of the post on Think Simple Now fitted well with The Third Metric’s content.

Isn’t it amazing how the stars just magically align when you set yourself on a certain path?!

The Hard Truth about Freelancing

Starting a business is tough. Freelancing is tough. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s easy, because it’s not. You got to hustle. You have to get out and find work. It’s not going to drop into your lap. You need confidence, determination, perseverance and tenacity.

How to Increase Your Chance of Succeeding as a Freelance Writer

A good idea for freelancers is to look at ways to diversify and create more than one stream of income. I had a brainwave one day and decided to advertise to do house and pet-sitting to bring in an additional income. It’s a ridiculously simple idea and easy money. I can take my laptop along to wherever I am house-sitting and continue working.

Some freelancers write e-books and sell it on Amazon and this brings in some extra bucks every month. As tough as it’s been and still is, this journey has been amazing so far. I never know what’s around the corner or who I will meet. I am still in awe at how things have unfolded for me thus far – people I’ve met and opportunities that have come my way.

I still have moments where I think I should just go out and get a ‘real’ job with a ‘set’ salary. It’s easier.

This is all a huge learning curve and I know I’m still making my mistakes. I still have a long way to go before I make a decent living from this, but if the first six months are anything to go by, the next six months are certainly going to be interesting.

2013 was about laying the groundwork and planting the seeds. Hopefully this bears fruit in 2014.

Share Your Thoughts

What happened your first six months of freelancing? I’d love to know how you made out. Please share in the comments section below.

About the Author: Deevra Norling lives in Cape Town, South Africa and quit her job as a brand manager in marketing to embark on life as a freelance writer. She is a versatile writer and work for clients has included press releases, magazine articles and blog articles.

With a sense of adventure and a love for exploring new places, she also enjoys a dash of travel writing. She also contributes to The Huffington Post and Dead Curious. Visit her website The Freelance Life of Deevra Norling, or connect with her on Twitter.

P.S.: Want to start a career as a successful, home-based freelance writer?

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