How Do I Get Started? - My Two Year Retrospective
Every few days I see posts like this in some of the writing and work at home forums that I belong to. I just celebrated my second full year of working at home, so here are my tips for getting started as a web writer.
1. Get mentally prepared. At first, I had a big sign on my bulletin board that said “I am a writer.” It was just a little mental reminder of what I was there to do and a bit of a confidence boost.
2. Ease your way into it. We creative types are sometimes hurt by criticism. A bad journey out of the shell, and we automatically crawl back in. My first two “jobs” were doing some overflow work for Carson Brackney (who used to own Content Done Better - a blog I miss very, very much) and writing for Associated Content.
These jobs were perfect for different reasons. The overflow work was great because I didn’t have to worry about marketing myself, setting up a website, or bidding on jobs, etc. I just reported directly to him. He also clearly laid out what he wanted. Since he was a writer himself, he didn’t give vague instructions and expect to be “wow’ed.” He gave me a style sheet, told me exactly how to do it, and then gave praise where it was due and advice where it was needed.
Associated Content was great because, at the time, they took just about anything. This isn’t to say that the work I did for AC was bad. But being published online was an ego boost, and just seeing that I could earn something from my writing convinced me that this was worth pursuing further.
3. Pick one method and stick to it.
There are hundreds of ways to make money online. There are dozens of ways to make money writing online. You shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket, but you shouldn’t spread yourself to thin initially. Stick to blogging, or article writing, or product creation, or PLR, or getting bidding sites, etc. Get good at that part, and then expand.
4. Try everything at least once.
If you start working on a bidding site and think “This is for the birds!” don’t give up entirely on making money writing, or even making money online in general. I have some online acquaintances that are great at parts of this business that don’t appeal to me at all, and vice versa. Writing online, just like writing off line, is not one size fits all. If you find that a particular method of doing work isn’t for you, try something else. There’s a lot to choose from.
5. Keep the long term vision of your business in mind.
I’ve had some incredible writing opportunities, and also some really lame jobs. What got me through the bad ones was keeping my goal in mind. My long term goal of creating my own products and developing more passive streams of income was enough to keep me going. I looked at those non-ideal jobs as paid training for what was down the road.
Great tips, Courtney. I think the most important thing is that you believe in yourself. If you aren’t confident, it will show in your writing. And remember that we all started at the bottom of the ladder. I’ve been writing for a very long time, but I am still learning. Never stop studying the craft of writing.
Excellent post, Courtney. I could relate to everything you said, especially “We creative types are sometimes hurt by criticism. A bad journey out of the shell, and we automatically crawl back in.” That’s for sure! I’m working at toughening my skin, but sometimes I still wilt under criticism.
Thanks for the ecouragement. I have always enjoyed writing, and even wrote for local newspapers. Now I’m trying to make a career, or should I say wah opportunity from it.
I have wasted so many hours researching the wrong places. I’m glad I’m finally commited to your site. I’m not afraid to click on a link for fear it is spam.
Thanks again Courtknee!
I’ve been on the computer too long. It should read “a scam” not spam.
Hope- Definitely! When you’re confident about yourself and your writing, that will show through bar none.
Valerie-Ironically, the past four days have been all about becoming tougher and standing up to criticism. I’m glad you can relate.
FYI-There are definitely many ways that you can make money writing online. The Internet has opened up a lot of opportunity for writers. I’m glad you’re going to try working at home as a writer. It’s definitely been a good thing for our family.
Great points, Courtney!
I’m sure many will find them helpful and encouraging!
Jeanne
Thanks Jeanne!
I think this honest look at what works and what doesn’t work when one is starting out has probably helped a lot of people. Thanks for being so candid.
Hi Courtney!
This post is great. I have many things related to my own journey in writing. Often I see some lame jobs as a drudgery in an ad agency, never realising that they’re paid training as you perfectly said.
Thanks for the great sharing!
Solomon
I am glad to have found this article because I resigned from my full time job this week to work at home. Your tips and insights really have put me at ease. The idea I really appreciate the most is sticking to one thing. There are so many ways to make money online and an overload of information that it is really easy to spread yourself too thin. Specializing and perfecting one avenue makes a lot of sense. Thank you.