It’s that time again. We human beings have this funny attachment to our calendars, our time keepers and our numbers. Twenty-Ten is not only the rollover of a new year, but the start of a new decade. While I’m an advocate for making every day the best it can be for your freelance writing business, here are 7 New Year’s resolutions that will help you push onward and upward through the next year:
1. Get Control of Your Bookkeeping.
Seriously. Hire an accountant if you need to, but get a handle on it. You’ll be thanking me in 16 months when you’re trying to get your 2010 taxes together.
2. Hone Your Craft.
Becoming a better writer will get you more clients and it will bring the clients you do get back again and again. Try to spend a couple of hours a week just reading about writing.
3. Move Into a New Market.
Writing web content articles is fine, and it can pay the bills. This year, though, why not give blogging a try? Or maybe give White Papers a shot. Who knows, you might just be able to make more money with less work, just by trying something new.
4. Network with Other Writers.
Freelance writing can be a very isolated profession. You need that virtual water cooler. Whether it’s via blogs, message boards, Facebook or Twitter, connect with some other writers this year.
5. Invest in Your Business.
Spend some money on marketing this year. Have those brochures printed that you’ve been talking about for a long time, or have someone fix that God-awful website design. Get some new business cards. Set aside some money for infrastructure, too. Get away from your kitchen table and into an office, or even replace your dying computer.
6. Rethink Your Business Structure.
This might be the year you need to incorporate or start an LLC. If you choose to continue as a sole proprietorship, make sure it’s the best thing for your business first.
7. Make Your Business a Priority
Unless if you’re only writing part time for supplemental income, you want to make a living with your writing. If your writing business isn’t a priority in the same way that working for someone else would be, it will never grow. Yes, you love and need the flexibility being a freelancer affords, but flexibility just means you need to be more diligent about making sure the work gets done.
Thanks for the great tips. I am beginning to network with other writers, especially those in the film industry. I will be interviewing some people in the up coming weeks and look forward to it. I love screenwriting, the process, and just thinking that my screenplays and teleplays will be coming to the big and small screen near you!
I’d also like to write for magazines. I’ve committed to sending out at least one or two query letters per week. I’ll see how it goes. I enjoy writing and will keep my blogs going.
My resolution: Finish the book!!!
Good tips. I started off the new year by hiring an accountant and finally bidding farewell to my old laptop, and I already feel much more organized and productive!