by Suzanne Lieurance
As a freelance writer, the writing assignments you seek and accept will not only help you earn a nice income from your writing, they will also help move your writing career forward.
But you must have specific criteria for deciding which jobs to accept.
Otherwise, you won’t know which jobs to accept and which ones to reject.
Use this first checklist to determine if certain writing assignments are right for you.
Put a check next to each statement that applies to any writing assignment/job you are considering.
A check next to one or more of these statements indicates the job/assignment is probably right for you.
___ 1. This assignment/job is in alignment with at least one of my three major writing/career goals for this year.
___ 2. This assignment/job doesn’t pay well but it will give me a much needed publication credit and some experience.
___ 3. This assignment/job is something that really interests me, so I will enjoy working on it regardless of how much it pays, and it will give me more writing experience.
___ 4. This assignment/job will be my way of breaking in with a particular editor or publisher and I’ll be likely to get more, better paying work from this editor/publisher later if I accept this assignment first.
___ 5. This assignment/job will be worth my time and effort. It pays well, so my time won’t be better spent writing something else.
___ 6. This assignment/job will be a stretch for me. But I know I can do it and, if I do, it will be a major coup for my writing career.
Next, put a check beside any of the statements on this second checklist that apply to a particular writing assignment/job you are considering.
If you can check one or more of these statements, then the job/assignment you are considering is probably NOT right for you—so don’t be afraid to let it go so you can move on to something better!
___1. This assignment really doesn’t interest me that much and it doesn’t pay very well, but it adds up to a lot of money (because it’s a lot of work) and I just don’t want to pass up that kind of money right now.
___ 2. This assignment/job is really NOT in alignment with ANY of my three major writing/career goals for the year.
___ 3. This assignment/job doesn’t pay well and it doesn’t interest me very much, but it’s within my area of expertise so I might as well take it.
Don’t talk yourself into taking jobs that you know you’ll resent later as you start working on them because they are too much work for too little pay OR they are not in alignment with your goals or even within your areas of interest.
Remember—seek and select your freelance writing jobs wisely.
Every 6 months or so, push yourself out of your comfort zone to a new level of performance.
Use these checklists when you’re considering writing assignments and you’re sure to stay on track with your overall writing/career goals.
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