4 Signs You're Ready to Become a Freelance Writer

Have you ever been in a job interview where the interviewer asked some form of, “What’s your greatest weakness?”

I have been. Honestly, this question is so common that you can find a multitude of advice online about how to answer this effectively.

But have you ever wondered why  this question is so pervasive? In my opinion, your answer tells the potential employer a lot about what to expect regarding your work performance.

For example, maybe you struggle to delegate tasks in a professional setting. Your future boss will make note of this as something to give you extra training on if you ever pursue a managerial role.

So, I highly suggest having a heart-to-heart with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. As a freelance writer, you are your business. If you tend to procrastinate, no one else is going to pick up the slack for you.

But I’m absolutely not saying you need to be perfect. Perfectionism is a myth, plain and simple.

What I am saying is that you need to be keenly aware of your strengths and weaknesses so you can leverage them effectively.

For me personally, my biggest weakness is that I’m an anxious procrastinator. I’ll spend all day putting off starting a project simply because it’s such a big undertaking and I psych myself out.

I’ll spend hours doing lots of other little things, all the while, that project weighs on my mind and looms over me.

When I finally write the dang thing, I find myself chuckling over how much I freaked myself out over something I love doing. Once it’s done, I feel great! And without fail, I wish I had just started sooner instead of fretting the whole day away.

So, I keep myself aware of this. I hold myself accountable, get started earlier in the day, and try not to let my inner self-critic slow me down. I’m still not perfect, of course (no one is) but I save myself a lot of trouble compared to when I first started writing several years ago.

The ability to be honest with yourself and leverage your strengths and weaknesses is one of the biggest signs you’re ready to become a freelance writer.

Struggling to clearly define these aspects of yourself? Take some time to think through pros and cons jobs you’ve held in the past, as well as what you like and don’t like about the idea of being your own boss.

I mentioned in the last section that as a freelance writer, you are  your business. In a typical job, you may or may not have a role where you interact with customers on a daily basis.

But once you’re a freelance writer, it’s normal to talk with customers (and potential customers) on a daily basis.

You’re doing everything from making a first impression to managing that relationship if they become a regular client. (Unless you hire a team, but that can get expensive—and complicated—fast.)

As the face of your business, you need to excel at professionalism and customer service. Nobody wants to do business with someone they view as impolite, inattentive, and uninterested.

Data backs this up, too. One recent report found that US businesses lost more than $75 billion over one year due to poor customer service.

And the thing is, people can tell when you fake it. For over a decade, the topic of fake politeness in customer service has been widely discussed.

The verdict? Being overly polite when you don’t mean it is obvious, frustrating, and draining for your potential clients.

So, you have to have a genuine appreciation for professionalism and customer service. This doesn’t mean addressing everyone as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ though.

It means being able to relate to your client’s needs, communicating with honesty and integrity, and maintaining standards for everything you write.