One of the best steps that you can take to ensure job satisfaction as a freelance writer is to focus your efforts on finding the best assignments to work on. There seems to be no end to the opportunities available to freelance writers to write articles, product descriptions, job resumes, website content and more. However, there is considerable variation in the quality of assignments available as well as the compensation. Working on assignments that you find enjoyable and rewarding can help you to keep your nose to the grindstone each and every day. How can you find the best assignments?
Your Work Preferences
Each freelance writer has a different writing style. Some prefer to work on no-frills, factual pieces that are short in length. Others prefer to write rich, sales-oriented content with a persuasive edge. Still others love to dig into their work by working on lengthy, research-oriented pieces. You will love your job as a freelance writer more fully when you define what types of assignments you enjoy most and actively search for those assignments over others. Of course, you may need to work on some assignments that you don’t particularly love from time to time to make ends meet, but you can spend the majority of your time working on assignments that are more enjoyable to you.
The Best Clients
Even the best assignments can be miserable to work on if you are working for a bad client. These are clients that seemingly are never happy with any of your work. While you certainly want to work with clients who are detailed and specific about what they demand, you may be able to tell that a client is overbearing and difficult to work with by reading the job description. Detailed instructions are great and are even beneficial to you, but a great client is one who gives you creative license to work your creative magic with the article. In some cases, you may have to work with a client a time or two before you can better determine if a client is great to work with or not.
Adequate Compensation
As a freelance writer, you certainly love to work on those assignments that are highly lucrative. As you become more established and create more connections in the industry, you may find that more of these opportunities are offered to you. However, until you reach that point, you want to ensure that you are receiving fair, adequate compensation on all of your projects. Keep in mind that the compensation should ultimately reflect your total time to work on the assignment, and special instructions may require additional time and effort on your part. For example, if an article needs to be written with HTML, images attached and other requirements, additional compensation should be provided. You can feel bitter and resentful when working on an assignment with inadequate compensation.
You can drastically reduce the time it takes to find the best assignments regularly by focusing on finding great clients first. When you find great clients to work with, they will offer you fabulous assignments on a recurring basis.
