Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
A lot of people love the idea of working from home whether it’s to be a blogger, ghostwriter or novelist. Writing is a passion for many. However, a lot of people will fail at trying to make their dreams come true. Does this mean they should give up and look for a traditional nine-to-five job? That depends on their mentality towards failing.
Why Do You Fail?
First, there is no such thing as failure if you learn from the experience. Even the worst situations can have a positive outcome as long as you gain knowledge from it. In that instance, it’s no longer a failure as you became a better person because of it.
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No one wakes up in the morning hoping they fail. But it’s through hardship that many people gain strength of core, self and spirit. It’s all in a matter of how you perceive the situation.
The trick is to identify the weaknesses and take steps to correct them. Just because you failed this attempt, doesn’t mean you should roll over and be done. That is, unless your heart truly isn’t into the process.
Not Getting Enough Work
I’ve seen a lot of potential writers give up because the workflow isn’t enough to pay the bills. Almost every writer will go through a dry spell where it doesn’t seem possible to continue as the bills keep piling up.
Solutions:
I had the benefit of a full-time job when I started ghostwriting in 2012. It was more than a year later that I was capable of quitting that job and write full-time. In reality, it’s when I became serious about ghostwriting is when I built a successful practice.
If you’re not able to juggle a full-time job and write, you can always expand your career. I started with Textbroker and branched out into other systems simultaneously. It’s rare that all brokerage sites are dry when it comes to workload. Find more sites that pay.
One of the most important things that improved my income was structuring a good schedule. I’m still in the process of perfecting it, but so far it has made an incredible impact on my income. In fact, I find I have more spare time than I thought I did. Especially if I give up binge watching YouTube and Netflix.
Pay is Too Low to Continue
A big problem many writers have is a low pay. Because the market is saturated with writers, the amount of money you make as a freelancer isn’t as high as it used to be. It’s often difficult for freelancers to make a decent living depending on their situation.
Solutions:
Diversify yourself. The more flexible you are with clients, the more important you’ll become to those looking for professionals. One of the reasons I obtained a retainer is because I also offer graphic design in the pieces I write for the client.
Understand that it may take time to build a certain level of success. Writing is rarely results in an instant windfall of money. This is especially true for bloggers. Some websites take time to build momentum.
Again, having a full-time job is helpful to offset a lack of money from writing. I waited until I was able to replace my regular income before I began writing full-time. In the mean-time, the extra money from writing helped pay a few bills and put gas in the truck.
Offering the highest quality work puts your name ahead of the competition. There are millions of writers in the world, and providing a superior customer experience goes a long way to securing work.
Not Having the Right Mindset
Many will fail because they lack confidence, motivation and determination. A lot of people are filled with self-doubt and disbelief to the point of sabotaging their own efforts. If you don’t believe something will work, chances are it won’t.
Solutions:
You will fail at 100% of the things you do not try. Even more so if you don’t have a good mindset about the situation. I know it’s difficult to keep positive most of the time. However it’s a necessity if you want to build success as a writer.
A lack of professionalism also creates a myriad of problems. This is true whether you’re writing stories on Wattpad or trying to build a blog. It’s not enough to simply work at home in your pajamas. You need to have a professional view of yourself.
Lack of Knowledge
A lack of knowledge stops a lot of people from going forward. I’m not just talking about grammar and spelling, though. The Internet is full of sites to help people learn just about any topic. For example, it only takes a day of research to come up with a plan to fix the lack of traffic for a blog.
Solutions:
One of the reasons I am successful in my field is because of my background. Clients love working with someone who has as much knowledge about the Internet and technology as I do. Keep your thumb on the pulse of innovation and keep up with trends in your preferred niche.
If you’re running a blog, it takes more than just writing words to pull in traffic. In the beginning, it will take a lot of hard work and know-how to build an online reputation. Take me, for example. My sites are barely starting to pull in enough ad revenue to make the effort worthwhile. Of course, I didn’t get serious about blogging until recently.
There is no such thing as knowing enough. You can easily fail if you assume your college courses from 10 years ago are enough to get by. Constantly learn more about everything you write about.
A Lack of Effort
This is one that affects many people. A lack of effort is often the downfall of potentially good writers. This poor performance is often caused by a lack of confidence, motivation and out-right laziness. How do you know you’ll fail if you don’t even try?
Solution:
Take your writing more seriously. This is one of my biggest hangups for trying to transition into a novelist. Yes, I am very good when it comes to clients and freelance ghostwriting. But I am lacking professionalism and seriousness when it comes to my own books. This is something I am working to improve.
Some people claim they just don’t have the time to put into specific projects. How true is this, though? For example, I used to claim how my day was “so full” and that I just didn’t have time to get other projects done. In reality, my time was taken up by YouTube and Netflix.
Set goals for yourself on what you want to complete in any given day. For myself, I am setting up a goal which includes total number of words written. This will include blogs, clients and books. It’s a bit of a challenge to balance them all, but not so much if I have a decent schedule without distractions.
It’s Not a Fail if You Learn
If there is even a faint possibility for learning something from any situation, it’s not going to be a failure. The experience gives you the tools to rebuild a strategy that is more capable of success. Learn what not to do and put it into practice in the next attempt. In reality, each failure only makes you stronger for the next time.
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