6 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Freelance Writing Career
Updated: Mar 10, 2025
Written by: Suzanne Lieurance, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As a writing coach, I meet many people who are trying to create their own freelance writing careers. Many of these writers hope to write for magazines and other print publications. Others want to write for business clients. Time after time, I see these writers make many of the same mistakes that stall their careers.
6 most common mistakes to avoid if you hope to be a well-paid freelance writer:
1. Not writing enough
Most new writers don't write enough before they decide to make money freelancing. It's that simple. They also don't bother to have their work critiqued by other published writers. They rely solely on the feedback of family and friends who usually don't know anything about what makes a manuscript marketable. Write a lot and write often, then have your work critiqued by other writers, so you don't keep making the same mistakes.
2. Writing without a market in mind
Many beginning writers who wish to write for magazines don't write with a market (a particular magazine) in mind. They write first, then try to sell their work. But it's much harder to become published this way. If you figure out at least one or two possible markets for your work before you write, you're more likely to sell your manuscript to at least one of those markets.
3. Writing without studying potential markets
Beginning writers don't bother to study the markets (the magazines, blogs, or other publications they wish to write for), or they don't really know how to effectively study the markets. This where taking a writing course that focuses on how to get published, joining a group coaching program, or working one-on-one with a writing coach can be most helpful. You not only learn how important it is to study the markets, but you also learn how to study those markets.
4. Resisting edits from a publisher/editor
New writers don't expect to take direction from an editor. They expect to sell their work exactly the way they wrote it. If an editor does require revisions, quite often beginning writers are hesitant to make these changes because they don't really understand what the editor wants. Be prepared to receive suggestions and editorial direction from editors.
5. Failing to submit work on a regular basis
Many beginning freelancers don't submit their work on a regular basis.
If you're hoping to start a writing career, you must submit queries, LOIs(letters of introduction), cover letters with resumes, and manuscripts often, not just occasionally. You must be willing to face rejection if you hope to gain acceptances and publication. Rejection is just part of the business of writing. Don't let it keep you from submitting your work to publishers.
You must also apply for writing assignments. Don't set up a website for your writing business or a profile on Linkedin, for example, and expect to get all your work from people who visit your site or your profile. Usually, clients won't simply come to you. You'll need to find clients yourself.
6. Failing to join professional organizations
Many new writers are intimidated by published writers, so they don’t join professional organizations for writers. This is a mistake for several reasons. First, you'll learn a lot from published writers. Second, these other writers will often offer you opportunities that you just won't find any other way. Join local, regional, and national writers' organizations and get to know other published writers. Help out at local writers' conferences, etc. Writing is like most other things in that quite often it's not what you know but who you know that counts.
Now that you are aware of these mistakes, be careful to avoid each of them and you should have a much easier time creating a successful freelance writing career!
And for more free writing tips delivered to your e-mail box every weekday morning, register for The Morning Nudge at www.morningnudge.com.
Suzanne Lieurance, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Suzanne Lieurance is an award-winning author, freelance writer, ghost writer, writing coach, speaker, online content creator, and CEO of WritebytheSea.com. She has written over 40 published books and her articles and stories have appeared in various magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, such as Family Fun, Instructor, New Moon for Girls, KC Weddings, The Journal of Reading, and Children’s Writer to name a few. Her mission as a coach is to help those with a passion for writing become the writers they’ve always wanted to be.
