quit day job

Quit Your Job to Freelance? A Teacher’s 5 Sink-or-Swim Moves

If you’ve been thinking about ways to quit your job and freelance full time, you’re not alone.

There’s a lot of unknowns right now. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little more control over your income, your schedule, and your life?

When you’re a freelancer, you’re not at the mercy of a global pandemic, a hard-to-work-with manager, or the day-to-day drudgery of work you hate.

You make the rules. You’re the boss. Your schedule, your workload, and your income depends on you.

If you’re thinking about this, chances are pretty good you’ve got questions:

Do you have what it takes? Can you get freelance writing clients? Will you be able to pay your bills and do meaningful work?

The answer: Yes, you can. I quit my job as a mid-career teacher to be a freelancer. But instead of taking the side-hustle-for-years route, I decided to go with the sink-or-swim approach.

Ready to quit your job to be a freelance writer? Here’s what you need to know:

Tagged with: guest post, persistence, quit day job

Staffing Agencies for Freelance Writers: 7 Insider Tips from a Recruiter

Posted by: Evan Jensen — 14 Comments ↓

Can you find freelance work with staffing agencies?

Definitely. But you need to know what happens behind the scenes at a staffing agency when a recruiter is trying to find a writer for their client.

Here’s what usually happens. A staffing agency recruiter posts a contract job for a writer to work for one of their clients that looks something like this:

“Our client needs a copywriter who’s a natural at writing copy that’s on brand, fun, helpful, and authentic for a major company.”

Looks like a perfect writing gig for a solid client, right? So you fill out a few details online and click send. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of writers do the same thing. One writer gets the gig, and it’s not you. You never hear back.

Sound familiar? If you want to connect with staffing agencies to find freelance work, there’s something you need to know…that kind of lazy-ass marketing will fail you almost every time.

So what’s the secret to landing freelance work with staffing agencies? We talked to a veteran copywriter and staffing agency recruiter to find out…

Content Writing Productivity: 11 Bright Hacks to Get Organized

Posted by: Evan Jensen — 6 Comments ↓

Ever struggle to keep up with your content writing deadlines?

Maybe freelancing is your full-time gig, or maybe it’s your side hustle. Maybe you have a day job, kids, or both.

If you’re feeling like your hectic schedule is casting a shadow over your freelance writing career that’s making it hard to move up and earn more, shine a light on how you’re using your time.

If you’re a stay-at-home mom, parent who home-schools kids, freelancer with a day job and dream to go full-time, or you’re already living the freelance life, your greatest asset is time.

How you use your time can make the difference between landing a couple of freelance writing gigs and being fully booked. Which would you prefer?

In this post you’ll get tips, strategies, resources, and motivation from freelancers who are hustling every day, every hour, every minute to improve time management and get more work done.

Check out these 11 hacks for freelance writers to get organized and boost productivity:

‘I Want to Quit My Job and Freelance’ — How to Know It’s Time

Posted by: Carol Tice — Comments Off

I hear this a lot, from aspiring freelance writers: “I want to quit my job. I’ve always wanted to earn a living from my writing. But…I’m scared.”

Indeed. We all are. How do you know when it’s your moment to quit working for the Man and make the leap into freelance writing?

After a decade coaching writers in making this transition, I’ve discovered there are common ‘tells’ that show writers the time has come to head for the door and launch their freelance career.

If you’ve been wondering how you’ll know it’s time to act on your urge to quit, take a look at my list of common traits of writers who have reached their freelance moment:

Tagged with: overcome fear, quit day job

How to Rev Up Your Income as a Part-Time Freelancer

Posted by: Editor — Comments Off

I wasn’t planning on being a part-time freelancer. Six years ago I made the move to full-time freelancing after my third career layoff. I knew financial potholes existed. I also swore I’d avoid the worst ones. I wasn’t planning to blow through emergency funds and my family’s patience or stiff-arm friends asking for updates.

Fast-forward five years. I was stuck in a major client drought and bottomed out financially. I realized I had to find a part-time job FAST and settle for being a part-time freelancer. Like it or not. And I didn’t.

It felt like failure — you thought you could do this and couldn’t, dumb bunny. But monthly expenses had become monthly drama, plus some ugly debt was staring at me.

Ever find yourself wondering if you can make a living as a writer and do work you love? I did.

I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of becoming a part-time freelancer just so I could collect a paycheck from a J-O-B. When I made the switch, it had a big impact on my money situation. But there were also some positive and unexpected benefits to being a part-time freelancer.

Oh, Snap! 18 Websites That Pay Writers for LGBTQ Content

Posted by: Editor — 35 Comments ↓

“It’s a real hustle, you sure you want to quit your job at Harvard?”

That’s the response I usually got from family and friends when I talked about leaving my day job to become a full-time freelancer. So I put it off.

But after thee years as a smoking cessation counselor and researcher at Harvard Medical Center, I knew I needed to leave academia. The work was boring. The people were toxic. The egos were huge. And it never seemed like any of my patients ever quit smoking.

Ever wonder if you can make it as a full-time freelancer, find your niche, and make good money?

I did. So I started freelancing on the side. Within a year I took the leap and quit my day job. I’ve been freelancing full time for seven months, and I can’t imagine going back to a J-O-B.

Trying to find your niche? Some writers seem to have that dialed in from day one. It took me a little longer to figure out where to find good-paying clients. But what I’ve been able to accomplish as an LGBTQ writer in a short amount of time is proof that you can be a successful freelance writer in just about any niche.

Here’s the basics about how I found my niche, along with 18 LGBTQ sites (+1 bonus) that pay writers $50 or more per article.