Freelance Writing Multitasking

At a writing conference a few years back, I attended a session for starting and maintaining a freelance writing business. One of the freelancers on the panel said that when she was first starting out she had to learn that she couldn’t just stop at the one assignment. Meaning she couldn’t get an assignment and put all of her energies into that one assignment and forget all of the other duties of a freelancer (unless that assignment was huge). I get that, but I need to work on it.

Here is how it typically works for me- get an assignment big (not huge) or small and focus entirely on that project. Research, review, outline and write that one project. Work on other, non-writing tasks, but all of my writing is focused on this one project. For a writing career, this means failure.

I had read a tweet or a blurb somewhere of a successful writer who wrote, around 9 a.m.: “If I haven’t had a rejection yet today, then I am not doing my job.” Okay, then. All of the gears need to be clicking: finishing the articles, looking to the next market, researching the markets, writing the queries, reading the headlines, completing paperwork, getting my name out there. I am sure I left a bunch off, I am just learning. I know two things that will get me through this: 1. I enjoy what I do and 2. I don’t give up easily.