5 Top Tips for Freelance Copywriters

Tea and biscuits are your two best friends when it comes to settling down to a writing project.

Aside from the obvious recommendation that you maintain a fully stocked tea cupboard at all times, I have collected together my 5 top tips for aspiring freelance copywriters.

Stay in touch with other writers

Writing is a lonely occupation. Few people you meet will understand the way you work and it’s essential to feel a sense of solidarity (unless the ‘misunderstood creative’ vibe is what you’re going for). It’s great if you have fellow writers you can call, even if simply to chat with a likeminded soul. Stay in touch with the writers you meet and perhaps think about joining a writing group or attending seminars and courses.

Don’t stop writing for pleasure

Freelance copywriting is a fantastic occupation. You get to write for a variety of interesting projects and really help people who value your skills. However, when you spend all day in front of a computer writing for someone else, the impetus to then work on your own novel or short story can be difficult to muster. Don’t lose heart! I am guilty of neglecting my own creative writing for long stretches, to discover a renewed vigour upon returning to it. You are a freelance copywriter as a career; you will always be a creative writer for pleasure.
(I would probably extend this to ‘Don’t stop reading or writing for pleasure.)

Keep on top of your admin

It may be dull, but this is definitely a top tip. Make sure all your files (including those on the computer) are kept in order from the start. I print out my invoices as I send them, I’m old school like that, and cross them out with a highlighter when they are paid off. Keep an address book of contacts for each project and log the hours you work each day. You simply don’t need the stresses of sloppy administration clouding your creativity when you’re writing.

Keep a diary

I don’t mean the Adrian Mole kind of diary (although that is undeniably a therapeutic creative outlet), I mean a journal of what you’re reading and writing at a given time. Note down any extracts from your current bedtime novel that particularly stand out, jot down ideas for plotlines, scribble tips for yourself, the future writer, looking back and wondering what was making you tick when you wrote a certain article or story. A writer’s diary is a helpful tool to follow trains of thought and pinpoint places you find the most inspiration.

Ban Facebook

It is frighteningly easy to accidentally spend 20 minutes browsing Facebook or Twitter when you should be concentrating. This is particularly true for a freelance writer working from home, with no fear of the boss seeing what you’re up to. Be stern with yourself and impose a Facebook ban. It is not productive; it in no way enlightens or inspires you to write well when you have just navigated away from mundane updates, sexy selfies and trivial gossip.