Here’s the final habit in my series on things to do if you want to make it as a freelance writer. Thanks for sticking  with it. Find part six here, and follow the links to the rest of the series.

Habit seven may sound like a bunch of hippie silliness at first glance, but it’s actually something practiced by CEOs of major corporations.

HABIT SIX: HAVING AN ABUNDANCE MINDSET

Most freelance writers have the following financial cycle:

1. Write your butt off.
2. Count up how much money you made.
3. Spend that money.
4. Repeat.

It’s an easy rut to fall into, and it does mean you’re making a little money. But it’s no way to grow your freelancing business. Instead, consider the power of this financial cycle:

1. Identify how much money you want.
2. Figure out how much writing will cover that nut.
3. Write that much.
4. Spend the money.
5. Repeat.

This is abundance-based budgeting, as opposed to scarcity-based budgeting. A scarcity-based budgeter asks “Can I afford this?”. An abundance-based budgeter asks “What do I have to do to afford this?”

Making this simple change to your freelancing business makes a huge difference in your chances for success, and your quality of life.

One important caveat….

Even though you should budget your money with an abundance mindset, always spend with a scarcity mindset. Doing anything else adds debt load to your budget that makes it harder to succeed.

How about you? What kinds of budgeting and forecasting techniques help you grow your writing (or other) business?

Click here for part five of the series.

HABIT SIX: MARKET RESEARCH

Lawrence Block is an award-winning mystery writer with an immense body of work and enthusiastic following. For several years he wrote an advice column in Writers’ Digest magazine. In one such column, he said that writers who don’t read the magazines they want to write for won’t get published — and they don’t deserve to. Continue reading →

HABIT FOUR: CASTING A WIDE NET

I’ve said many times that writing nonfiction is the secret to making a living as a freelance writer, but the truth is more complex than that. Nonfiction writing is key because there’s such a wide and varied market for the work. Put one way, there are more than ten times as many sections in the Writers’ Market for nonfiction than for fiction, and most of those sections are much larger than those for fiction. It comes down to casting a wider net: being willing to write not just what you want, but whatever you can. My favorite topics for writing are health and fitness, martial arts, travel and fitness. Most of my writing money comes from personal finance, legal writing and business advice columns. There are three ways to cast a wider net with your writing: write about more things, write for more publications, and write more. Writing About More Quick: write a list of 20 things you know well, or would like to learn about. Now, for each of those things, make a list of 100 topics you could write about or research. You now have 1,000 potential articles to sell. Constantly think about how to turn your experiences into articles, books and blog posts. Write For More Publications Even as print burns out, there are thousands of magazines and websites willing to pay you to write for them. Do the research to find out who carries articles about your areas of interest and expertise. When you have an article idea, pitch multiple zines with slightly different angles on the topics. Also be willing to pitch tangential publications. If you’re a travel writer researching a piece on museums in a town, also pitch the hobby magazines related to each museum. Look for kids activities at each location for an article for the local parenting mag. This makes the most of your research, and gives you extra clips for your portfolio. Write More This is one of the biggest differences between professionals and amateurs I’ve noticed. Amateurs on web forums I frequent talk about writing 1,000 words a day on a good day. Today — and it’s not a particularly busy day — I’m at 4,000 with another 2,000 scheduled for after this post. Develop the discipline, work habits and familiarity with your own energy flow that lets you set a high bar for how much you can write. Like any other skill, you’ll get faster and more proficient the more you write.   What are some of your insights for casting a wider net? How do you generate article ideas? What’s your process for finding publishers? How have you mastered writing quickly and well? I look forward to your answers in the comments. Read parts one, two and three of this series if you haven’t already. Stay tuned for part four.