It is every writer’s worst nightmare. The publication you are writing for closes its doors. Goes out of business. Disappears.
How do you cope? More than likely you depended greatly on that income and losing it is going to change things for you fast.
I have had this happen to me once, and I feel extremely blessed for two reasons. One, because I had the opportunity to write for a fabulous company, with good people that made up the whole of the company. And two, because I got my feet in the door there, I was able to land many other positions that I was coveting.
The first part of coping is NOT TO GIVE UP! Don’t let it get you down. I won’t lie, it hurts and it is scary. You wonder how you will make all of the bills, or how you will be able to afford certain things. It is difficult to see the big picture when you are wrapped up and scared, so as I mentioned, do not give up. Which takes me to the next step.
Persistance. This is the key to freelance ANYTHING. No matter the job or the theme, anything requires great persistance to succeed. So what does this mean to you at that time? Start looking for new clients immediately. Do not wait. If you can find a temporary fix – terrific. If you feel you can make it with Associated Content to replace that income, that is great, though I will admit as of late I would never trust that as a source of main income.
Flexibility. Remember when you are searching for something else, that an opportunity might present itself that you are not interested in. It might be a topic that you do not know much about, it might be a topic that bores you. But remember, you just lost a good job that you needed to pay bills. Being picky at this time is not an option.
Research the subject in any manner you can. Contact places that revolve around that subject and spend time there. I was offered a column once writing editorials on a local baseball team (no it was not the St. Louis Cardinals – how I wish!). I am absolutely not a sports gal, and know very little. But how I wanted my name on something important, so I discussed how I felt with my editor. I did not go and tell him, oh I hate baseball. Because honestly, that was not true. I didn’t know enough to feel I would be a good editorial columnist, but I really wanted the job.
Well, to my surprise he recommended a book I should read. Well I got it and read it cover to cover. By the end of the book, I understood exactly what I was going to be writing about, and how I would write it. All I needed was that boost with some research and I felt confident. My writing excelled and you’d have never known that earlier I had no idea how to write that type of feature.
That freelance job lasted four months and I loved it. It was a part-time (extra income) job for me, so when it was over I was fine.
Just don’t give up. There are hundreds of freelance jobs available, and not all of them are advertised. Look around locally, look around on the Internet and contact genre and topic specific publications. You might be surprised, because a place that is not advertising a position, might be the place that hires you based on your knowledge and writing ability alone.
Keep your chin up!
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