How to Make a Smooth Transition from Day Job to Freelance Writing?

Earning money from your writing is one of the most popular goals nowadays. Becoming a freelancer, not tied down with a day job and still earning enough to pay the bills and support yourself is a dream of more and more people.

Unfortunately, not everybody realizes that at the very beginning there is a very little chance that you will be able to earn enough to cover the expenses. So if you're planning quitting your day job to pursue a career in writing, here's my advice. Don't.

Instead of jumping head-first into what might as well be an empty pool, start slowly and limit the risk of failure to a minimum.

Reality is that at the very beginning of your freelancing you're bound to make mistakes, not be able to find paid jobs and your first monthly income might not even be anything more but few dollars. See how your day-job might come in handy at first?

1. Research

If you go into freelance writing, research will sooner or later become your best friend. So why not get acquainted before your career kicks off? Do an extensive search online. The Internet is full of blogs, web sites and e-books that are designed to help writers find paid jobs and writing opportunities.

Look not only for big portals but for smaller personal journals as well. Get to know the writing community beforehand and when you actually start publishing, you will have a head-start. Not to mention you will be much more confident, because you will be familiar with the community itself and with its rules.

2. Start small

Obviously, by keeping your day job, you're limiting the amount of time you can spend writing, promoting and networking. But remember that at the very beginning, earning money isn't your goal. You might want to spend this time looking around. Trying out what type of writing is best for you. What platforms work best for you. What type of income interests you the most.

If you decide to go for sites that pay revenue share, write one or two articles for each candidate and see how they perform. This should give you some insight into where you feel the most comfortable and what type of submission system you like best.

If you think you'd rather seek out jobs and get paid one time payment for your articles, you should see what sites offer the type of assignments you'd be interested in and how the whole procedure looks like. Bid on one or two jobs on each of the sites you think could work for you and see how things work out for you.

This whole trial and error might not sound like the most efficient system, but remember one thing. This is why you're not giving up your day job just yet. You want to make yourself as comfortable as possible before you really get into this business.

You will make mistakes at the beginning. Everybody makes them. So why not to make them while the money from your writing isn't as crucial as it would be if writing was your only source of income?

3. Network and Promote

You have time. So why not meet new people and ask their advice on what t do, where to go, how to do things? Who knows, you might end up with very useful contacts and potential readers of your work. Don't dismiss the power of networking.

Meeting new people, especially those within the writing community, allows you to gain a wider perspective. Read what they have to say, you might be able to learn something to help you be a better writer and a better freelancer. Not only that, they might introduce you to new writing opportunities, recommend new sites and guide you through them.

4. Go for it

Yes, I advise caution when transitioning from your day job into working full time as a freelancer. After all, we're talking about being able to pay the bills and live comfortably. So before you give your two weeks notice, you should know how much you're able to write daily, how much you're able to earn on a weekly basis and you should feel confident enough to know how much your work is worth. Having a back-up plan in case something happens and you're not able to write/earn is also a good idea.

Try building yourself a support network of friends and family who will motivate you when you hit a low end. I can tell you from my own experience, having someone who tells you that what you've written is brilliant and demanding new pieces, because they 'haven't read your stuff in ages' does miracles for one's self-esteem.

In the end. When you think you're ready, simply go for it. Freelancing can not only be a great source of income, but it an also be a great adventure.