I wanted to be a freelancer long before the internet was around. (Yeah, I might be that old). I’d take books out of the library regularly that were about becoming a freelancer. I read them and re-read them voraciously. Then one day I realized something: I had been reading and reading and reading about how to become a freelancer but it wasn’t getting me anywhere. I wasn’t freelancing, I was just reading about freelancing. 

So I made a commitment to myself: I would stop reading anything else about freelancing until I had actually sold some of my writing. 

Whenever I thought about reading something on freelancing (which was often), I remembered my commitment to myself and I finally did something about it. I sent off a few queries and one of my first pieces was printed in the essay section of a large newspaper. I earned $100 and I had my first freelance sale! I was on top of the world. (By the way, it’s still framed in my office). 

It came easy after that. Turns out, I just had to “pop the cork” so to speak. I had to do it just once to figure out how to do it and to get some confidence. After that, submitting queries was easy. Writing was easy. Selling was easy. 

I see aspiring freelancers facing the same problems today that I faced years ago (except that they aren’t reading books at the library as much as they are going online to find a wealth of “how to become a freelancer” information). 

Now, just so you don’t mistake what I’m saying, this is good information that they are finding, but it’s doing a disservice to aspiring freelancers: Information about how to become a freelancer tricks wannabe freelancers into thinking that they are doing something about their freelancing career. They think they need just a bit more information before they can start. 

But it’s not true. 

Now, you’re probably wondering why I would say something like this even though I write for a freelancing website! Well, here’s the reason: Only a small portion of this site is dedicated to teaching you how to become a freelancer. Everything else is designed to help existing freelancers do an even better job. You’ll also notice that a lot of the “how to become a freelancer” information here is not what you would find elsewhere. 

If you’re an aspiring freelancer, I want to empower you to become a freelancer by providing really useful information. But I don’t want to hold you back by making you think that you need just a bit more information before you start. 

You don’t need more information to start. If you are reading this and you are an aspiring freelancer writer, consider this paragraph a get-your-butt-in-gear message. As soon as you are done reading this article, go out and submit a proposal or query a magazine or call up your local newspaper editor. 

You should read more information on becoming a freelancer, and make self-education a continuous part of your business. But you should never let it replace the business-building action of submitting queries and proposals. 

• I know it’s scary to call up the newspaper editor.
• I know that reading about freelancing is easier than freelancing.

But I’m confident that your desire to become a successful freelancer will outweigh your temporary discomfort at doing slightly more difficult things like coming up with a winning proposal to send to a magazine. 

Your future lies ahead of you at the end of this sentence, so seize the opportunity… right now!