I field a lot of questions from nurses about how to break into freelance writing. I always enjoy interacting with my fellow nurses and helping them get started in a new career as a writer. I thought I'd share my best tips and advice here. Here is a post for anyone who is in the "thinking about it" stage of the decision-making process.
1. Clarify why you want to become a writer
Is it because you want to share your personal journey with others? Is it to report on breaking health news? Is it to help pharmaceutical companies navigate the regulatory path? Is it to write patient engagement materials?
These are important questions to ask because the path to success looks somewhat different for each of these different types of writing. For instance, I do healthcare content marketing which has a relatively low barrier to entry and a prescribed path for finding work. Regulatory writing can be very lucrative but also requires a high degree of technical skill and is less easy to break into. If your goal is to share your personal journey, then maybe essay writing is your path. It's not necessarily lucrative, but surely it's rewarding.
2. Start reading about how to write
Unless you're that person who got straight-As in English composition class, it's worth your while to brush up on your writing skills: grammar, punctuation -- all that stuff you might have hated studying in school. And by the way, if you hated studying that stuff in school then you might not be a good fit as a writer. You absolutely, positively must have a good grasp of composition before you plunge into writing as a career, just as you had to have a good grasp of anatomy before you ever performed a venipuncture.
3. Read blogs on how to freelance
There are a lot of excellent resources on the web for how to get started as a freelance writer. I won't mention any by name in case it's against the rules.
One caveat: Maintain a healthy sense of skepticism when perusing these sites. If you run into one of those "get-rich-quick" as a writer sites, avoid it at all cost. No matter what anyone says, success as a writer takes time to achieve. Yes, it is possible to make excellent money in this business (I'm living proof of that), but you cannot develop your skills, marketing and contacts overnight.
4. Understand freelance writing is a business
This tip is for the people who really want to earn their living as a writer, as opposed to those who just want a creative outlet.
I see many nurses wash out of freelancing because they wanted to be 99% artist and 1% businessperson. It doesn't work like that.
I estimate I spend 60-75% of my time on administration/marketing/accounting activities and 25-30% actually writing something. That's the game, folks. If you can't see yourself as a businessperson, then maybe freelancing isn't for you.
5. Enjoy the process and savor the success
I can't even begin to express how you will feel when you make that first sale. And then that same joy will wash over you again when that first check arrives in the mail. To put something "out there" that you wrote and have it valued in a tangible sense, well, it's difficult to describe. Savor every moment because freelancing can be a bumpy process. You need to celebrate all those little victories.
I'll be back again with other posts that delve into more of the practical "how do I get started" stuff. Meanwhile, feel free to ask questions.
