The Bold Quality You Need For Freelance Writing Success

It takes more than writing skills to make it out there.

It’s hard for some freelance writers to get the money they deserve for the work that they do.

They are too scared, too uncertain, too shy, or have not learned what it takes to get what they want.

In this post, I tell you about a bold quality that freelance writers must adopt if they are serious about success.

Create opportunities to receive what you desire

While reading a sweet story about how a dad handled the loss of his son’s stuffed giraffe, I understood why some freelance writers have such a tough time.

The story tells of a dad contacting the Ritz Carlton to find out if his son left the giraffe there during a recent hotel stay. To the dad’s delight, someone from the hotel staff discovered the giraffe in a pile of sheets.

I would have been glad they found the toy and I would have asked the hotel clerk to mail it to me. End of story.

But not this dad. Happy that his child would soon have the beloved giraffe, the dad asked that someone at the hotel take pictures of the toy, there at the hotel. Not only that, he requested a pic of the stuffed giraffe near the pool. Whaat?

As if taking time out of a staff member’s busy day to take a picture of a toy is not too much, the dad also informed the employee where he wanted it taken.

When I read that request, I decided then and there, when I grow up, I going to be a millennial.

If there’s ever been a generation that will ask for anything, it has to be the millennial generation. Yes, this baby boomer is learning how to think like a millennial.

Although I know nothing more about the family in the story, what I’ve noticed about millennials is that they do not hesitate to ask for what they want. If the dad is not a millennial, he has one of their admirable qualities.

It’s a quality that freelance writers should adopt. Ask for what you want.

Sometimes you get more than you expect!

In the story of the giraffe at the hotel, the writer tells how the Ritz Carlton staff went above and beyond in providing what the dad requested for his son. They returned the giraffe to the little boy, along with several pictures of it enjoying the extra days of vacation at the hotel. And that’s not all. The package they sent to the little boy included additional toys.

I expect nothing less of the Ritz Carlton.

But the fact that the dad asked the hotel staff member to do something other than mail the giraffe to them truly struck me.

He asked.

Is this why you seldom get what you desire?

As a freelance writer, do you ask your customers for testimonials? Do you ask for recommendations, additional work, or better pay? Asking for what you want creates the opportunity for your customers to make it happen.

If you provide the very best service to your customers, you certainly should make your request known.

I’m reminded of what I heard a very long time ago when I was a little girl. A teacher said to ask for what you want. “You have not because you ask not,” she told us.

I wasn’t sure what that meant. And I dared not ask.

Scared of rejection? That’s an unnecessary fear.

Instead of being like the dad in the story and asking for what you want, many freelance writers are scared of rejection. If that’s you, take a lesson from Henry.

Last summer, a young man (in his late twenties or early thirties), walking down the street, stopped and asked me for a dollar. I said. “I don’t have a dollar to give you.”

Then he asked for fifty cents. I refused to give him that.

“Gimme a quarter?”

“No,” I laughed at his audacity.

“What about a nickel?”

“I’m not giving you anything.” We both laughed.

“One penny.” The dude was persistent.

“No. Nothing.”

“Well, gimme some ice.”

“Will you go get a job and leave me alone?”

“I don’t need a job. I get a thousand dollars from the government every month. One thousand dollars. All I have to do is walk up and down this street and I get one thousand dollars in the mail every month. One thousand dollars.”

It’s easy for me to remember that his name is Henry because every time I saw him, he said, “Gimme, gimme, gimme”.

Rejection did not deter Henry. He kept asking. Although I never gave him any money, many other people complied with his requests. I have, however, given to other “Henry’s”.

While out on one of his walks, a car hit Henry. I never saw him again. But he recovered and moved from the neighborhood.

Remove self-imposed limitations from your
freelance writing business

Although I’m from the generation that preaches “you get what you work for”, I now believe you can also have what you ask for.

What you receive is not limited to whether you worked for it.

When you ask for what you want, chances are as good that you will get it as they are that you will not get it. Millennials know that. They ask. Henry knows that too. He asks.

The dad’s experience confirms that when you ask for what you want, you might get more than you expected.

Freelance writers, let me reiterate:

Ask your raving fans for testimonials of how your work is an asset to their company.

Ask for recommendations, that you might help others too.

Ask for more work.

And definitely ask for more money because of how your work benefits their companies.

You can have what you want, freelance writers. But you have to get bold enough to ask for it. When you do, you allow your customers the opportunity to pay you well.