You want to write. You need the money. You want to do cool stuff with the money you make through writing (besides paying bills).

How can you make a living solely from your writing?

You subscribe to a newsletter promising a webinar unlocking all the secrets to your current dilemma. It helps you a little, but you want more.

You search endlessly through the internet for more webinars. You watch another…and another…and another.

Six months later, you’re still not making money as a writer. You’re still at your dreary day job, and your inbox’s stuffed with writers’ newsletters. Plus, your wallet is now a moth’s home because some of the more“exclusive” pricy webinars cost you an arm, a leg, and your soul.

Where did you go wrong?

My good friend, I need you to stop attending so many darn writing webinars. Do this instead: act. Write something then publish it. Write an article, pitch an idea to a potential client, and move on.

It’s good you got the learning portion down, but that’s not enough. You’re not implementing all the notes you’ve taken from your webinars. You don’t expect a batch of delicious crumb cake muffins to appear after reading the recipe online. You must roll up your sleeves, gather the ingredients, and start cooking!

Don’t feel bad if you’re only learning this now. We are all students in this grand journey.

At first, I didn’t take full action after all the freelance writing content I’ve devoured the past two years.

I got the writing and publishing bit down, but pitching? I skimmed that step. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of rejection.

I used to believe if I wrote enough on my own, someone would find me. It could happen, but pitching will land me paying gigs much faster. You must do the same if you have your eyes on full-time freelance writing.

“But I want to get paid right NOW!!!”

I understand. It sucks balls writing content only for it to disappear in the exposure void. You don’t have to remain in this hell forever.

Mark Twain started writing before he was paid for it. It took him a while. In the meantime, he worked as a printer, a journalist, and a steamboat pilot. He wrote no matter where he was in life.

“Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.”

Write your way until you receive paying gigs. You may get rejected for some along your way. Big deal, every writer faces rejection. If not, they haven’t written enough.

“But I must learn from somewhere!”

And you do.

You gain skills as a writer from learning and experience. H.G. Wells, Maya Angelou, and Charles Dickens didn’t depend on any writing webinars to become notable writers. They repeatedly put words on paper for a long time.

There’s no other way but to move forward with the pen.

Remember, a client is not going to pay $300 for your article if you’ve never written it. Millions of readers are not going to buy your epic fantasy novel if the story is still stuck in your head.

It’s okay to learn writing from a webinar or two. Don’t forget you must act on what you’ve learned.

(For those interested specifically in full-time freelance writing, I highly recommended Making a Living Writing, Creative Revolt, and Inkwell Editorial.)

Need more posts like this in your life?