I completed 2 assignments last night that both dealt with topics I knew nothing about: homeowners’ associations and the Boy Scouts. I had been putting them off because I feared they would be both difficult and boring, but it turned out, they weren’t difficult at all. I actually enjoyed reading through my research, identifying the relevant information, putting it all together, and polishing it up. Working on these articles also gave me the opportunity to further reflect on the three-step writing process I have been contemplating lately, and which I am examining in a three-post series for Want to Freelance. I worked on the first article in bits and pieces as I had time, but I wrote the second in one sitting and was able to complete it in the one hour I had allocated for it. And even though I didn’t spend a lot of time on them, I was very pleased with my finished products — I thought they were well-organized, well-written, and informative. The entire process was a huge confidence booster for me. So far, I have been lucky to find a lot of assignments that deal with topics that I am already familiar with, but I know if I am to make a living as a writer, I am going to have to take on more varied and challenging assignments. Now I feel more confident about my ability to do so. If I can take a topic that initially seems uninteresting and still enjoy the writing process, then I can be successful at this.

Really I should have never doubted it. I do this kind of thing at my full-time job all the time. I’ve written about human resources, termination laws, workstyle differences, contract negotiation, and computer software, to name a few, and none of them was an excruciating or impossible task. But writing is a small and infrequent part of my full-time job, so I’m not used to doing it regularly and relying on it for income.

I have a short break from assignments for the rest of the month, during which time I plan to focus on my editing project and on building my new Web site. Earnings for March are already at $250, which is double February’s freelancing income. This includes payment for my three final AltGlobe assignments, so I’m not sure what to expect in April, but I’m not worried. If I find myself with downtime I’ll just write some articles for ehow or Demand Studios. I’ve also been accepted by Trails.com, which is an offshoot of DS that deals exclusively with outdoor topics (camping, rock climbing, etc.) but have yet to receive word on actual assignments.