How to Find Out If You're Good Enough to Be a Freelance Writer

“Am I good enough?”

Chances are, if you’re looking to become a freelance writer you’ve asked yourself that question more than once. I know I have. (I still do, especially when I’m taking on an ambitious project.)

Back when I was just starting out, I spent a LOT of time asking myself if was I really good enough to actually charge people for my work. It turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes that I committed in my career. Why? Because I just kept ASKING, without really DOING anything about it.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

You won’t get any answers by staying in your own little world asking yourself if you’re good enough. If you want to find out if you have what it takes to be a pro writer, you need to go out there and start asking people for feedback.

Where and how to seek feedback, you ask? Below are a few places where you can start:

 1. Blogs – Submitting guest posts to blogs is a great way to gain insights about your work. If your post gets accepted then that right there is a validation that you ARE good enough. (Otherwise they wouldn’t have published it). On the other hand, if your article doesn’t make the cut then you know that there’s something you need to work on. Ask the blog owner for specific comments about your article and what you need to improve on.

If you’re completely new to guest posting, start pitching smaller sites first, then move up the blogging ladder as you get more articles published.

 2. Your network – Not ready to take your work to the blogosphere just yet? Then start with your friends or colleagues. Let them read your work and ask them what they think. My only caveat here though is that you shouldn’t get feedback from someone who’s biased, overly polite, or eager to please. Be sure to pick someone who’s frank and brutally honest–like your friend who wouldn’t hesitate to tell you if you look fat in those pants, or your brother who’s not afraid to give you a piece of his mind if he sees something wrong.

 3. Forums – Some writer forums offer an avenue for feedback. Absolute Write for instance, has a special “Share Your Work” forum for critiques and reviews. You can even mention if you want members to be brutally honest or gentle with their words. (Note: You’ll need to register and publish at least 50 posts to be able to participate in this forum.)

4. Mentors – A lot of professional writers out there would be more than happy to offer mentoring services for a certain fee. If you don’t mind spending a bit of money to invest in yourself, you can choose to go this route.

Image:  Stefan Baudy on Flickr