How to Make Friends and Become a Better Writer While You're at It

Last week, we talked about determining if you’re good enough to be a freelance writer,and how asking for feedback can help you do that.

It’s true that seeking feedback will help you answer that age-old question, “Am I good enough to be a freelance writer?” but on top of that, asking for comments gives you a TON more benefits that you can use time and time again in your freelancing career.

Allow me to name a few:

1. Asking for feedback helps you develop courage, thick skin, and resilience – If there’s one thing that you need to develop as a freelance writer (aside from your writing skills, of course), it’s the ability to face rejection quickly and gracefully.

See, the path to freelance writing success will involve people rejecting or ignoring you. What separates wannabes from those who actually become freelance writers is the ability to effectively handle rejection.

Each rejection letter or failed pitch will put you one step closer to a great client, so the sooner you learn how to accept setbacks and use them to your advantage, the closer you can get to those high-paying gigs.

Showing your work to others and asking for their opinion will help you develop that thick skin that you seriously need in freelance writing. It will give you the guts to keep putting yourself out there in spite of road blocks and challenges.

2. You’ll make new friends and establish valuable connections – I once pitched an article idea to well-known freelance writer and got rejected because it just wasn’t “valuable” enough. I took that as constructive criticism and used it to come up with another idea (see how I didn’t let the initial rejection get me down?). She accepted that pitch, I wrote the article and it got published on her site a few months later.

But here’s where it gets better: I didn’t stop with just submitting a guest post and asking for her comments, I made an effort to establish a relationship with her. I participated in discussions on her blog, followed her on Twitter, and even attended a networking event where I got to meet her in person. The insights that I got just by talking to her proved invaluable in my career, but what’s even more significant is the fact that I was able to establish a connection with her, and that relationship made it easier to approach her with pitches, questions, or advice.

3. You’ll be a better writer – Routinely asking for feedback will make you a stronger writer on the inside (by giving you the resilience and the guts to roll with criticism), but at the same time, it will make you a better writer on the outside too.

Your output as a writer–your articles, essays, etc.–will all become better when you apply the comments that you receive from others.

Image:  mrsdkrebs on Flickr