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Can You Help This Freelance Writer Recover from Burnout?

Carol Tice

I spend a lot of time on this blog helping writers figure out how to find more and better clients.

Today, let’s look at a problem on the other side of the spectrum.

One writer recently emailed me with her tale of woe — she is overloaded with work and falling out of love with writing:

“How do you handle extreme burnout in freelance writing? I am going through that now and am floundering with my writing. My quality of writing has gone way down. I have been fighting this with a purple passion, but my work is suffering.

“Another problem is that I lost my major client last Friday due to the economy and my boss’s subsequent layoff. I am so turned around I don’t know what to do. Any advice would clearly be appreciated. I don’t want to leave my writing, but I am so burned out that I am not providing quality work.”–Teresa

This is definitely a bad situation. Makes me wonder whether that layoff was really because of “the economy,” because we all know what happens when you’re burned out.

You get fired from some of your better gigs. Suddenly, instead of burnout being the worry, it’s starvation.

It’s become a tradition for me to throw at least one holiday-time mailbag question to my great readers to answer, so I’m turning this one over to you. I can’t wait to see your tips!

Can you help this writer avoid burnout? Leave your advice in the comments.

P.S. Congrats to Becca, who won a free ticket to the upcoming Freelance Writers Den bootcamp, How to Use Social Media to Get Freelance Gigs. Get details on this training by clicking below:

20 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

20 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Best Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners. Makealivingwriting.com

Right now, a record-high number of people are considering a freelance writing career. My inbox is overflowing with questions from newbies. And the first question is: “Where can I find freelance writing jobs for beginners?”

If that’s you, sending hugs! I totally feel your confusion. The freelance marketplace is a big, complicated place. There are lots of types of paid writing, and different kinds of clients, too.

I’ve been helping writers get started for a dozen years now. And I know how mystifying it can be. You feel like there’s a door you need to find, a person you need to know, a secret you must unlock to become a freelance writer.

But really, the path to freelance writing jobs for beginners is simple.

You need to find someone willing to let you write for them. That’s it.

You get a few samples and boom — you have a portfolio to show. And you’re on your way.

There are fairly simple, break-in writing assignments that newbies tend to get. I’m going to outline what they are below.

But first, I need to explain something…

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

The purpose of a personal narrative is to describe a specific story in your life. No matter who you are, you have a plethora of life experiences, events, and stories that can be crafted into a compelling personal narrative for use in an article, blog post, case study, etc.

Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference?

Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference?

Ever wonder what the difference is between writing an article and writing a blog post? It’s a topic that comes up a lot when people ask how to become a freelance writer. Besides style and research, you might be surprised by one of the key differences between blogs and articles.