How Can You Evolve As A Freelance Writer?

Somebody on Quora asked:

I’m 30 years old and a full-time freelance writer. What can I be doing to ensure that this alternative career evolves rather than stagnates?

I answered:

Great question – and one which I ask myself from time to time.

Bigger and better projects: Work towards increasing the complexity and scope of the projects you take on. For instance, my goal this year is write more books, white papers, and ebooks — and less articles and blogs. These are “meatier” (and often a lot more challenging) projects.

Bigger and better clients: You can also aim to trend upwards in the caliber and size of client that you work with. Working with mostly small startups now? Try get a break with a medium sized organization – or even an enterprise. Beyond the name recognition you’ll learn valuable skills about how to deal with organizations of different size.

Explore new niches: To keep things fresh I like to try explore new technology niches from time to time. E.g. if I were exclusively focused on IoT now I might try to learn about AR and find a client in that space. Learning and evolving is a great way to feel like you are growing and evolving rather than staying in the same place.

Good luck!