What do you do if your writing career depends on contract work?

Firstly, develop a niche, market that and learn negotiation skills. These skills are essential and basic to stand out and build a brand.

If your writing career depends on contract work, you should network constantly. This is so that you can find more job opportunities. You should attend all sorts of events that are for writers. This is so that you can get to know people from the writing field. You could also network with other people outside of your field. This is because these people could be your potential clients.

Like I always say, you can never go wrong with networking. Engaging with like minded individuals and experts In the industry not only opens up path to various job opportunities, but also opens you up to opportunities to upgrade your skills

If you are reliant on contract work, you need to be able to manage your finance. This is so that you would have enough money to live on every month. You should calculate how much money you need every month to cover your expenses and any overhead needed for your writing. This is so that you would know how many projects you need to take on in one month. You could save some money in places like a separate account or in a fixed deposit. This is so that you can use it in case of an emergency.

When you begin freelancing, it's OK to try your hand at all types of writing. In fact, that's a great way to learn exactly what you don't want to work on or the kinds of clients you don't want. But eventually, you'll want to become known as the go-to writer on a particular topic. Then you can brand yourself around that. The stronger your brand and the more consistent it is across all channels, the more requests you should receive for that specific kind of work. You'll know your marketing and branding are working for you when, instead of constantly seeking work, the work comes to you.

Personally, I use a combination of 17hats, Todoist, Toggl, YouCanBookMe, and Google's workplace apps to maintain my freelance business. My two cents: Find apps you like to use, become proficient in them, invest in your peace of mind by paying for the paid versions, and don't waste your time trying out new apps that effectively do what your current tech stack already accomplishes.

As a contract writer, you need to stay organized. This is so that you can finish all your projects. You must have a schedule that you must stick to when you have a project. This is so that you can stipulate enough time to finish your work. You should also make sure that you are free of distractions when you are writing. This is so that you can concentrate on your writing.

You can't plan ahead if you don't know how many hours a project will take you. If you haven't started tracking your time, start now. (I use Toggl, but any time-tracking app will help.) You don't have to do this forever, but you do need to discover a baseline number for any type of freelance work you do. With that number in hand, even if it's a rough estimate, you'll be better able to plan your future work.