Last week I asked if you were self-sabotaging your career. This week, I want to quickly review four common ways we get off the career-building track, or worse – never get on.

1. Procrastination and Distraction

Landing an assignment is the first step to building your career, but if you put off going after one, allow distractions to keep you from completing one, or wait so long that you put yourself under a grueling schedule to meet a deadline, your setting yourself up for disaster. Approach new assignments with Read the rest of this entry

Do you want a writing career?

I’m serious. Do you REALLY want a writing career? If your answer is, “yes,” then the next question is, “what are you doing about it?”

When I first decided I wanted to be a freelance writer, I spent months Read the rest of this entry

The Super Bowl will be a big topic of conversation today. Whether you’re a football fan or not, you have to admit, it takes a lot of talent and skill for teams to battle their way to the Super Bowl and then win. It also takes something else—perseverance.

When a player is knocked down, he gets up. He does it again, and again. Twisted ankles and sprained wrists are wrapped and taped and the player goes back on the field to play even harder. Cuts and bruises are barely acknowledged. And, when they score a touchdown, those injuries are seemingly nonexistent—the players react with pure, raw joy in the accomplishment.

It’s the same for you and me. Talent and skill will make your road to writing success easier, but without perseverance, you won’t get the chance to experience that pure, raw joy in the accomplishment.

Receiving rejection letters? Get back out there. Didn’t get the assignment? Get back out there. Book panned by a critic? Get back out there.

If you keep getting up and stay in the game, you’re rewards will come. If you sit on the sidelines licking your wounds, they won’t. It’s just that simple.

Whether you want to break into magazine article writing or promote a nonfiction book, writing and submitting fillers is likely the easiest and quickest way to accomplish those goals.

Fillers are short written pieces used to fill space in a publication. They average about 100 words or less but can be longer if the topic supports it. While fillers are typically used in print publication, informational websites use them, too.

The great thing about fillers is that you write them and send them. No query letter needed. Depending on the publication, pay ranges from Read the rest of this entry