Your freelance writers’ inventory: you need stock

As freelance writers, we’re both the creators and the salespeople for our writing products.

On my writers’ blog, I wrote in “Writers create inventory, and sell”:

Are you happy with your writing sales?

If you’re not, chances are that you haven’t got a big enough inventory.

Let’s see how this works for other business people. (If you’re a creative, and you’re trying to sell your work, you’re a business person whether you face the fact or not. )

Let’s say you’re a real estate agent. You need listings. Lots of listings. The more listings you have, the more properties you can show a potential customer, and the more likely it is you’ll sell a house.

Here’s an exchange I had with a new writer today:

Writer: I’ve been trying to write for six months. But it’s like everything I write drops into a black hole. I’m ready to give up.

Me: A complete lack of response is a pretty good indication that you’re not giving people what they want. Your first step always has to be to find a market which has a high demand. Currently, that’s the Web. Read my “Writing For The Web” ebook.

I also suggest that during those times you’re not writing under contract, you create an inventory. If you follow my advice and opt for the hungry Web market – and if you have a pulse, you can write for the Web – AND you’ll start creating some Web inventory, as your “samples” portfolio.

What are you writing when you’re not looking for writing work?

Writer: I write some fan fiction.

Me: That’s great! I love writers who just write – your skills develop with every word. However, fan fiction doesn’t pay. If you’re serious about writing for money, you need to focus on writing which does pay.

Choose a hungry market that’s looking for writers, and start building your writing inventory.

And, by the way – subscribe to my Fab Freelance Writing Ezine. There’s a free report, and you get REAL writing advice which will work for you, every week. FFW Ezine is free, too. So it’s a bargain.

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