The first step in my new freelance writing business strategy is to think about how to get my writing business organized. I used to have a system, but I sort of stopped using it. This was a natural by-produce of primarily using online sites to make money. However, regardless of how I make money writing it is still a good idea to keep track. The same goes for my affiliate marketing business as well but I’ll address that in a later post.
I was reading Six Figure Freelancing by Kelley James-Enger the other day and I particularly like her organizational strategy. So, I’m adopting it. I looked everywhere for a software program to keep track of my writing business but I could find one. In the end, I decided to just use spreadsheets. If I ever find a good program, I’ll pass it along.
Here’s what I am doing:
- Earnings Tracker – This is a spreadsheet that keeps track of earnings. I track the date of payment, where the payment came from, how much it was for, whether they paid by check, cash, or paypal, etc.
- Expenses Tracker – Another speadsheet that pretty much has the same categories as above.
- Submissions, Queries, and Pitches – I’ll have one spreadsheet for each. What the pitch was, where it was sent, the date, the response, etc are the categories.
- Current Work Tracker – This is probably going to be a word document listing my work in progress, work completed and waiting for approval, and work approved and waiting for payment (once it’s approved I’ll list it in earnings)
Note that I set a lofty goal to always have $2000 worth of work in each category. Well it seems lofty now!
- Contacts – This is something I’ve never done. I’ll keep track of my contacts (writer friends, editors, etc) using a database.
- Billing and Invoices – This will be a folder where I’ll keep my invoice template and any completed invoices.
- Mileage – I have to log it somewhere!
In addition, I’ll keep all my expense receipts and invoices and maintain a good filing system. I got the idea from Six Figure Freelancing to start a project folder for each assignment and put a hard copy of my first draft and final copy, my notes, and printouts of any research material.
I’m curious – what kind of system do you use for your freelance writing business? Is it working for you?
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Organization is the key to running any business. Of course, some freelance writers do not think about freelance writing from a “business” perspective.
Rebecca´s last blog ..Who Wants to be a Screenwriter?
Rebecca,
Yes, I’ve found the same thing. I think it’s okay to skip the business stuff if you’re not looking to make a living. So then, it would be like making money from a hobby.
Thanks for stopping by!
Katherine
Great post! But on my side, I am still learning this process. It is really quite challenging to juggle both full time job and freelance writing.. But I agree.. Organization is essential to such business..
frugal expat´s last blog ..A Rainy Saturday in Abu Dhabi
Hey frugal expat – thanks for stopping in! It must be difficult to juggle both. Perhaps one day you’ll be able to make enough with writing to have that be your full time job!