You’re a freelancer now!
You’ve finally decided to become a freelance writer. You’ve gotten past the initial fear. You’ve factored in all the things that affect your bottom line so that you can eventually leave the 9 to 5. You’re ready to DO THE WORK.
Then come the reply emails and the first “no” hits you like a punch in the gut.
You even know how to find clients. You have your website set up and you are pitching on job boards and via cold pitching to websites. You are on top of things and YOU WANT THIS.
Then come the reply emails, and this freelancing dream starts to feel more like a nightmare.
The first “no” hits you like a punch in the gut. That’s OK, you tell yourself. Ever onward, right? Then… the next rejection. And another no. And another. You start to question your decision.
This is beginning to get discouraging. You may even think to yourself “Am I just a really bad writer?” You’re determined to succeed so you keep working.
You learn what to do to improve your writing skills and get back out there. You even learn more about optimizing and SEO. But… The offers still aren’t rolling in.
At this point, you go to the Facebook group you joined for support and inspiration. All the success stories of people who got accepted on their first or second try just make you feel like you’re doing it all wrong. You don’t want to quit, but going on is getting harder.
Sound familiar?
What Now?
One thing that you can do is MAKE REJECTIONS THE GOAL. In sales, there is this saying: “Go for the no.”
It basically means that you ACCEPT that rejections are part of the process. If you take on this philosophy, each “no” is something that you’ve earned. You take them in stride. They are badges of honor on your way to inevitable success.
Think about it from the other side of your pitch. Editors get dozens of pitches nearly daily. Big outlets can get HUNDREDS. Even with staff dedicated to reviewing pitches, the sheer volume can mean that fewer people make the cut.
Keep in mind that in some genres of writing the acceptance rate can be as low as five percent. That means to get ONE acceptance, TWENTY pitches must be made.
Sure, there are people that seem to just have the Midas touch. They pitch and get the sweet gig. Not everyone gets the gold right away. There are a LOT of people who must work hard for YEARS to get started.
But we don’t want it to take years!
Go For the NO
This is why you want to GO FOR THE NO. To get more “no” answers, you have to put yourself out there MORE. If you are not pitching at least 5 times per day, you should be. If you already are, see if you can get up to 10 pitches per day, or more.
Set a specific goal. For example, have it in mind that you want 100 rejections by the end of the month. If you are pitching at least 5 times per day, that is 150 submissions per month. Ten pitches per day is twice that. You are well on your way!
What we REALLY want is to have our pitch picked up, but accepting that rejection is part of the process can help you get through a rough start or dry patches in between clients.
Let us know in the comments if you plan on using this method. If you have already used this method, what were your thoughts/results?
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