For many people, freelance writing is something of a dream career. For individuals passionate about the written word, a life spent dreaming up new articles, essays, and books can feel like a calling. But no one should go into a career as a freelancer without developing a critical mindset towards the job’s pitfalls. Here are just a few important tips to consider as you explore this fascinating career path.

Be Honest About Your Strengths and Weaknesses as a Writer

When it comes to writing, it is a fact of life that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses to work with and work against. For example, “Game of Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin is perhaps the greatest plot-writer since Victor Hugo or Alexandre Dumas; as a prose writer, however, Martin’s use of language doesn’t have the rhetorical beauty of his classical forebears. To succeed as a freelancer, in other words, find out where your natural strengths lie and cultivate skills related to those strengths.

Play to Your Passions

There is a big difference between writing 2000 words on a subject you don’t care about and 2000 words on a topic you feel passionate about. As a freelancer, you’ll save yourself a lot of grief if you focus on subject areas that interest you.

Moreover, your lack of interest in a subject you dislike will always shine through in your writing; to this end, you’ll only be doing a disservice to your clients if you write about topics you’re not fond of. We can’t always choose what we write about, of course. Still, today’s freelance writers should always strive to bring their passion to the table where possible—writing sparkles when backed by genuine enthusiasm for a particular subject.

Empathize With Your Clients

To succeed as a freelancer, you will need to understand the unique perspective of each client that you work with. What is their ultimate goal with regard to the writing project that you’re working on? How does the subject relate to your client’s business needs? Always strive to create a win-win situation as a freelancer, and you’ll never be short of clients again.