As a young journalist with a lot of promise, my sudden resignation shocked the whole office. The news spread like the plague, with seniors warning me that times were tough, and finding another job could take ages. Not that I hadn’t thought of it. After all, this was my first job and a great stepping stone to my dream of being a magazine writer.
But I’d just been diagnosed with parietal neuralgia, the inflammation of the parietal lobe characterized by blinding headaches, heavy nosebleeds, and fainting. If left untreated, it could turn fatal. I’d been put on oral medications and injections, and required regular visits to the hospital.
I had to quit my job after being advised complete rest for at least the next six months.
The first few weeks at home were difficult; I was jobless, ailing, and also depressed about how my life had turned out. The blend of disease and disillusionment was lethal. Thankfully, I’d just started to blog seriously, and it was again in writing that I found catharsis.
I was also becoming active on social media around the same time, and LinkedIn was one platform I’d just discovered. I joined a few writing groups to share my blog posts, and soon found people commenting on them. As someone in love with writing, it thrilled me beyond words to have professional writers read and like my work, especially at a time when my illness had made me weak, fragile, and hopeless. I was getting better but the process was long and slow. That I still managed to write despite the physical torment was quite a feat.
Four months after I quit my job, the owner of a digital marketing company in California found me on LinkedIn. He was looking for a freelance content writer, and although I was alien to writing for the Web, he decided to give me a trial run because he’d liked my blog posts.
So impressed was he with the sample copies I wrote for him that he hired me for one year of work. He took me under his wings, teaching me about SEO, keywords, B2B content marketing, and other such jargon that’s now a part of my life. I went on to write web copies for some of California’s biggest healthcare companies, rejoicing every time the work was praised. Every two weeks, I also had a decent payment coming in to my bank account.
Although I’d initially thought of this as a part-time job to do while I recuperated, I soon fell in love with freelancing. By the time this one-year term ended, I’d not only healed but also set up my own website and made quite a bit of money. Most importantly, I learned so much about online writing while on the job.
I’ve since gone on to work with some of the biggest businesses around the world and my guest posts have been published in prestigious publications like The Huffington Post. I’ve also authored a novel and I couldn’t be happier.
I’d always wanted to be a professional writer, and now I’m living my dream. Working from home has benefitted my health, while the flexible schedule has allowed me to indulge in my other passions. Three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined that not only would I heal completely but also run a successful freelance writing business. Today, I cannot think of returning to a conventional job.
If you’re struggling in life right now, have faith in your abilities and don’t forget to take inspired action. The tunnel might be long and dark, but there’s always light at the end of it.
Cynthia Ranjeeta is freelance writer, blogger, and author. She helps small businesses, solopreneurs, and creatives tell their brand story with engaging web content and guides new writers to reach their full potential. Reach her on https://www.utterlycynthia.com, or connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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The Art and Craft of Writing and Editing
Writing is a constant dialogue between author and reader.
The craft of writing involves an interchange of emotions between an author and a reader. An author creates a story line, conflict, and characters, gives his characters words to speak, and then hands off these materials to a reader. This process results in a constant dialogue between the mental imagery produced by a reader and that proposed by the author.
Read more here:
https://writersweekly.com/books/6712.html
QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments
Peek over the shoulders of highly successful freelance writers to see how they earn thousands per article! The query letter is the key!
In these pages, you'll find real query letters that landed real assignments for national magazines, websites, and corporations.
Also includes:
- Abbi Perrets' form letter that brings in $30,000-$45,000 annually
- Sample phone query from Christine Greeley
- The Six Golden Rules of Queries and Submissions...and How I Broke Them! by Bob Freiday
- Your Rights As a "Freelancer"
- and ANGELA HOY'S SECRET for finding ongoing freelance work from companies that have a stable of freelancers, yet never run ads for them!
Inspiring and enlightening!