Being a professional writer can be a very rewarding profession. Not only are you engaging in the activity of writing, which you love, every day and all day; you’re getting paid for it as well. However, are you being the best writer you could be? Are you as productive as you could be? Are certain activities you’re doing throughout the day losing you business? If you’ve picked up the following 3 habits over time, they could be hampering your progress and now is the time to completely eliminate them.
1. Poor communication
By poor communication, we’re talking about e-mails written and exchanged with clients, partners and colleagues. Email takes away any verbal communication, which means you’re unable to use your body language, expressions and tonality to help convey your message to others. Therefore, one needs to be extra careful about crafting emails to ensure recipients understand what is being conveyed to them. Pretty basic you’re thinking? Yet, many still don’t get it. Some write e-mails like they are writing a text a message. Others send messages to people they’ve never communicated with a “Hi there”. Such practices can be a huge turnoff for those on the other end of messages, and can end up costing you clients and money.
Ensure you get the fundamentals right with your e-mails. Address them to the people they’re meant for, be brief but clear. Definitely describe context to help others understand why you’re messaging in the first place, and have a clear call to action if you want the person reading your e-mail to do something. Also, refrain from sending e-mails from your smartphone of other mobile devices, when you’re on the go, as there is more room for spelling and grammar mistakes. Wait until you have a few minutes to focus on writing out emails properly.
2. Being late
If you’re trying to win new clients for your writing work, being late for meetings whether they are face-to-face or virtual isn’t going to win you any points. In fact, it will create a poor impression in the eyes of your potential clients who will think you don’t value their time. Even worse, they may consider you a liability with their project, as you might not be able to stick to deadlines and complete the work on schedule; even if in reality you could! Always get to where you need to be at least 10-15 minutes before, so you’re there ready to start the meeting on time. For some writers this will be easier to do than others. If this is a challenge for you, remind yourself of the importance of being on time. The possibility of winning work, getting paid and your livelihood depends on it. Don’t risk this!
3. Taking on too much
Taking on too much is the same as not being able to say “no” to clients, colleagues and partners. Yes, more work means more money, and saying yes to helping out others on assignments will make you look good in the eyes of those you’re supporting. However, the more you have to do, the more you will spread yourself thin. Also, tiredness and stress will catch up with you in the end. If you find yourself constantly trying to juggle multiple projects at the same time, it’s time to pushback or if this doesn’t come easy to you, develop the ability to do so. Focus on a few key projects, and get them completed to the best of your ability and on time. Delight clients and colleagues. Don’t end up committing to work you can’t deliver to the highest of standards. It will create a bad taste in the mouths of others, risk your reputation as a professional and over time will cost you money.
Image credit: Pixabay [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]