I regularly have writers tell me they’re about to quit their day job.

Have they built up their customer base to a point they can do that, or for fiction writers can they guarantee they’ll be contracted or sell enough books to cover the equivalent of their day job?

In every case so far, the answer has been no. My question then, is why would you quit your day job, especially in this economic atmosphere when you have no guarantee of getting another job should things turn bad?

Unfortunately, many writers see glamour when they think about writing for a living.  Let me assure you, the writing life is not glamorous.

It’s a lot of hard work and persistence.  It’s meeting deadlines, it’s having to be creative when you feel far from creative, and it’s wading through crap that you have to fix for a client.

I was forced to give up my day job about eight years ago.  It was due to a chronic medical condition that meant I could never go back to an outside job and keep well, or even keep alive. (And that’s not an exaggeration.)

It took a very long time to secure regular writing work, and it paid so little that it was simply pocket money.  Over the years I’ve built up a good paying writing business, but it took a very long time to do.

The reality is that you can’t walk out of a paying day job and expect the assignments to come flooding into your inbox.  It doesn’t happen that way.

The reality is you need to build up relationships before you’ll have regular clients, and you need to have contracts before your book is published. 

It’s unfortunate, but none of these things happen at the click of your fingers.

Just like it took years for you to learn to write well, it can also take years before your writing business pays enough that you can quit the guaranteed income of a day job.

***This article was inspired by a blog post written by Bob Mayer. You can read it here:

http://www.genreality.net/writers-dont-quit-your-day-job

by Cheryl Wright

If you are subscribed to my Writer to Writer newsletter , you’ll know I often mention my friend Kevin Riley. 

Kevin teaches writers and internet marketers how to set up an infoproduct empire, which covers things like writing reports, ebooks, and using reports for publicity. (This is by no means a complete list.)

I’ve known Kevin for a few years now, and have bought practically everything he has released in that time.  I received an email from Kevin today explaining that he has literally just released a brand-new package.

Rocket Christmas Cash  is a guide to making extra money for Christmas in just three days.  Of course this will be dependent on whether or not you apply bum to seat and actual follow the information provided in Kevin’s guide.

One thing I totally love about Kevin’s products is the fact they come with step-by-step instructions, and tons of screenshots.

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am technically challenged.  Well guess what – so is Kevin! But he shows how easy it really can be when you know how.

You will watch over Kevin’s shoulder as he compiles a short money making report.  It doesn’t get better than that.

As I said earlier, I’ve purchased practically everything Kevin has released since I found him a few years ago, and have taken two of his live courses.  I find his products incredibly valuable, which is why I also recommend them highly.

At this very moment, Kevin has knocked a huge amount off the price of his latest release – a 96 page ebook package – so if you’re interested in earning extra cash for Christmas, don’t delay.

The product is not expensive to start with, and Kevin is offering a huge discount – but I don’t know how long the discount applies. (Instead of buying lunch, take a cut-lunch to work for a few days, and you’ll have this covered.)

After buying my copy, I had a quick glance through the guide, and walked away with ideas for at least one new Christmas guide.

Go here right now to learn more about this excellent package. In addition to learning new skills, you will also have the opportunity – with a little action on your part – to make money immediately after purchasing this product.

In three days you could be collecting money from your new info product business! Seriously.

*Note:  Obviously this isn’t a full-blown course like The Product Creation Workshop, which sells for much more.  But it will get you started, and more importantly, it will get you earning money quickly.  But… you must take action!

Part of the joy of being a freelance writer is the freedom of being able to plan your day around activities you want to do rather than being told what to do.

Unfortunately there are situations where you might find yourself taking on more assignments and writing jobs than you can handle. Then of course is the constant need to take time out from your writing to get the daily chores done. Add to these pressures a few interruptions from family and friends and suddenly your working day is finished without much being accomplished.

If you plan on turning your freelance writing hobby into a lucrative full time career, then it’s vital you learn to manage your time properly by prioritizing your daily tasks in order of importance.

As a freelance writer your primary daily task should be either setting aside enough time to complete the writing jobs you already have or finding time to research into potential new markets.

It’s up to you to work your own writing schedule around whatever daily activities you need to get through. You might have children to get off to school or you might have meals to cook or a day job to get to.

No matter what your other tasks might be, arranging your freelance business schedule to give yourself the most possible time for writing and researching during a day becomes a primary concern.

One of the biggest decisions you’ll face when you’re scheduling your time is learning to prioritize specific tasks into order of importance. You need to understand that your time is worth money into your freelance business.

For example: imagine that you’re spending more than an hour each day checking emails and a further hour catching up with friends on Facebook or Myspace. Just as you’re about to sit down to some serious writing, a friend calls and chats away for an hour. You’ve reduced your productive writing time by three hours for being so friendly!

While correspondence and socializing play an important part in everyone’s life, you need to prioritize their level of importance during your working day, especially when they begin to affect your productivity.

Of course working from home has some great advantages and a wonderful sense of freedom. But you need to consider the cost of that freedom when it affects and reduces your prime earning time.

Learning to say no to distractions and put them aside until after your work is done for the day can be one of your biggest challenges. Prioritize your time so that your most important activities are tackled early so that you’ll have much more free time when that unexpected interruption does arise next time.

About the Author: Cheryl Wright is an award-winning Australian author, freelance journalist, and editor. In addition to an array of other projects, she is the owner of the Writer2Writer.com website and the Writer to Writer bi-weekly ezine for writers.  Her publications include novels, non-fiction books, short stories, and articles. Her recent release is The Writer’s Guide to Time Management: How to Boost Your Productivity and Earn More! 

I don’t know about you, but I find my desk gets untidy very quickly.

It’s incredibly easy to let it get messy, and sometimes I let my guard down and the next thing I know, my desk is covered in papers and books etc.

The easiest way to keep on top of desk mess is to put aside five or ten minutes at the end of every day to ensure everything is filed away, or put in its place.

Those few minutes spent could ultimately save you hours over a matter of a month, or even over a couple of weeks.

The biggest drawback to having a cluttered desk is this:  a cluttered desk causes a cluttered mind.  If your mind is cluttered, you can’t keep it on the task at hand.  If you can’t keep your mind on the task at hand, then you are not as productive as you should be.

For more tips on time management, check out my latest book: The Writer’s Guide to Time Management  -