When you’re ready to throw in the writing towel … look back to move forward.

Starting out as a freelance writer can be hard going. It isn’t easy to secure assignments, and sometimes it feels like the best thing to do is give up. When I started out a few years ago, after pitching a story I felt strongly about to twenty or more media outlets and getting only radio silence, I was feeling depressed. I sat at my desk, staring at the computer screen, wondering why I bothered. I seemed destined never to get beyond the confines of my blog. Sure, it was nice getting the occasional praise and private emails asking for help, but when would I reach a bigger audience? I wasn’t sure what to do, and then I remembered what I always told my students when I was a teacher. Focus on what you know now, remember how much you’ve already learned. That way, the skills you still have to master won’t seem so daunting. It was time to take my own advice. Instead of worrying about what I hadn’t done yet, I needed to take a look at what I’d achieved.

I started my blog using free hosting and writing was the easy part. Promoting it via Facebook and guest posts, tweeting, making money from ads, or ramping up the page design all seemed like good ideas, but the minute I started to read about how to do it my eyes glazed over and my brain shut down. It was all too overwhelming and anyway, I was a writer, wasn’t I, not some kind…