5 qualities of a good freelance technical writer
As a good freelance writer there are many good qualities you can possess that will ensure you can make a living regularly.
- Be professional
- Be reliable
- Be prompt
- Be reachable
- Use technology
The ability to remain professional in all communication is highly underappreciated in a day and age where most people communicate by text messages and social media updates. If you use certain third party services the remarks you make in the official inbox are under the legal jurisdiction of the company the same as company email at any physical office. That means that you are liable for anything you email or say to another employee or client. So if there is a dispute and you have told the client that you don’t care about their project and they can go screw themselves then those remarks will be legally held against you.
In addition many freelancers today treat their long term or short term assignments with little regard. They treat them as though they are not regular jobs and their client as if they are not a boss. They use poor language and are rude in their communication. So do not underestimate the ability to remain professional and courteous at all times should not be underestimated.
If you say you will provide an update to a client you should do so. Do not let it slip your mind and then not care. This should be treated the same as any other profession or job where your word is important. If a client cannot rely on you to get milestones done on time then they will not come back to you in the future.
If you fail to submit work you will ruin your chances of writing online full time. Not meeting deadlines is bad the same as it is in any other job. You might run the risk of getting fired in an office space if you miss a deadline and the same is true of being a contractor.
If you cannot meet a milestone it is important that you communicate this. Be reachable. You need to be more reachable than you would in a traditional office setting because you are not in one. The client has no way of knowing whether you will complete the job or how much progress you have made if you do not communicate it. While a traditional boss can walk by and see what you have done an online boss cannot.
A good freelancer has the ability to use all manner of technology and is not afraid to integrate more as they arise.