Once you get your freelance writing career going, you’ll probably find that it can be either “feast or famine” most of the time, meaning you have TOO much work to do, or not enough, or worse yet, periods when you have NO writing jobs at all to do.

If you think about it, those dry spells are probably not so bad, except for the damage they can do to your checkbook. After an extended period of “feasting” on one writing project after another, you probably need a little “down time” to recharge and get ready for the next cycle of work.

But that “down time” from writing assignments can be very productive - and it should be. Use that time to look for new opportunities, and even create some opportunities yourself.

Develop a class or workshop on writing that you can offer at a local school or community center or even online. Create a short ebook, tips booklet, or other informational products that you can sell yourself, directly from your website and/or blog, and get other writers to sell these items for you, too.

Once you’ve created something new, write a press release about it and send it out. Also, remember this, even if you have a great website and/or blog, don’t simply sit around waiting for clients to come to you.

Eventually, once you’ve developed a name for yourself in the writing world, you should have at least some clients who will contact you initially, but until then you need to do all you can to get your name before prospective clients and the public in general. Start thinking of ways to do that.

The main thing is to avoid feeling discouraged at slow times. If you use these times productively, they too will pass, and you’ll be ready for another busy work cycle before you know it. Eventually, after you’ve had some practice budgeting for these slow periods, you’ll probably even find yourself looking forward to them.