By Angela Atkinson

You learn something new every day. That goes double for anyone who is starting or successfully navigating a freelance writing career.

Whether you’re still working on getting your first client or you’re a seasoned pro, calling yourself a writer means being willing and able to stay one step ahead of the ever-changing game.

That’s why all this week, the bloggers of the WM Freelance Writers Connection will be sharing what they’ve learned about writing since they started blogging with the WM Network. Each of our bloggers is also a successful freelance writer, and we think they’re among the best in the business.

Linda Stephens, one of our newest bloggers, got us started yesterday with her post, Writing Takes Trust. And for the rest of the week, our other bloggers will be sharing their own lessons in writing.

As for me, I co-founded the network, along with my partner, Alyssa Ast. And boy, have I learned a lot since we launched two years ago. Today, I’m going to share a few lessons I’ve learned from some of our current (and former) WM Freelance Writers Connection bloggers, admins and partners.

From Alyssa Ast–It really does help to create a writing schedule, no matter how much you would like to believe that you can only work in creative bursts. As it turns out, scheduling your writing time becomes quite necessary when you get as busy as I am these days. Alyssa is a natural organizer who also happens to be willing to share her wisdom, lucky for me.

From Pam Houghton–If you want to be successful, you have to focus on one thing at a time. At least as often as possible. This was (and remains) a hard one for me as I am a natural multi-tasker who happens to work in creative bursts. Ahem. Pam reminds me pretty often to keep my feet on the ground when my head is in the clouds (a difficult task for someone my height anyway.) And I (almost) never ignore her sage advice.

From Carol Tice–I do not have to accept low-paying writing gigs, and I do not have to pretend that I am not an awesome writer, thank you very much. If a gig doesn’t feel right, walk away. There’s always another one around the corner. Carol is what I like to call a freelance guru–and she regularly gives me her brutally honest opinion. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

From Pat Howard–Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Pat has come up with some pretty incredible posts by doing just that–like the recent series he did with that lady from Shark Tank.

From Linda Stephens–Go after what you want, and you just might get it. As Linda mentioned in her post yesterday, when she learned that Carol was leaving WMF, she took the opportunity to reach out to us to replace her. You should have seen the amazing query she sent. She was a shoo-in.

From Shakirah Dawud–You don’t have to be all obnoxious to be all awesome. Shakirah is one of the most respectful and sincere writers I’ve had the pleasure to work with. But don’t let her demure nature fool you–she’s a smart writer and a savvy businesswoman.

What can I tell you? We’ve got an awesome team. (How many times did I use the word awesome in this post, anyway?) I want to personally thank each of them for their hard work and contributions to The WM Freelance Writers Connection. It is because of them that we are able to continue to “pay it forward” to our fellow freelancers with this website and the many free services we offer.

Tomorrow’s the big day. That means this is your LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!

Learn to earn online! You asked for it, so here it is: a crash course in how to find the good-paying online writing gigs. My next webinar will be How to Make Good Money Writing Online. It’s scheduled for May 24 at 2 pm PST/5 EST. My co-presenter is the lovely Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing.