Freelancing: Don’t Make Your Life Fiction

August has been a month about fiction writing. Before the month is over in a few minutes, I wanted to leave you with one final note about fiction. It’s more of a warning.

As a freelance writer, don’t fictionalize your own life to get jobs.

We’re all guilty of this to a small extent, though “fictionalization” may be a very strong word for what the normal writer does. Basically, we show off our best assets when we want a job. For example, if I’m potentially being hired to write a bunch of articles about freelancing, I’ll promote the work I do here at Bizzia. That won’t be as relevant if I’m up for a job writing about video games; in that case, I’ll promote the work I do at Binge Gamer. And so on.

That’s not the same as fictionalizing your experience.

You know your own talents, skills, and abilities. Often, I’ll come across jobs that I know I can knock out of the park. The subject interests me, and I may even have practical experience. But if the client specifically wants someone who has written about the topic in the past – and I have not – it is not fair or ethical in any way to pretend that I have in order to get hired.

You will get caught, and when you do, your reputation will suffer. The online world isn’t as small as you think, and word gets around. Be honest with yourself and your clients. You’ll thanks yourself for it later, even if it means you’re not qualified for every job you want right now.