5 Challenges You Might Face In Your First Writing Job and How To Overcome Them
×

5 Challenges You Might Face In Your First Writing Job and How To Overcome Them

Date: 08/09/2024 | Written By: Aneeb Ahmad
Blog Image

Almost every beginner writer has to face different challenges on their first writing job. This is mostly because they are newbie and has low confidence in their writing capabilities. But to become successful in the field of writing, you have to overcome those challenges. 

In this article, I am going to discuss the five most common challenges that are usually faced by newbie writers, after landing their first writing job. Along with the challenges, I will also explain how you can overcome them, so stick around with me till the end. 

Challenges Faced By Writers After Landing First Writing Job

Below are the five most common challenges that are usually faced by beginner writers, when they get hired for their writing job

  1. Difficulties In Understanding Writing Requirements

Difficulties In Understanding Writing Requirements

Beginner writers may face difficulties in understanding the writing requirements of their first job. This can be due to several reasons. 

The very first reason is that they lack experience and are not fully aware of the specific jargon of the writing industry. This unfamiliarity of industry jargon increases the chances of misinterpretations of both instruction and expectations. 

Another reason for not fully understanding the writing requirements is unclear communication. Due to a lack of experience in the field, writers may not be able to efficiently communicate with the client/organization about the job. 

Let me tell you one more thing, clients or organizations often provide unclear instructions, which further causes difficulties for newbie writers to efficiently understand them. 

How to overcome the challenge of not understanding writing job requirements:

There are several ways through which you (the beginner writer) can easily overcome the issue of not understanding your first writing job requirements. 

  • Simply ask for clarification: If you do not understand the requirements, you can ask the company/client to clarify, and remember THERE IS NO SHAME IN THIS!

  • Ask for previous writing samples: You can also ask the client or organization to provide you the similar writing samples. The samples will greatly help you in understanding what kind of writing they (client/company) are expecting from you. 

  • Get help from a senior writer or family member: To efficiently understand the requirements of your first writing job, you can get help from a senior writer or family member. They will help you efficiently understand the requirements. 

  1. Meeting Deadlines

Meeting Deadlines

Meeting deadlines is another commonly faced challenge that beginner writers have to face after landing their first writing job. This is so because most writers are not familiar with the task management workflow, as they are new to the field. The unfamiliarity regarding the project management process can lead to confusion about deadlines. 

And when you are not able to deliver your writeups on time, you will not get paid and there is also a chance that you may lose your first writing job. 

If any of these happen (not getting paid or losing the job), it will greatly damage your morale and even interest in writing. That is why it is essential for you to overcome the issue of meeting writing deadlines. 

How to overcome the challenge of tight deadlines: 

You can efficiently meet the tight deadlines of your first writing job by:

  • Setting realistic goals: You should set goals on what and how much you will write in a single day or hour. 

  • Divide your writing project into small modules: To effectively manage your writing task, it would if you divide it into small modules, and set a time limit for each module. 

  • Prioritize the main tasks: You should prioritize main/essential writing tasks first so that at the end all of your essential tasks will be already done and dusted. 

  1. Get Stuck In Writer’s Block

Adjusting Or Managing Criticism

As a beginner writer, there is a strong chance that you may get stuck in writer’s block. Wondering what it actually is? It is a problem or condition in which the writers are unable to decide how they should proceed with the writing. In simple words, it is a condition in which the writer is unable to decide what to write. 

No matter how good writing abilities you have, you may get stuck in writer’s block. Although it can last a few hours or a day or two if it is not handled on time, then it can become dangerous, and you may not be able to come up with quality writing. 

How to overcome the writer’s block: 

There are multiple ways through which you can efficiently deal with the issue of writer’s block, after getting stuck in it. 

  • Read, read, and read: To tackle writer’s block, you should read relevant writing pieces to get ideas or information. For instance, if your writing task is about “Understanding the Causes of Belly Fat,” then you can read relevant articles about this topic online to know what and how other writers have written about it. Although, this will kill a lot of your valuable time. 

  • Use online paraphrasing tool: You can also get out of writer’s block by utilizing a paraphrasing tool. There are many tools available such paraphrasing tool by Summarizer.org. The tool will paraphrase the given text in a totally new and unique way without changing its original meaning. When you get the paraphrased text in a completely new way, there is a strong chance that you will get out of writer’s block.

  1. Adjusting Or Managing Criticism

Adjusting Or Managing Criticism

Managing or adjusting criticism can be challenging for new writers. When they are new in the industry, and on their first writing job, they receive negative feedback from the client or company, there is a strong they may lose hope or get affected by emotional breakdown. 

They may start thinking that they do not have good writing capabilities and pick the wrong field.  But remember you should avoid this thinking as much as you can. Instead of getting disheartened, you should work on yourself, and come out VICTORIOUS. 

Below I have explained how you can efficiently adjust criticism or negative feedback about your writing. 

How to handle criticism or negative feedback?

There are multiple methods, ways, or techniques through which you can handle criticism about your writing. 

  • Don’t take it personally: First of all, most of the negative feedback or criticism that comes from clients or companies is meant to help you improve. So, do not take it personally, but this doesn’t mean that you should not take it seriously. 

  • Determine where you need improvement: You should efficiently understand the feedback so that you can identify where improvement is needed. After identifying, you then have to take the necessary steps to overcome the areas of improvement. 

  • Ask for some time: It would be good if you ask for some time from the client/company. So that you can have proper time to show your improvements.

  • Apologize: No matter whether it is your fault or not, the best approach to handle criticism is by apologizing. 

  1. Dealing With Imposter Syndrome

Dealing With Imposter Syndrome

Usually, beginner writers suffer from imposter syndrome. It is basically a phenomenon related to a person’s behavior. 

In imposter syndrome, the writer starts doubting their writing abilities thinking they are not as competent as others. Beginner writers face this challenge because they do not have a successful history of writing.  

When you suffer from imposter syndrome, it will become difficult for you to come up with good-quality writeups. This is why it is essential to avoid imposter syndrome as much as possible, but if you get affected, don’t get hopeless, as you can overcome it by following the right ways. 

How to deal with imposter syndrome

You can overcome the challenge of imposter syndrome by following the ways discussed below: 

  • Seek professional help: if you are feeling low confidence, it would be good to get help from a professional or consider joining coaching. 

  • Celebrate little achievements: To overcome imposter syndrome, you should start celebrating your little achievements regarding work. Doing this will greatly help in building confidence and keep you motivated.

Final Thoughts 

There are some challenges that writers face when landing their first writing job. It is essential for them to overcome the challenges as soon as possible. In this article, I have explained five common challenges, and how you can overcome them.