4. Share your toys.

Gone are the days when you lock yourself in a tower to write and keep your work hidden only to be read and published posthumously. Well, it may be an exaggeration, but if your work is too personal and you have no intention of getting published, that’s your business.

If you want to make a living out of your craft, you have to get rid of your inhibitions, doubts, and fears. Posting your work online exposes you to readers from diverse backgrounds. They will have their personal opinions and biases over things they read. You will subject yourself to scrutiny and evaluation. You have to be equipped with the proper psychological and emotional frame to deal with this.

Don’t be afraid to share your writing. Many budding writers claim that they’re not yet ready to share their work. Here’s a reality check: Nobody cares if you share your work or not. If you’re not ready, then when will you be? Whether you share your work now or in the future is not the point, but by sharing your work without waiting for “the right time” gives you a head start.

5. Brevity is the soul of wit.

Online marketing gurus will often tell you: “When blogging, keep your paragraphs short.”

Writers who are keen on writing fiction tend to be descriptive. They love throwing in sensory details to let their readers have a three-dimensional feel of the setting, characters, and situations. Transferring this skill into blogging or content writing may not appeal to target audiences.

Online readers have short attention spans. They don’t have the patience to read a long, detailed piece of information or advice. They are always in need of easy-to-read information or solutions. Your article is not the only piece that they’ll read. They’ll keep perusing other sites for similar information until they find the content that satisfies their need for answers.

Concise writing means straight to the point. Know your audience and understand their needs. They will not adjust to your writing style. It should be the other way around.

6. Be willing to become a marketer.

Independent writers must learn to become marketers to sell their work. Writing and marketing are becoming inseparable and the freelance writer will do well to combine these skills.

Writing and marketing may prove difficult for introverted writers. Writing is a solitary craft with the goal of expressing the truth. Marketing is always on the lookout for what sells and what doesn’t. Can you make a living as an indie writer without a working knowledge of the trends and needs of your target market? What will you market if you don’t have a good product or service?  Again, writing and marketing should go hand in hand.

Understand how the business works. Keeping abreast of demands and trends in your field ensures your survival and likelihood that your work will gain an audience in the long run. Ten to fifteen years from now, we don't know what the trend is going to be like for writers and other creatives. Only by constantly updating our skills and understanding the rules can we continue to pursue our craft with passion and dedication.