There’s a powerful psychological trick that will help you succeed as a freelance writer, but only if you use it.

When you learn how to harness this trick, you’ll improve your writing skills, increase your motivation, find new writing opportunities, and tap into a huge ‘database’ of knowledge and resources.

So what’s the trick? Accountability.

The definition of accountability is: “the quality or state of being accountable; especially: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

How to Be Accountable to Yourself

As freelance writers, it’s so important to develop the skills to motivate yourself.

You need to write. A lot.

You need to market yourself. A lot.

And you need to accept that the responsibility for success lies with you.

Nobody’s going to drag you out of bed in the morning. Nobody will land clients for you. You have to do the work.

To hold yourself accountable you need to see the bigger picture.

Why do you want to be a successful freelance writer? What kind of lifestyle will this career give you? What manageable steps can you take to reach your goals? How can you keep yourself motivated?

[Hint – reward yourself as you complete each small step along the way!]

Take time to answer these questions. Go ahead and write the answers down. You’ll find they give you strength to build the habit of being accountable to yourself.

Being Accountable to Others Can Skyrocket Your Success

But there’s another side to accountability. Whether you like it or not,  most people work best when they’re accountable not only to themselves but to others.

Think about it.

When you were young you handed in your homework because the teacher set a deadline. As you became older the same thing happened. You go now go to work because the boss expects you to work. You go to gym because you’ve hired a personal trainer.

Since you’ve been conditioned to be accountable to others as well as yourself, why not make use of this powerful psychological trick to skyrocket your success?

Here’s how to do it …

The Powerful Benefits of Accountability

Freelance writing can be lonely and overwhelming. It’s hard to do everything on your own and stay motivated. An accountability partner or group is a great way to leverage the psychological power of accountability to help you succeed as a freelance writer.

Here are 3 ways an accountability partner or group can help you:

1. Provide feedback on your writing – Yassir’s recent posts on hiring an editor and editing your own work discussed two great editing options. But there’s a third way. An accountability partner or group can give your work the once-over. And when they have a piece they need editing, return the favour!
2. Share information and opportunities – Other writers can share a wealth of information with you, such as useful books and resources, places to find work, pitching methods they’ve found effective, technical knowledge, and more! This will shorten your learning curve.
3. Give you motivation and emotional support – Maybe you have a problem that needs solving, or you need a fresh idea or shot of inspiration to keep you motivated? An accountability partner or group can be the perfect solution.

Think about what would work for you – an accountability partner or group.

Groups are a good option for sharing a broad range of skills, but you may prefer a partner you can work more closely with. A partner may be easier to find – and you can always grow into a group later on!

Accountability partners and groups can be local or virtual. But how do you find these partners or groups?

Finding Partners or Groups

Here are three ways to find these partners:

1. Join Facebook groups and connect with other writers.
2. Connect through social media. Twitter is a great platform for this.
3. Create a meetup using the Meetup App.

The WriteWorldwide team has never met in real life. We hold meetings on Skype, and communicate daily using Slack. Make use of modern technology to connect with other writers and hold each other accountable.

How to Choose The Right Accountability Partner or Group

You also want to make sure that you’re a fit with your partner and group. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What stage of their career are they at? If you’re at a similar stage, you’ll learn from each other and make good progress together.

• Do they have a burning ambition to succeed as a freelance writer? You’re reading this blog, so I’m assuming you have a strong desire to succeed. Plenty of other writers do too. Find them, bounce ideas off each other. Soon you’ll be carrying one another.

• Are they reliable? Sure, this may be difficult to determine initially, but it’s important to have a partner or group who are trustworthy and reliable. Accountability is powerful. But it won’t work unless everyone does their part.

• Are they fun to be around, but willing to give honest opinions and feedback? It’s important to choose people you enjoy communicating with. But it’s also wise to choose people who’ll give you an honest critique of your work. Constructive feedback can accelerate your progress and growth. So, accept it and use it to improve as a writer.

Convinced that an accountability partner or group can help you succeed as a freelance writer? You should be!

I can speak from experience that the WriteWorldwide team has been a fantastic source of motivation, inspiration and ideas. Use the power of accountability in your own career and you’ll see what I mean!

Are you already part of an accountability partnership or group? Or are you eager to set one up? Let us know in the comments!