Write for 5 Different Clients: Check!

When I created my list of 101 goals, I was in the middle of doing my first job as a writer. It was a dream coming true. But I knew that after this first assignment, which kinda had miraculously presented itself to me, I would had to do some hard work finding other clients. I had to make myself known as a writer and I had to be able to prove that I can actually write. I was determined though. Know that I had experienced the wonderful world of being a writer, I never wanted to do anything but that anymore. So I created this goal:

No. 6: Write for at least 5 different clients.

Even if this first client would have tons of work for me, I still wanted to find at least four others. You never know when a client doesn’t need you anymore and at that time, you need to be prepared. Others need to know you as well.

It was not easy. Clients are not just standing in line, waiting for me to present myself. And I do not have an education that proves I can write. So I just started writing everyday. Blog articles, scenes for my theater group, short stories, everything I could think of. And it paid of. In January, I had my fifth client.

IQ-Media – Write video scripts (English) & Translation TV-program (Dutch-English)

This is where it all started: IQ-Media. This company has launched iCasting in 2014, a casting agency designed for regular people who want to use their talents. Not only models are allowed here, as with so many other casting agencies. In fact, iCasting applauds people with a trait a bit out of the ordinary, whether it’s a particular accent, a freckled face or some extra weight. Sometimes a company just need a very specific type of person for their promotion and they can’t be found in regular casting agencies mostly.

iCasting also offers video lessons to their members, to prepare them for eventual future jobs. They needed script writers to create informative, but fun lesson material. And they approached me for the acting and singing lessons! Somehow my love for both writing and theater suddenly paid off.

I loved writing the scripts. I did research, took interviews and most importantly: I wrote for weeks. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to start my career as a writer.

Last year, iCasting approached me again for a whole different job. They wanted me to translate a TV program from Dutch to English. I got to do subtitles! I really loved it. It is really challenging to translate something as accurate as possible, without the use of too many words.

WOW-EFFECT Theater – 2 Plays

This is the job I loved most up until now. It’s amazing to write something that’s entirely inside your head and then see it come to life on stage. That is such a magical, indescribable feeling. In 2014/2015 I wrote the play Bedtime Stories, which was lightly based on some of my own experiences. It was a huge success, our theater hall was nearly filled twice in a row! That means about 200 people were interested to see something acted out that I had written. So amazing.

Last year I wrote Inbetween, which is about Shakespearean characters ending up between Heaven or Hell after they’ve died. They have to prove that they belong to Heaven in only a week time. And there’s not enough room for everybody.. This play took WOW-EFFECT to the finals of The Play of Nijmegen. How amazing! I’d only just written my second play and people think it’s good enough for the finale of a theater contest. It was such a reward for me and a real great to action to always keep writing.

Theater group Gras – Guest blog

Last year, I acted in Othello at theater group Gras. It didn’t go unnoticed that I was a writer, so the founder of the group asked me if I wanted to write a few guest blogs about my experiences in the project Othello, and about my experiences in theater in general. Of course I wanted that! They can be found on the website of Gras and on my own story blog. They are in Dutch though!

Dog school De Vrije Hond – Review doggy dance class

I am also very active in Dog School Land. I train with my own dogs weekly at Hondenschool De Laar. Last year, I also did an internship there, to learn even more. During that time, I met another dog trainer who was following an internship there, because she wanted to learn more about our specific method and apply it on her own dog school. This was Hester van dear Meij from dog school De Vrije Hond.

A couple of month later, she contacted me. She would host a doggy dance workshop on her school and she knew that it was one of my goals to attend one. She also knew I was a writer. So in exchange for a discount on her workshop, she asked me to write a review for her. Meaning, she was my fourth client. I loved that I got to write a review on a topic I really love.

Theater group Schwung – Website

The improv theater group Schwung that I’m in, wanted a new website for a very long time now. The old one wasn’t very 2016. Also, we still had a Hotmail address. (Really, these things do still exist! Who knew?)

Schwung asked me to write their new website. So I did! I set aside my own website for this, because I could really use the opportunity to add website writing to my portfolio. And because I had the most (if not only) experience with using WordPress of all of our members, I did not only write the website, but I also helped building it.

Seven clients

As you can see, this makes five clients! But I topped that before I could even write this post! Recently, I got two more clients. I did a translation job for a student, who needed a German philosophical research text translated into English. And last week I revised a motivational letter and a resume for a job applicant who’s mother tongue is not Dutch.

Seven clients may not be much yet, but it’s a start. Everybody has to start somewhere, right? And seeing the jobs that I have done, I think I may be very proud of myself. I wrote plays and video scripts and managed to be in a theater final with one of my products! That’s something to really cherish and is worth more than any number of clients to me. And hopefully this will be just a tip of the iceberg of all the awesome writing jobs yet to come!

Are you searching for a writer for a particular job, someone to guest blog on your website or do you need anything translated or revised? Then you know where to find me! You may email me anytime, or leave a comment down below if you’d like to collaborate with me.