1. Surprise Your Mind. List laughable, ridiculous, outrageous and bizarre ideas. Don't limit yourself to ideas that other people consider "sane," "reasonable" or "logical." The best and most creative ideas stem from silly ones. When you're in a creative mode, you're suspending judgment on ideas you generate. You simply list them all down and never worry whether they make sense or not. Allow yourself freedom to think outside box.

2. Aim for Quantity. Generate loads of ideas for you to go through later. It's normal that your first few ideas won’t really be fresh. The gems will come out later so it’s important to keep going. With a large list of ideas, you'll have more to choose from, adapt or combine. Creativity is not coming up with something new from nothing; creativity is ability to create something novel from ideas/things that already exist by combining, improving or refining them.

These seemingly small mistakes can cost you big money when done repeatedly. Avoid these common pitfalls and you’ll not only earn more from each sale, but also ensure that you’re developing working relationships with editors who’ll look to you for regular work.

Mistake No. 1: Missing Deadlines I’ve often wondered why writers constantly miss deadlines. After all, if you’ve landed an assignment—big or small—wouldn’t you want to get it in before time instead of after, so that you could impress editor and secure more work? But many writers often fall short, and editors almost never work with these writers who do so repeatedly. So drop those waiting-till-the-last-minute habits and get into researching mode as soon as you get assignment.

Mistake No. 2: Lack of Preliminary Research When editor of a technology magazine wrote in to ask exactly which Internet scams I’d be covering in my “Top Scams on Internet” article, I wrote back to her within minutes. That’s because I’d done my initial research even before I’d sent query. You don’t want to be on phone with an editor, with no clue about details of your piece. Be writer who responds quickly and intelligently with latest research, having facts ready, exactly when they’re needed.

Mistake No. 3: Not Negotiating Many freelance writers become so excited on receiving their first national or high-paying assignment that thought of asking for a little more doesn’t even strike them. Many of them move on to find out that other writers were paid better for less work by same publication. Always try to negotiate for a better contract—less rights, more pay, payment on acceptance, kill fees and even a short bio if you can get one. Most editors expect writers to ask for more, so don’t worry about seeming greedy or money-minded.