Long-time freelance writer Gwen Moran offers some great insights into this process in a Q&A that’s up on The Renegade Writer blog.

Moran is a columnist for Entrepreneur, and has written for publications such as Woman’s Day, On Wall Street and Newsweek.com. She’s the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans.

According to Moran, the first step in career planning is picturing your ideal end result. In the Q&A she says:

Do you want to work for a certain type of publication? Earn a certain amount of money? Break into a specific niche? Once you’ve defined where you want your business to go, then you can back out the steps you need to get you there. You can begin honing topics and pitches for a specific publication or start targeting clients who understand the value that you provide in exchange for a healthy rate.

If you’re interested in learning more, Moran will be teaching an online course called Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want, at The Renegade Writer. The six-week course begins Oct. 7 and costs $250 for the premium version with six weeks of e-mail support or $150 for the basic version with no e-mail support. Find out more details on the Website.