How To Start A Freelance Writing Career

Posted Nov 10, 2008 by dana / comments 7 comments / Print / Font Size Decrease font size Increase font size

Want to become a writer but don't know where to start? This article can help you get your feet wet in the world of freelance writing.

Freelance writers can make a great deal of money working at home.  There are male and female writers and there are professional technical and copywriters that are single, are Moms, are stay at home Dads and also Grandparents.

I know single mothers that went from poverty to owning their own homes and having successful businesses.  Some writers get their start and quit their day job and others get started when they are unemployed thinking it’ll get them through lean times. Many of those writers never go back to a traditional job because of how lucrative and rewarding writing for yourself can be.

Whether you want to work at it part time or full time, freelance writing is a great gig to get into.  The Internet has opened up a world of writing opportunities and you can write about just about any subject you’re interested in and get paid for it. If you’re willing to write about boring or very speciality subjects as well, you can get paid even MORE.

How do you get started?

Here are tips to get you going. It’s not an easy job but there are a lot of opportunities available and while it takes time to get started, you can be earning a full time wage within a few months if you’re motivated and talented.

Get some samples together

You’ll need to get samples together to show prospective employers. There are two great ways to do this:

1. Open a blog at blogger.com and make a blog about a subject you can write well on. Write lots of articles in that subject and promote your blog.

2. Submit article to free directories. These can help you promote your name online so people who are thinking of hiring you can find you. Sites like this include: http://www.bukisa.com, http://www.ezinearticles.com , http://www.articlealley.com , http://www.articledashboard.comhttp://www.ehow.com , http://www.helium.com , http://www.articlesbase.com and http://www.Squidoo.com .

While many of these sites accept articles for free, sites like Bukisa, ehow, helium and squidoo will help you make residual income while you’re looking for work and creating samples!

Look for Jobs

Now that you’ve got samples and perhaps a resume together, there are a lot of online classified sites that you can find jobs at. Some are specialised for writers  some are more general but having writing gig categories.

You can also join job bidding sites like http://www.elance.com and http://www.rentacoder.com. These sites allow you to create an online portfolio and apply to jobs. The beauty of sites like these is that you can be a bit more relaxed about being paid.  If you want to be a freelance writer, you’ll need some serious scam radar because there are rip off artists and scammers and plagiarisers out there.

There’s a lot more to it and you’ll want to learn about search engine optimisation, SEO writing , self promotion and develop niches to increase your income.  If you’re interested and motivated,  you can learn as you go while you’re earning.

Concluding thoughts:

Freelance writing is a very lucrative and rewarding work at home career! Find a mentor to follow.  I have a freelance writer blog that offers mentoring and tips and there’s a writer mentoring site at http://www.inspiredauthor.com that provides writer chats and plenty of tips. The more you can learn, the faster you can get some great writing gigs!

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Comments

Goodselfme
Goodselfme said... on January 2nd, 2009 at 5:20 PM

Well shared information on freelance writing. I will come back again to re read this plethora of tips. Thank you. I sent 5 * your way.

kohuether
kohuether said... on December 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 AM

This is a very useful article. It simplifies one possible path a new writer can take to find success. All it takes is a little focus!

PhilipYana
PhilipYana said... on December 21st, 2008 at 11:14 PM

Useful article Dana. All the more so because from your sites I know you've actually been doing these very things and speak from experience. I'd love to hear more about how you personally got started as a freelance writer. On another note, I did wonder why a good writer would give away their work at places like articlesbase.

dana
dana said... on November 17th, 2008 at 10:22 AM

Thanks, Coachmac4 :)

Coachmac4
Coachmac4 said... on November 17th, 2008 at 12:51 AM

Very good ideas on becoming a freelance writer!

dana
dana said... on November 10th, 2008 at 8:32 PM

Thanks covewriter :) Off I go to check out your article :)

covewriter
covewriter said... on November 10th, 2008 at 11:55 AM

Great article. I have a similar article: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/3208_how-to-become-a-freelance-writer



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