Freelance Writing 101

Freelance Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 By Guest Author Do you want to make a living as a writer? Perhaps its a dream youve always dismissed as impossible, and youve got a sensible day job, or a busy family life. But youve never given up your love of words. Ill let you into a secret. You can make your writing pay. I do, and so do lots of the people I know. Forget what youve heard about ridiculously low rates – it is still possible to make a professional rate from your freelancing. Heres how. Step 1: Pick Your Speciality When I started out freelancing, I offered everything from website creation to editing and proofreading. This only ended up confusing me and my clients, and often meant I worked on jobs which didnt really interest me. Nowadays, I focus almost exclusively on writing for blogs, and do the occasional magazine piece. Dont be tempted to offer every words-related service under the sun. It wont get you more clients. Think of it this way: if you were hiring a designer to create your business cards, would you go for the guy who does everything from website design to logos to billboards – or would you pick the guy who just does business cards? One quick word of advice: its far easier to make money from non-fiction than from fiction writing. By all means keep up with your fiction on the side (I know I do!) but dont rely on it to pay the rent. Some broad areas where you could position yourself are: Feature writing for magazines and newspapers Writing articles for websites and blogs Technical writing Copywriting (promotional or sales focused writing) Ghostwriting Writing resumes Of course, within many of these areas, you could drill down even further, particularly as you become more established as a freelancer. Step 2: Get Some Clips and Testimonials Freelance photographers and designers have portfolios. Freelancer writers have clips or samples – examples of your writing which clients can look at when theyre deciding whether or not to hire you. Obviously, youll want to make sure that your clips show your very best writing. You might feel like this is a Catch-22 situation: you need clips to get hired, but if youve never been hired, how can you have any professional pieces of writing to show off? Theres an easy answer: you produce some pieces of writing for free. You could simply write a few samples which will never see publication except on your business website (more on that in a moment), but you could use this as an opportunity to get publication credits by: Doing pro bono (free) work for a charity or non-profit organisation Guest posting for a large blog Writing for your local newspaper or a free magazine Honing a resume for your friend Where possible, stick with the area youre specialising in: clients looking for a copywriter may be surprised if all your samples are book reviews, for instance. As well as getting clips, youll want some testimonials. Usually, all you need to do is ask! Assuming that the people youve done free work for were happy with the results, theyll often be delighted to give you a testimonial. Never make up testimonials. Its unethical, it would be hugely damaging if anyone found out, and real testimonials always sound more convincing, too. Dont be afraid to use testimonials which include some doubts or negativity (e.g. I wasnt sure what to expect from Joe Writer because Id not seen any of his work before but I was delighted with the finished piece.) These are likely to be reassuring to prospective clients, who may well have the same doubts. Step 3: Setting Up In Business The process for setting up as a self-employed writer differs from country to country. Check out whats required in your own country, and make sure you file any relevant paperwork. Dont put this off indefinitely because you think its going to be a lot of hassle – in many cases, you can do it all online. If you dont have a PayPal account, Id strongly recommend setting one up. This is particularly crucial if youre going to be working for online clients (such as blog editors or website owners), most of whom will want to pay via PayPal. Its also extremely useful if youre going to be paid in foreign currency, as PayPal handles the converting. Depending on your specialisation and the market youre targeting, you may also want: Business cards and letter headed paper Software packages (e.g. Microsoft Office, invoicing software) A fax machine and a business telephone line Dont be tempted to go out and buy a ton of home office equipment right at the start of your freelancing journey – especially if you have yet to make any money. You may well want to upgrade your computer or your broadband connection, or you may want a new desk and chair once you start freelancing full-time, but if your writing is currently confined to a few hours at the weekend, you dont need to go out and spend lots of money yet. Your Website One real essential is your website. Its so easy and cheap to set a website up nowadays that clients will be surprised if you dont have one. Plus, theres no easier way to showcase your writing clips and testimonials: your website can be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time. Absolute essentials for your website are: Have your own domain name. This could be your own name (yourname.com) or your company name. Id recommend going for the latter, especially if you might ever want to sell your business. Dont look amateur. Ideally, youd want to pay for a custom website design – but if youre starting out on a shoestring, use WordPress and look for a template which you like. Many are free, some cost just a few dollars. Check and proof-read your site. Missing links and typos look sloppy. Youre a writer, so make sure your website itself is a great example of your writing. Make it very easy to contact you. Some clients like to use a contact form, others prefer to email directly – offer both options. Unless you have strong reasons not to, give a phone number as well. Step 4: Learn All You Can Ive put this step now because its easy to get bogged down in learning about writing and business, without actually taking any action. Its definitely important to keep improving your skills – but not to the exclusion of actually using those skills. Plus, I know from experience how easy it is to buy books, courses and training materials and leave them gathering dust on the shelf. There are loads of great resources out there for new freelancer writers, so browse around and get friends recommendations so that youve got a good idea of what will work for you. There are two broad areas where youll want to keep learning: Your Writing Simply writing regularly, and polishing your work to professional standards, will teach you a lot – but you can accelerate your progress by making a conscious effort to learn. This might mean: Make sure youve mastered the basics. If your grasp of grammar is shaky, get a good basic book and take your time over studying. This may be a bit dull, but it is important. Following top writing-related blogs: Daily Writing Tips of course, but there are many other great ones like Copyblogger and Men with Pens. Read examples from great writers in your field. For example, if youre a copywriter, look out for pieces of brilliant sales writing. Keep a swipe file of your favourites – study them, figure out what theyre doing. Ask a fellow writer for feedback. If youre struggling with a particular piece, a second pair of eyes can often help you spot problems or flaws. Your Business Some people are brilliant writers – but terrible at doing business. They may end up failing due to a lack of marketing, an inability to meet deadlines, or an awful grasp on cash-flow. To get your head around business matters: Schedule regular time for admin. Youll need to contact prospective clients, send invoices, keep detailed records for tax purposes, and so on. Stay as organised as possible. Write deadlines onto a calendar, and plan ahead. Know how much time you have available in any given week. File all papers relating to one job in the same place, so that you can find them again when necessary. If the idea of marketing and self-promotion terrifies you, then start small. Use a blog and Twitter to gather a following online. Encourage customers to recommend you to friends (perhaps providing an incentive). Read freelancing and small business blogs: Freelance Switch, Freelance Folder and IttyBiz are three great ones. Good luck with your freelance writing journey – and dont forget to have lots of fun along the way! About the Author: Ali Hale is a freelance blogger, and author of The Bloggers Guide to Effective Writing – an ebook which covers everything you need to know about writing brilliant blog posts. Check Out Other Articles from The Writing 101 Series: The Writing Process Creative Writing 101 Story Writing 101 Letter Writing 101 Business Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers30 Baseball IdiomsHow Do You Pronounce "Mozart"?