Choosing Freelance Writing as a Career Choice

Are you a newbie to the freelance writing world? Do you have a million questions running through your mind about how to get started in your new career choice? There are many steps that should be followed in order for you to be successful as a freelance writer. You must have chosen freelance writing for some reason or another. Whatever your reasons, the important thing is that you are very eager in wanting to learn your trade as best as you can. Here are a few tips that could help you in your new journey.

Freelance writer is defined as a self employed individual who is working full time in the writing trade. The word's etymology derives from the medieval term for a mercenary, a "free lance" which literally described a knight who was not attached to any particular lord, and could be hired by anyone who needed his services. Freelance writers work on their own and take on clients or submit their work to editors of websites or magazines for pay. They have no one to answer to except their clients and can set their own hours. Many freelance writers go to work in their pajamas in their home. All of their work is completed via computer and most of their contacts are through email or phone calls.

Some new freelance writers know exactly what genre they want to write for and there are others who start out unsure of where to begin. You may want to write for children, how to articles, fiction, non-fiction, or maybe you want to write about everything due to your vast knowledge of various subjects. Whatever your pleasure, you can do it in the freelancing world. Some writers who are just starting out find that non-fiction is the easiest due to their surroundings such as their family, pets, and everyday life.

I started my freelance writing career in 2001. I wrote my very first article about a stray kitten that was found in a dumpster and I decided to take him in. My article was written from the kitten's point of view and was never published. That didn't stop me however. The more rejection notices I received, the more determined I was to get published. This drove me into writing how-to articles about kitten care, cat training, and this launched my career into the non-fiction world. In the beginning my writing was not the best. I received a lot of negative feedback about my writing style, but this didn't make me stop writing. I decided to prove them wrong and kept working at it. The emails and letters I received read, "The article isn't right for our magazine" or "The wording is loose and needs to be tightened up." or "Your style of writing isn't right for our website.". Don't let the feedback you get send you running away from writing; let in drive you to do your best and be a successful freelance writer.

By now you should have an idea of what you want to write about or at least a vague idea. If not, that's okay. One of the first steps you should start with are the materials you will need for the job. Most freelance writers use computers to type, file, and send their work to editors and clients. There are some who still use the old school method of pen and paper before transferring it to their computer. You should find a way that suits you comfortably and stick with it.

Getting organized will make your writing experience much more relaxing so that you can get more work done and make some cash a lot faster than if you are always wasting time searching for what you need. Once you've gotten yourself organized, you should be ready to start looking for potential clients. Most clients ask for a resume, writing samples, or a portfolio; and since you are just beginning, you probably don't have any of those available to potential clients.

There are a few ways to get the writing samples you need. If you've been writing for years and in most cases you have, you probably have hundreds of articles or short stories in a folder filed away somewhere. Pull some of those out and blow the dust off of them. Voila! There are your samples. You can rewrite them and tighten up anything that seems too loose. You could very well have a gold mine right in your filing cabinet. If you do have these, you are already ahead of the game. Those articles that you have never submitted to publishers could very well bring in some money and you will be on your way to succeeding in your writing career.

If you don't have any previous writings, then you will have to start from the beginning, which isn't a bad thing. You have to start somewhere, right? Read the specs that potential clients are looking for and write up a quality article for them as the sample. If your writing meets their needs, then you more than likely will get the job. Freelance writing is a great career choice and if you are determined to do your best, you can make a living from it working full time, setting your own hours. The down side is you don't get the benefits or paid sick days, or vacations as you would working for a company. But if business is good, then you won't need those paid vacations.

Sometimes you can design a website and place your online portfolio for clients to view. This makes it much easier for clients to see what your work is made of and they can make their decisions much quicker of whether they'd like to hire you on for one of their projects. Designing a website might seem like a horror movie, but with today's technology, you can use html editors that have click and drag making it much easier for an armature to have their website designed and uploaded to the internet in a matter of hours.

If you really want to be a freelance writer, there are thousands, possibly millions of opportunities out there. You just have to search and put the work in to be successful. Be determined and you will succeed.