Steps Towards a Freelance Writing Career

In an economy where the majority of the workforce is being downsized or underpaid the rising tool of freelance writing has come to play a major role in the job market. These days anyone with access to a pen and paper or keyboard can try their hand at freelancing through various online outlets or magazine publications. The popularity of being your own boss combined with using simple skills most of the population is born with including language and grammar has raised an online empire of publication sites to freelance a writer's content. The first descions to make before you embark on a freelancing journey is to decide if its right for you, if you enjoy organizing your own life, going out into the world for inspiration at random times, and most importantly, if you enjoy writing. The field takes both honesty with yourself about your abilities and your workload, as well as complete dedication. If a freelance writing career is for you then follow these easy steps and take the bull by the horns to a self starter position you've always dreamed of at the top of the writing mountain.

The Internet is your best friend: This is a biggie, but a surprisingly small number of people take this into consideration. Know your market, and if you use the internet correctly there are plenty of worldwide markets to suit what you like to write about right at your monitor. As a freelance writer research as paramount to a decent career and not only is the internet an amazing tool for instant access to wide spread information, it's also a great first step tool to becoming a writer. Just Google "freelance writer" and there are a plethora of internet services willing to pay you small sums to write about what you love and then have millions of other people access it for page view counts which also turn a quick buck. Signing up for one of these websites takes seconds and though you'll have to work hard to get a following, it's a really good jumping off point to be published and note the varying degrees of interest in your particular areas of intrest. Once you've been published a number of times on these sites, or have worked different freelance jobs on internet message boards found online, you can use your experiences as great resume fodder for further advancement. It's amazing what one good recommendation from a freelance writing gig can do for your career, so pat yourself on the back once you attain your first job or first publishing and celebrate.

Keep a list of all your contacts: This is crucial to anyone serious about making writing your on-going business venture. Recording every project, its contacts, how much you were paid, how long you worked and any other important details in an Excel spreadsheet makes your life easier. If you routinely work for several different people at one time or have on-going jobs with one provider, keeping track of the jobs and payment is essential as a good business practice and as a networking tool. Sometimes different people will lead you to bigger and better jobs and having a name on file can lead you to a new freelancing opportunity if you play your cards right. Documentation in freelance writing is every bit as important as the writing itself. You wouldn't want to confuse project emails and email someone the wrong writing sample, or send an invoice to someone after they've already paid you months ago. That's just not good professionalism. By making connections between what you've written in one file and the people you've written for in another, it will make climbing the freelance ladder a lot easier and ensure a good recommendation from anyone who works with you. A good recommendation can take you anywhere because everyone needs a writer.

Use websites like regular networking: Use social bookmarking and networking sites such as Facebook, Digg, and Myspace to further the hype about your writing talents, your resume, and the most important product of them all: yourself. Knowing your way around networking sites proves useful when taking on a handful of small projects; once you've tacked a few decent samples on to your resume of 300-400 word length, use a website to promote your talents. It's now the norm to hire online rather than having a face- to -face meeting and this is all based on the connections you make and the placement of your projects/ work. With a thorough knowledge of where you can promote yourself there is more of a chance that big offers will come your way through word of email. Just be careful what you post and where you post it too. Always retain private information unless you thoroughly trust a client and never start a freelance writing project without some kind of contract made by and agreed to, by both parties. Though it's a business just like any other, don't expect all buyers to be truthful. Put up information only where you think it's safe, trust your instincts and understand that you might have to work for lower prices then you deserve at first.

Jump in feet first: Writing is about thinking, but thinking in the mind of a writer often leads to paralyzing negativity and a case of the "what ifs". Writing is a profession that you won't succeed in until you try, practice, and try again. All seasoned writers work against the internal labyrinth that is their brain to create at least one thing a day that brings them some kind of joy and writing for the joy is really what it's all about at the end of the day. If you're too afraid to do what you love then you'll be missing out on wonderful opportunities that couldn't have been unlocked without the courage to put pen to paper and Go, Go, Go! Doubts go hand-in-hand with any undertaking and freelance writing is no different; just write enough that you're comfortable at the end of the day. Don't kid yourself that you worked really hard all day and people just don't understand you, when you spent the majority of the day watching television on your butt. Writing is about taking chances and hoping someone likes it.

Always be upfront and honest: This is true of your relationships with your buyer and with yourself. Be realistic in your scheduling and what you can provide versus what you want to provide, but don't have the experience or time to provide. Freelance writing relies on a reputation that you have to make and help grow and no one will want to work with you if you're notorious for late projects or overbooking. Though it's a hobby as well as a job for many, freelancing is still a business so you should treat it as such which means making time to do your best work possible with quick turnaround time.

Look for inspiration everywhere: There really is truth in the old saying "Just look out on the window" for inspiration. Literally, look out your window, find something interesting to you, and pick up a pen and go. People write about everything and by nature are curious folk, use this and someone, somewhere, will want to know about your subject, take heart.

Enjoy it, if you don't, then what's the point?