Working as a Freelance Writer

So you want to become a freelance writer but don't know where to start. Freelance writing can be a very lucrative and rewarding career but in all honesty getting started is not the easiest thing to do. Once the decision is made to become a writer on a full-time basis there are plenty of things to mark off the to-do list. The first thing to do is to find work. Writers can start out writing for such companies as Triond, Associated Content, Helium, and Textbroker to make a little bit of money while also building their portfolio. Once the writer has enough samples to provide potential employers they can then begin applying for jobs via Craigslist, oDesk, Guru, Elance, and Freelance Job Openings.

Writers should continue to build their portfolio as they become more and more experienced as a freelancer. Their portfolio should include samples of articles, term papers, essays, reports, blog posts, editing pieces and webpage content. The more versatile you are the more jobs you will be able to apply for as a writer. Working as a freelance writer is not all glitz and glamour 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Freelance writing can be a rewarding career but it can also be a difficult profession to be successful with. Why? The workload of a freelance writer is hit or miss. You might want to dedicate 50 hours per week to working on projects but might only acquire 20 hours of work per week. How do you fill the rest of the time? For starters, you can focus a lot of the extra time on applying for jobs, building your own website, writing for the websites listed above or writing samples for your portfolio.

One tip that all freelance writers should follow to a tee all the time is to never acquire more than 40 percent of your income from one place when writing. So, if you are working primarily with one person, you should try to expand your horizons and find other work as well in case that one employer does not need your services anymore. As you begin to acquire more and more employers you can determine how much work you can take on from each one at a time. Always meet the deadlines handed down from your employer and if you cannot meet those deadlines you should request an extension from the employer.

As you acquire more and more employers they will help you obtain more work from other companies as well. Why? If you work hard enough and write well enough for these people they will more than likely recommend you to their friends and other acquaintances in the business world. This is the easiest way to acquire more work; word of mouth. As a writer, you can post ads about the services you offer for companies looking for content on sites such as iFreelance, Craigslist, and Hire a Freelancer.

Once the writer has established themselves in the world of freelance writing they can begin to set their own pricing for the work they perform. Not all employers will hire a writer for a job and tell them how much they will pay for the job. The majority of the time the price for a project is up for debate. If the writer is experienced, has enough references, and has excellent samples then the employer will more than likely let the writer set their own price for each individual project.

Budgeting your Time as a Writer

As a freelance writer you will more than likely be working out of your own home. Most freelance writers do so because it is a way to save money instead of renting an office or purchasing an office building to work out of. Working from your home can be a tricky thing to do because you don't have any bosses hanging over your shoulder making sure you get your work done properly and on time. Working from home and budgeting your time properly is a skill that most people must develop when they become a freelance writer. If you don't budget your time properly you will lose out of high paying jobs and even miss deadlines on some of your projects.

There are a handful of very important tips for freelance writers to follow when working out of their own home. They include turning off the television, ignoring your email, not playing computer games, not wandering around the house, not reading magazines, not working in your bed, not working on the couch and not stopping every five minutes to take a break.

Working for yourself out of your own home can be a difficult thing to get accustomed to and it takes discipline to do so and develop a work regimen. If you have a lot of work schedule for any particular day you should write for two hours at a time and take a 15 minute break to rest your eyes and walk away from your computer so you do not go stir crazy. When working from home you should not pick and munch on snacks all day because you will more than likely begin to gain weight. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a normal basis and if you feel the need to snack you should munch on fruits and vegetables.

Turn off the television. Never sit down and write in front of the television because you will be tempted to surf the channels and find something to 'have on in the background.' Having something on in the background never ends well. If the television is on you more than likely will wind up watching the show that is on instead of writing the article about Social Security Disability that is due in two hours. Along with keeping the television turned off you should also avoid checking your email inbox every five minutes. Working from home and on your personal computer can sometimes lead to a distraction such as constantly emailing friends and family members or checking your inbox every five minutes.

For a freelance writer to be successful with what they do they should know how to seriously budget their time. If the writer cannot get on a rigid schedule or budget their time properly than they won't be able to meet deadlines, they won't be able to complete projects, and word will get out that the writer does not have a good work ethic.

Scams

As a writer, never pay for the ability to write for a company or another person. No writer should ever have to pay from their own pocket to make money in the freelance writing industry. The first sign of a freelance writing scam is when the deal seems too good to be true. Meaning, if an advertisement says that a writer can make $259 per day with little to no experience and only have to pay $45 per month to join the program than the offer is too good to be true. As lucrative as the freelance writing industry is, not all writers can make close to $300 per day with little to no experience. No one should ever have to pay a fee to write for a company. If a fee is required to join a content writing website or to write for a company then it very well could be a scam. Not all sites that require a fee to join are scams. The ability to differentiate between a scam and a website that isn't a scam takes a little bit of common sense. If the offer seems too good to be true then it more than likely is too good to be true.