Making Money from Freelance Writing
It's the question that every aspiring freelancer eventually finds themselves asking: is it really possible to make money from this? The kind of money that lets you keep a roof over your head and feed your kids occasionally, that is?
Well, yes, it is. But let's be honest: it's not easy. In fact, you probably just picked one of the most difficult career paths in the world. That's the bad news.
The good news is that with the right approach and the right attitude, you can earn a respectable wage from freelance writing. Here are a few tips on how to do it:
Love your writing career
If you're anything like the thousands of other freelance writers out there, you're probably not in this for the money. If money was your main objective, you'd probably be working your way up the corporate ladder right now in a nice, safe office job, washing the car on Sundays and forgetting all about writing.
If that kind of lifestyle is anathema to you, then congratulations ? freelance writing could be the right career choice after all.
At the bottom line, most freelance writers do it because they love to write, and because they want to be able to make a living doing something they enjoy. And that's a good start. If you really want to make a success of your freelance writing career, you're going to have to love what you're doing, and really want to make a success of it.
This is a rule that doesn't really apply to conventional working. You don't have to love Big Macs to work in McDonalds, or love filing to work in an office. You just have to turn up on time, do what's required from you and then walk away. If your career is freelance writing, you never get to walk away. The truth is that at first (and often for a long time afterwards) you'll spend much more time looking for work than you'll spend actually writing. Looking for work will become all-consuming. When you're not writing, you'll be either thinking about writing, or looking for writing you can do to make money. If you don't love what you're doing, and if you're not absolutely determined to keep on doing it, you'll find it very hard to keep that up.
But enjoying what you're doing isn't going to be enough: if you really want to make a living out of your writing, you're going to have to treat it like a business.
Treat freelance writing as a business
As we've said, the chances are that you write because you love to write. Or because you want a job you can work around your kids, your hobbies or your other commitments in life. Whatever you do, though, never lose sight of the fact that your writing is, first and foremost, a business. And as with any business, you need to work at marketing it and growing it.
This may not come easy at first. You're a writer, after all, not a marketer! If you wanted to sell things, you'd have found a job in sales, right?
Wrong. You DID find a job in sales. Freelance writing is as much about selling as it is about writing. You picked a competitive industry to work in. No matter how good you are at writing, there's someone out there who's as good or better. There are even people out there who aren't nearly as good at writing as you are, and yet they're getting more jobs. Why is that?
The difference is in the selling. The mediocre writer who does a good job of getting out there and selling their services (and themselves) will ultimately be more successful than the excellent writer who sits at home and waits for the work to come and find them. The truth is that the work will never come. You need to go and find it ? and when you find it, you need to make sure you pitch yourself well enough to secure it. If you don't know anything about marketing, it's time to learn.
Remember the golden rule of writing
Of course, there are ways to make things easier on yourself. There are a whole host of websites out there which allow you to "bid" for writing jobs. Great idea, no? Well, it depends. Remember the golden rule: money flows towards the writer. If you're thinking of signing up with an agency that requires you to pay money to join, you're already breaking the number one rule.
Be wary of bidding sites, too. Often the competition is so fierce that you have to be willing to practically work for free in order to secure the job. And working for free isn't paying your mortgage or feeding your kids.
Love your work, market yourself, and remember the golden rule. Welcome to the wonderful world of freelance writing!
Amber McNaught runs WritingWorld.org, a new agency for freelance writers. Writing World provides a free agency service which helps writers find work, and helps employers find the best writer for their project.
Writing World also offers a range of service such as proofreading, edting and manuscript appraisal services to new and aspiring writers.
Chat about all aspects of freelance writing in the WritingWorld forum!
A well-punctuated approach letter may make the difference between acceptance... Read More
When one population in one century survived five wars, two... Read More
At some point along the way, most of us have... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?How we usually begin the preparation stage... Read More
Whether you are working for a small business, large corporation,... Read More
Writer's Block can strike like a King Cobra, paralyzing every... Read More
For any great novelist, defining your cast of intriguing characters... Read More
Characters in a good novel really carry the story along... Read More
You know, I really hate it when someone catches me... Read More
We've all seen those ads that grab our attention and... Read More
An island in the Mediterranean. A beach in Africa. The... Read More
Whenever you sit down to plot a story (or even... Read More
Q. My writing sounds stiff and stilted. Help!A. Memories of... Read More
The journey to having my first novel for children published... Read More
A frequent conversation I have with my writing clients is... Read More
(excerpted from the "How to Use a Journal" audio series... Read More
PASSED, PASTPassed is the past tense of pass. Past means... Read More
I've been in the communications business a long time?over 25... Read More
Plotting a book can seem an overwhelming task when you're... Read More
Your struggling to sell just a few copies of your... Read More
Many of us have always wanted to write. We have... Read More
Traditionally, business writing uses the "one thing after another" format,... Read More
No user manual? Surely you jest!It may seem comical, but... Read More
You can turn your $200 fee to write a press... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
Kallu was a tenant of Santosh Kumar Nayak. Santosh Kumar... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?It's no use coming up with a... Read More
"No one will ever know who I am, I'm a... Read More
(This excerpt is taken from my new writing workshop Writing... Read More
|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More
About two weeks ago I received an article submissionthat immediately... Read More
In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as... Read More
The Scanning ReaderWriting for the Web is different than writing... Read More
Think you can't write a book that will sell? You... Read More
The writing community is a strong one, with many new... Read More
At first, I noticed that I could have written many... Read More
Picture this scene.Your hero is sitting in a bar. He's... Read More
Have you heard the term 'ghostwriter' and wondered what they... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
Do you consider yourself a storyteller? Do you consider yourself... Read More
If you find your sentences filled with commas, and they... Read More
Next time you're tempted to use italics for emphasis... STOP!"Why?"... Read More
In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as... Read More
Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
A UK based freelance proofreader should be able to provide... Read More
Authors need to write their book according to their target... Read More
Do you have trouble getting your thoughts and ideas down... Read More
Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional... Read More
When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More
As in all endeavors, toil is necessary to succeed and... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?We all tackle plotting differently. How you... Read More
And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring, and... Read More
Many of us dream of writing a book. Why not.... Read More
This is the ideal topic for us all to think... Read More
(excerpted from the "How to Use a Journal" audio series... Read More
What a wonderful resource the Internet is!Students find information to... Read More
Questions and answers on writing life experiences for ourselves and... Read More
When a writer is working on their next literary masterpiece... Read More
All the famous writers I heard of could paper the... Read More
The freelance writing market is a growing market to be... Read More
Lately I've been noticing an odd trend amongst the freelance... Read More
As a professional copywriter, not only do I do a... Read More
Every writer eventually develops her own unique style of writing.... Read More
When the writing bug hits you, get out your pencil,... Read More
Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
Writing |