Past Experiences Useful for a Freelance Writer
How to Start and Develop a Writing Career
Sep 16, 2009
People considering a career as a freelance writer often wonder what past experience is required in order to qualify. The short answer to this is ‘any’. Virtually any experience can provide the foundations for a career as a freelance writer. What is essential, however, is that the person also has a passion for writing and communicating a message via the written word.
Types of Experience Useful for a Freelance Writer
Unlike other careers, there is no set career path for a freelance writer. People can enter the profession at any stage of life or point in a career. This isn’t to say that past experience is not relevant. There are specific areas of experience that can be valuable for a new freelance writer. These include:
- Industry experience - an industry expert, with many years experience, is much more likely to write with authority and credibility on their subject than someone with limited experience. This will be useful when pitching for industry specific freelance jobs, such as writing for a trade journal.
- Enthusiast or hobbyist - an enthusiast or hobbyist often has a valuable insight into a subject and this can form the basis for a freelancing career. Opportunities such as writing for relevant websites or blogs and contributing to magazines are ideal with this type of experience.
- Researcher - a good writer can communicate any message as long as they know how to research well and present facts in a professional manner. Someone with research experience will find that there are many opportunities for freelance writing. Research experience can be gained through school and college as well as experience as a professional researcher.
- Writing experience - almost any writing experience is useful for a freelance writer. Many people looking to start a career as a writer often overlook important areas of writing experience. For example a business person who is used to putting together proposals will have experience of presenting a ideas in writing, someone who keeps a personal blog can demonstrate a track record of regular writing, however informal.
- ‘No experience’ - some people are put off entering the profession of freelance writer because they have ‘no experience’. There is virtually no such thing as ‘no experience’ and there is definitely no experience that is not relevant, in some capacity, to a freelance writer. There are many life experiences that people dismiss as not having value that that can be an important source of knowledge to share with others. Stay at home parents, long term unemployed, carers, retired people, students and a diverse range of other people can all make a career as a freelance writer. Their experiences are likely to be as much of interest to other people in similar situations as the writing of an industry expert is to people in their field.
The Essentials of Freelance Writing
While a freelance writer can call on almost any experience, there are some essentials that are necessary in order to succeed. These include:
- Writing style – a freelance writer must be able to write in an engaging and appropriate manner. People need to really want to read what has been written. Even the most important message will remain unread if it is written in a poor or dry manner.
- Work Ethic – finding freelance writing jobs takes hard work – and many rejections. Many freelance writers spend almost as long looking for assignments as they do fulfilling them. Once an assignment has been secured then it is essential to build a good reputation by meeting deadlines.
- Continuing to Learn – as a writer there are always new skills to learn. Probably more so now than at any point in the past as today writers need to know about new technologies, social media and digital publishing. Keeping up to date with new generation writing opportunities will ensure that a new freelance writer has plenty of scope to develop.
Lack of relevant past experience should never hold back someone interested in becoming a freelance writer. Knowing how to draw inspiration from the full gamut of life experiences is the key to success.'
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