Starting Out as a Freelance Writer

Making a Living as a Writer Demands Personal Strength and Knowledge

Nov 13, 2009 Janice Hally

Working from home and spending many hours alone in front of a computer is one of the toughest ways of earning a living.

For many, the dream of becoming a writer consists of images of working from home with no bosses, no commuting, and no strict working hours. The idea of it may seem like heaven but the reality is much tougher.

It takes much more than the ability to write to become a writer and to make a living at it. To become a successful writer requires...

  • Self Discipline
  • Ingenuity
  • Self Knowledge
  • Sales Skills
  • Management Skills
  • Accounting Skills
  • Resilience

Self Discipline

It's all too easy to succumb to distractions, but freelance writers have to remember that their time is precious, and that the more time they spend not working, the less money they will make.

It's imperative to create a work routine, with certain hours dedicated to sitting at the computer doing something constructive (in other words, not surfing Youtube or checking Facebook).

One of the reasons most people want to escape the daily grind of office life and become a writer is the thought that they can spend their time as they please. Sadly this is not the case. Being a writer is as much of a daily grind as any other job, only it comes with the pressure that there is no monthly salary, and every penny earned has to be self-generated. So the first thing to prepare for, when thinking of freelance writing as a career move, is that successful writers don't work 9 till 5, they usually work much longer hours than that.

Ingenuity

One thing that is certainly true is that freelance writing work can be unusual and interesting. In fact the more ingenious the freelance writers are, they more chance they have of surviving. Everyone goes for the most obvious jobs first, e.g. trying to get a gig writing articles for magazines, in print or online. In fact there are very many writing jobs out there that writers may never have thought of. Writing copy for marketing; writing press releases; writing other people's CVs or job applications; ghostwriting; people are even willing to pay writers to write their blogs for them. it's important that writers open their minds to all the various possibilities to open up the job opportunities.

Self Knowledge

Freelance writers have to be pretty certain about their talents and abilities. In the first place they need to present themselves well, on their own website, in the profile pages of bidding sites, or in their CVs for job applications or bids. It's also helpful for writers to assess their talents to discover the possibilities of more unusual work. For example, a writer who has the gift to turn a phrase neatly can find themselves in demand writing slogans for advertising material; a writer who has a gift for humor or sentimental thoughts, can find work writing for greetings card companies. The more a writer experiments and discovers their strengths, the more job possibilities open up.

Sales Skills

Even if writers are not entering into the field of marketing, they have to be able to sell themselves. Unless they have agents working for them, the responsibility for the entire sales pitch for them and their talents is in their own hands. Balancing humility and modesty with the need to present a confident image that clients or editors can trust is a difficult juggling act.

Management Skills

Freelance writers are their own bosses, which might seem like a good thing, but it comes with all the management responsibilities. Freelance writers are in fact running small businesses. They have to keep on top of:

  • finding work
  • agreeing contracts
  • making sure that work is delivered on time
  • following up on payments received and owed

Accounting Skills

Another skill required is that of book-keeping. It's very important that freelance writers have are on top of their accounts and have everything cleared with the inland revenue. Careful notes must be kept of all contracts, payments received, and expenses incurred.

Resilience

Work will not always be easy to find, and it takes a certain kind of personality to withstand the knocks to confidence there will be when things look bleak. Freelance writers need to be tough enough to keep their hopes up and keep on trying to find work, when there is no-one to turn to for support. They must have the determination to succeed and to overcome any depression which might descend.

Freelance writing might not be the dream job it seems to be, but if those who take it on are prepared in advance, they have more chance of success.

For a complete guide to becoming a freelance writer see this page.

The copyright of the article Starting Out as a Freelance Writer in Freelance Writing is owned by Janice Hally. Permission to republish Starting Out as a Freelance Writer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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