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Tag: how to become a freelance writer

  • How to Become a Freelance Writer While You’re in College

    How to Become a Freelance Writer While You’re in College

    Being broke while in college might be a cliche, but it’s also the norm.

    Finding the right way to earn a decent income in school can be a huge challenge. Most of the jobs that are easy to get pay close to minimum wage and do little to build your resume. Jobs that pay well and contribute meaningfully to your experience often have inflexible schedules.

    So what’s a student to do if they want to become a freelance writer?

    Finding freelance writing jobs for college students

    Freelance writing jobs for beginners can be a great way to earn income while using your expertise during college — and it can ease your transition after graduation. If you’re like me, you might even find it’s actually your dream job!

    College is the perfect time to start building your freelance experience; at no other time will you be exposed to so many great ideas and have such easy access to expert sources and a variety of opinions.

    But having great ideas and expert sources is only the beginning of a successful freelance career.

    Here are a few tips for going after freelance writing jobs as a college student:

    1. Get some experience

    Unfortunately, most editors don’t want to take a chance on writers with zero experience. Lucky for you, college campuses are rife with opportunities to develop exactly that, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.

    Based on my experience, editors usually look for three published writing samples that show you have what it takes to write the story you want to tell. Find out if there are any positions at the college paper, or if you can write a few op-eds.

    You can also ask student organizations if they need help with their blog or newsletter. And don’t forget to check with local newspapers or alt-weeklies to see if they take freelance submissions — sometimes they’re more willing to work with inexperienced writers.

    You shouldn’t write for free or rock-bottom cheap for more than a few months, but being flexible on your rates initially can be a great way to get the portfolio you need to start aiming higher.

    2. Schedule your semester early

    You would be amazed how reading assignments and homework can pile up. Having an organized schedule can help you decide if you have time to pitch new story ideas now, or if you should wait a few weeks for projects to finish up.

    Remember it can take editors up to two weeks (and sometimes even more) to green-light a pitch, so examine your schedule in advance so you know exactly how much time you can give a story.

    3. Network like your life depends on it

    You’re probably already networking a lot, but are you doing it strategically? Following editors from your favorite publications on Twitter and interacting with them regularly will help them recognize you when you send a pitch their way.

    You don’t have time to blindly send pitches hoping they land, so priming editors to like your ideas is an absolute must.

    Also connect with the journalism program on campus — they may have a group that can help you work through ideas, or a professor who would love to be your mentor.

    4. Focus on publications that actually pay

    Don’t waste your time with writing contests that require a fee or publications that pay in “exposure.”

    In fact, contests can be a really tough way to get a foot in the door — they tend to draw thousands of submissions and only a few will win.

    You’re better off writing short email pitches and getting confirmation from an editor before you invest in a full article. Another good tactic is to check sites that share information about how much different publications pay and how long it takes the average writer to get paid.

    The Make a Living Writing site publishes new market lists every month. Try a few different options to find out what kind of resource is most helpful to you.

    5. Double-dip your papers

    You are in a unique time-saving place. A lot of your college essays have really great research and discussion points that can double as freelance articles with a few extra hours of work.

    Doubling up on school assignments can make a huge difference in the amount of time you’re spending writing for pay and writing for class, plus it can help establish you in your field well before graduation.

    As a bonus: Ask your professors for help figuring out how to convert your term papers into something a little more appealing for the general public, and it can help you win points with people who might write you recommendation letters later on.

    6. Write about all your passions

    Don’t be afraid to branch out. College is a great chance to try new things, and your writing career should be no different. You might be a business major, but you’re also the president of the Amnesty International club.

    Allow your expertise to shine no matter what your passion is. Anything you care about is fair game.

    One of the best things about being a freelance writer is that I get to write whatever I’m interested in, and I don’t have to put too much time into projects I can’t stand — although, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things I do mostly for the money.

    Take full advantage of the freedom! This is your chance to learn, and if you can earn some cash while you’re at it, you’ve hit the jackpot.

    If you’re exploring other writing careers while in college, check out this article. You’ll find more options to get paid as a writer.

    Perhaps this quiz can also help you decide.

    This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

    Photo via Josep Suria/ Shutterstock 

  • How to Launch a Freelance Writing Career: Answers to 5 Common Questions

    How to Launch a Freelance Writing Career: Answers to 5 Common Questions

    When I stepped into the wonderful world of freelance writing years ago, I naturally had a ton of questions.

    How do I find clients? What should I charge? How do I build a personal brand?

    How do I get started?!

    Now, years later, with triumphs (and naturally, a couple failures) under my belt, I want to answer your frequently-asked questions about making a freelance writing career or side hustle work for you.

    Read on for answers to five of your most pressing questions about how to become a freelance writer.

    1. How do I get started as a freelance writer?

    Sometimes getting started is the trickiest part.

    The best way to get started, especially if you have little-to-no prior freelancing experience, is to do these two things:

    Use the work you’ve already done to build a portfolio.

    You may have no “freelancing” experience per se, but I bet you do have samples of the kind of work you want to do on a freelance basis!

    For example, if you want to become a freelance writer, you might already have a blog that showcases your writing. If you want to do social media for small businesses, perhaps you’ve already worked or volunteered at a small business and manage its social presence.

    Use those samples to showcase your expertise and to help you reach toward paying opportunities.

    Consider working for free.

    Controversial topic alert, we know. Let me clarify: strategically work for free, in the beginning, to gain experience or to gain exposure.

    Throughout your career, you may discover opportunities where writing for free is worth your time. In the beginning of my freelance writing career, I wrote unpaid guest posts for credible websites because I saw the value in having my name and work associated with those sites. I knew they’d help me get to the next paid opportunity. 

    2. How do I find legitimate freelance jobs?

    Freelance jobs can be challenging to find because there are a lot of scams out there. You definitely want to avoid these at all costs and be careful as you’re evaluating potential opportunities.

    However, there’s a wealth of real, legitimate and awesome freelance writing jobs available online, too. It’s up to you to do the research to determine what’s a true opportunity for you. (Our ebook on freelance writing jobs for beginners is a great starting point!)

    First things first: Avoid content mills and freelance-bidding sites. I’ve personally never used one of these sites because it seems like an awful lot of work for a small reward; the companies are often looking to hire someone at an extremely cheap rate, and you compete with lots of other writers all bidding on the same project.

    Instead, spend your valuable time researching and pitching legitimate potential clients.

    Networking can also lead to paying clients. I got one of my first major gigs when I mentioned a blog post the company’s founder had written in a post of mine. He reached out to thank me, and from there we developed a professional relationship. I began writing for him occasionally, and after a couple of months, I became the blog’s editor. Six years later, we’re still working together!

    3. What should I include in my online portfolio?

    That depends on what services you’re planning to offer! The items below are great ones to consider for your online portfolio:

    • Blog posts
    • News articles
    • Feature stories
    • Case studies for marketing or social media projects you’ve worked on
    • Design projects
    • Links to relevant social media accounts, websites, etc. where your work has been featured

    Testimonials are another great marketing tool for your online portfolio. Ask the people you’ve worked with to write a brief recommendation for you that you can include on your site or LinkedIn profile. I have a dedicated “Praise” page on my website that features multiple testimonials; I also sprinkle testimonials into my “Work With Me” page.

    Don’t have your own website to house your portfolio? Check out these great portfolio sites for freelance writers.

    4. How much can I earn as a freelance writer?

    Dun, dun, dun…this is the number one question I hear from most new (and experienced) freelance writers. How much should I charge my clients?

    The honest, and not very helpful, answer is: it really depends.

    As a freelancer, you can choose to charge clients hourly, or on a retainer or project basis.

    For my blogging/writing clients, I charge per post or per article. Some clients prefer to pay by the word.

    For my content management clients, I charge a flat monthly rate for all the work I do. I choose not to charge hourly for any of my clients because I like to base my fee on the value I provide, rather than the amount of time I put in.

    Of course, when I’m putting together a proposal package, I consider how long a project will take me to complete, but I don’t let that become the deciding factor.

    In terms of freelance writing and blogging, I’ve found most blogs that pay tend to offer writers between $50 and $150 for a post of around 500-700 words.

    For longer feature stories, perhaps in a magazine or other type of publication, the rate can go much higher; between $200 and $1,000, or even more, depending on the project.

    Here’s a piece of advice The Write Life founder Alexis Grant taught me: ALWAYS aim higher than what you really expect to be paid for a project. It doesn’t hurt to ask for more, and the worst that can happen is the client says no and you negotiate down (but not so low that you’re uncomfortable).

    For more on what to charge, check out this post packed with rate-setting resources.

    5. How do I send an invoice and get paid?

    Worry about landing clients and producing great work first. But once you’ve got that down, you’ll need to create an invoice.

    This is a challenge all new freelancers face, so we’ve outlined how to write an invoice and provided an invoice example.

    A simple PDF invoice sent via email is probably the easiest starting point, just remember to specify how you want to be paid (for example, via PayPal or check). Once you’re jugging multiple clients, you’ll probably want to transition to a software that generates invoices for you. Most offer a free version or at least a free trial, and they’ll help you keep track of which bills have been paid and which are outstanding.

    There’s a lot to figure out as you start freelance writing, but rest assured that everyone faces this learning curve initially. If you have more questions and want answers from successful freelance writers, The Write Life Facebook group is a helpful resource.

    This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

  • How to Become a Freelance Writer That Editors Will Want to Hire Over and Over

    How to Become a Freelance Writer That Editors Will Want to Hire Over and Over

    Sometimes it seems like your emails to editors go into a black hole, never to be seen or heard from again.

    When you do finally catch an editor’s ear, it’s so important to make the right moves to develop a good rapport.

    Once you’ve worked with an editor a few times, it’s time to start developing that relationship.  

    I’m frequently on both sides of the editor-freelancer relationship. I’m a freelance writer, but I’m also the editor of a regional magazine where I work with freelance writers and other contributors.

    Below are a few things to think about when working to cultivate the all-important freelancer-editor relationship.

    Be a human

    While it’s great to get to the point without excessive run-around, make sure your emails show a degree of friendliness and humanity. Don’t be all business all the time.

    It doesn’t have to be complicated. Wish your editor a nice weekend. Ask about the big snowstorm headed for their region. Mention you play hockey on the weekends or you just got a new puppy. In short: Be friendly.

    But be sure not to overdo it. Don’t be the freelancer who sends long, rambling emails like you would send to your best friend. And definitely don’t invite them to participate in any kind of multi-level marketing scheme or join a new religion right after they accept your pitch. Keep it professional but friendly.

    Pick up the phone or meet in person

    It’s easy to get sucked into the email black hole, but it makes sense to pick up the phone from time to time. Having an actual conversation with your editor can go a long way towards cementing your relationship.

    With far-flung freelancers, it’s sometimes hard to meet in person, but if you’re headed near your editor’s town, make a point to say hello. Offer to grab a quick coffee, have a chat, and put a face and personality to the email address you’re used to.

    Occasionally, I hear one of my own editors is coming through my town, and I always make a point to grab a coffee and chat whenever schedules allow.

    Another great way to meet editors in person is to attend industry events. I attend at least one a year, and love to meet editors in person while also making other valuable connections. Not only will you likely get plenty of story ideas at the conference; you’ll also be able to build relationships and your editor will know you take the industry seriously enough to attend a conference in the field.

    And don’t just look at writing conferences. If you write about business, head to a business conference. If you’re a financial writer, make your way to FinCon or other related events.

    But don’t overdo it

    On the flip side, don’t be too communicative. Editors are busy, and calling and emailing frequently just to say hello isn’t going to put you on an editor’s good side.

    Find out how the editor prefers to communicate (most tend to prefer email, in my experience) and communicate that way. While I’m not a fan of out-of-the-blue phone calls, I’m more than happy to schedule a time to chat on the phone or have coffee. I like to meet the people I’m working with and have a face or voice to put with a name.

    But, regardless of how you communicate, don’t share too many personal details of your life — this is a work relationship, after all.

    Do good work and make your deadlines

    This should be common sense, but you’d be surprised how many freelancers forget about deadlines or completely blow them off.

    If you are known as a reliable, prompt contributor, that alone will be a huge benefit to your reputation.

    Of course, getting work in on time is only part of the equation. Make sure your writing is good, your piece well-researched and your quotes accurate. Run spell check, confirm how to spell people’s names and companies, and double-check your facts before submitting an article.

    Also, take a look at your assignment letter or contract before turning in your article. Many contracts include easy-to-forget details. If you need to suggest a few headlines, provide photo captions, or provide subject contact information, be sure to include those things. Sure, it just takes a minute for an editor to remind you, but don’t be the freelancer who needs reminders.

    Don’t procrastinate, either. When you’ve had an assignment for weeks or months and you put it off until the last minute, don’t expect a lot of sympathy from your editor when your day-before-deadline efforts to track down the person you need to interview fall short. If they’re on a safari and unreachable for the next month, you’re out of luck.

    Communicate when something goes wrong

    From time to time, life happens. Maybe you get the flu or your dishwasher floods the house on deadline day. Sometimes, these hurdles are unavoidable.

    In a perfect world, we’d all have our assignments in a week early, unafflicted by the day-to-day hiccups of life. But it’s not reality for most. If something comes up where you need an extension, talk to your editor.

    Whatever you do, don’t ghost

    Despite your best anti-procrastination efforts, your story’s due tomorrow, and your source is unreachable for the foreseeable future. What do you do? Stick your fingers in your ears and say “lalalala” and delete your editor’s emails and vow to avoid them forever?

    While it might be tempting, don’t do that!

    You don’t want to get a reputation as the freelancer who ghosted. The publishing world is small, and many genres are even smaller. Word gets around.

    So what do you do first? Get in touch with your editor immediately. Let them know what’s going on. You don’t have to dwell on your mistake, but you do need to admit you screwed up.

    Then, head into problem-solving mode. Let your editor know how you can finish the story. Maybe there’s a different person you can interview. Maybe you have an idea for a slightly different story that could fill the slot.

    At the regional magazine I edit, we can often substitute one profile for another. If one local doctor is unavailable for a profile in the health section, we can write about a different medical professional and cover the original person in a later issue. Not every publication is so flexible, though.

    But don’t disappear. Your editor has a hole in the publication to fill, and your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to fill it.

    If you’re exploring other writing careers, check out this article, where you’ll find more options to get paid as a writer.

    Perhaps this quiz can help you decide.

  • Can You Overcome These 3 Paralyzing Freelance Writing Fears?

    Can You Overcome These 3 Paralyzing Freelance Writing Fears?

    I am officially free.

    In just the past four months, I started my own freelance copywriting business and began making enough money to quit my job and support my wife and three young kids.

    Now, granted, we’re not rolling in the cash, Scrooge McDuck-style. Yet.

    And I didn’t just get here by some random chance.

    Quitting my job and launching full time into freelance writing required that I conquer three specific fears.

    Fears that had the potential to hold me back. Fears that could limit what I could accomplish. Fears that could sink me.

    If you’re going to live the writing life, you also have to overcome these fears.

    So, at the risk of sounding too much like one of those cheesy motivational posters, let me share with you how I overcame these fears as I began my freelance writing career.

    Fear of rejection

    Every person fears rejection, and writers are particularly vulnerable to this fear. After all, we pour ourselves into what we write. Then we hand the projects off to other people for evaluation. For scrutiny. For criticism.

    At the risk of over-dramatization, we bare our souls.

    When I first launched my copywriting business, I was scared pantsless (in a mostly figurative way) of rejection.

    Being a freelance writer means applying for lots of different jobs on lots of different sites. Applying for lots of different jobs inevitably means you’ll get turned down more than a turtleneck on a nerd.

    And I was rejected. Quite often, actually.

    But here’s what I discovered: Rejection’s not such a big deal.

    I know. Crazy, right?

    I discovered that for every person who rejected me, there was another person who needed what I had to offer. For every, “No thanks,” there was another, “Actually, you’re exactly what we’re looking for.”

    And that’s how it goes with writing, right? You can’t please everybody.

    Some people love Stephen King, other people hate him.

    Some people adore Jane Austen, while others, like myself, would rather be beaten with an old Nintendo Power magazine than read her books.

    Some love J.K. Rowling, while… OK, everyone loves J.K. Rowling. You get the point.

    A large part of my success is due to the fact that I overcame my fear of rejection. If someone doesn’t like me, I simply move one without a second thought.

    The faster I move on, the faster I find someone who really loves my writing style and method.

    All great artists deal with rejection. Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, was rejected 30 times before being published.

    George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”

    [bctt tweet=”The key to success as a freelance writer is overcoming your fear of rejection.”]

    You’re going to be rejected, but it’s really OK. You don’t have the skills everyone wants, but you have the skills some people need, and that’s enough to make a living.

    Fear of conflict

    Most people think writing is pure art. Writers peck away at our keyboards while sipping on green tea in our brightly lit loft apartments.

    This is complete and total nonsense.

    Writing is just as much business as it is art, with good times as well as bad, and business always involves some conflict. If you don’t have the stomach for conflict, you should probably choose another profession.

    If you’re going to make it as a freelance writer, you absolutely must overcome fear of conflict. You’ve got be able to wheel and deal. To even fight, sometimes.

    Why? Because even with the best clients, freelancing always involves negotiating. You’ve got to negotiate rates, deadlines and a thousand other little details that go into each project.

    If you’re afraid of conflict, you’ll let your client win all of the negotiations. If your client wins all of the negotiations, you’ll end up with less money, less time and less happiness. If that’s not a recipe for total and abject misery, I don’t know what is.

    How do you overcome your fear of conflict?

    By remembering your value.

    You’re a not a temp who can be bought for a miniscule sum and treated like garbage. You’re a professional writer.

    You bring significant value to anyone who wants to hire out your services. If they don’t want to pay you what you’re worth, you can find plenty of other work.

    Don’t be afraid of conflict. Don’t be afraid of negotiating to get what you’re worth. If you want to make it as a freelance writer, you must overcome fear of conflict.

    Fear of mistakes

    I’ve written approximately 4,000 words already today, and it’s only 2:30 p.m. Assuming I write approximately 5,000 words per day, that equals between 25,000 and 30,000 per week. That’s roughly a 350-page novel every month.

    Holy crap, I write a lot!

    I don’t work for a content mill. I’m not churning out articles for $15 a pop.

    I just write a lot. Fast. Which is why my clients pay me well. I can turn around a lot high-quality material for them in a short period of time.

    But with that amount of output, I’ve had to completely obliterate my fear of mistakes. Yes, I’m a writer, and as a writer, I create art.

    But I can’t be a perfectionist about my art. I can’t obsess over a single word choice or spend hours sweating over a paragraph. And I can’t proofread 20 times before I send something off.

    I’ve got to create quickly and effectively.

    Inevitably, it at means I’ll make mistakes in my writing. At some point, “fat” will become “fart.”

    But I’m OK with mistakes. I realize that might sound like heresy to some, but it’s something I’ve come to terms with. I will make mistakes. I am not perfect.

    So how have I overcome my fear of mistakes?

    It’s pretty simple. At the very beginning of every client interaction (in the negotiation stage), I make one thing very clear: I expect clear communication from both parties.

    If I produce a mistake or something they don’t like, the client needs to be open and clear about it. If they do something that doesn’t sit well with me, I’ll also be open and clear about it.

    We keep clear lines of communication, which in turn allows me to deliver quickly and also be confident that they’ll alert me to any problems.

    I’ve overcome my fear of mistakes by setting up clear boundaries in my client relationships.

    As former President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” This is rubbish. I can think of lots of other things to fear, like rodents of unusual size and a new One Direction album.

    But fear of rejection, conflict and mistakes can quickly derail your freelance business and ruin your dream of living the writing life.

    Take control. Take charge. Conquer your fears and launch.

    What have you done to overcome your freelance writing fears?

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