How to become a freelance writer

Ever wanted to earn extra cash from the comfort of your own home? Here are the basics of how to start freelance writing.

Someone once told me that you should find something you enjoy and then work out a way to make money from it. I thought long and hard about what I enjoy and soon came to the conclusion that nobody is gonna pay me to eat French Fries and smoke cigarettes. I also enjoy writing, which I’ve found to be a little more profitable than smoking cigarettes. You don’t have to be a linguistic expert to earn a few extra bucks in the world of freelancing. It really is quite simple and you can earn a fair bit of money, depending on how hard you want to work. I started about 4 months ago and I now earn enough money to live comfortably from writing alone.

How to start?

Have a look online for freelancing portals and register yourself. Create a professional looking profile and upload a reasonable picture of yourself. Most of these sites are flooded with non-native English speakers, masquerading as ‘John Smith’ or ‘’Emma Jones’ with a profile that says ‘Me very good England speaker’ so ensure you double check your work. Once the profile is up and running, get bidding for jobs and start applying for stuff. Start small and remember that you need to get good reviews and a fantastic score in order to get the big jobs. Don’t start thinking that a $5.00 article is below you; you need the reviews for the bigger contractors to notice you.

Top sites:

Upwork

Freelancer

People Per Hour

Once you get a job

Agree with the client on exactly what they want. I have made the mistake of reading the job description very quickly and thinking the client wanted one thing, when in fact they wanted something totally different. I was fortunate enough to have a decent client who gave me time to do what he actually did want. Agree on what they want, the timeframe and the price and then do it. You will totally surprise yourself at what you are able to create.

Writing

I am no master of the English language; half the time I don’t even make sense to myself but I managed to become a freelance writer by sheer determination. It aint rocket science; just write what the client wants and try to inject a little bit of your own style into it. Try to be a little bit witty, depending on what you are doing obviously; there’s no point injecting funny anecdotes into a book about the holocaust. Watch for wordcount; the clients usually pay per thousand words and once you get a bit experienced, you will easily be able to turn 500 into 1000 words. Finish the work and submit it on time. The client then pays you and depending on your performance, gives you a favorable review.

What next

Be prepared for a little heartache; sometimes the client will send you the link and you can see your work on line under another person’s name. That’s normal because freelance writing is usually ghostwriting, so you give up the rights to the work when they had over the cash. If you can find gigs that are paid and credited then you are onto a winner. If not, try writing for free on some popular blogs and sites.

 

Top tips

• When bidding for jobs, write a personalized application for the job. Many people have a template that they use which can be handy, but always adapt your application to the job in hand.
• Don’t start to think that work is below you. I have seriously done work for just a few dollars in order to get good reviews. Those good reviews will lead to clients coming to you for work. I honestly don’t remember the last time I applied for a writing job; they come to me now.
• Be punctual; if you agree to do a job for someone, deliver it on time.

Let me know what you think in the comments below – a like on my Facebook page would be appreciated!.