A Couple Tips For The Aspiring Freelance Writer

Freelance writing can be hard, but there are some tips that I think could help someone trying to get going with it. All you need is an internet connection, and maybe a pair of pajama jeans.

1. Don’t get discouraged. You won’t make a million dollars, and you may not even make twenty dollars right away, but once you get going, you’ll start doing great and may make more than you expect. Plus, you get to stay at home in your jammies, so you have to expect it to be a little less lucrative than a job where you actually wear a bra.

2. Don’t let it take over your life. When you’re looking for writing jobs online, it’s easy to start to obsess about checking your email to hear back from applications, or to check craigslist for a new listing, or whatever else you need to check.

I started just saying “I need to check my stuff” because there were so many things I felt like I had to constantly be on top of. Some days I felt like I might as well crawl inside of my computer screen because I was so focused on what was there.

When your job is online, you do have to check your email and your accounts, but it doesn’t mean you have to constantly be in front of a screen. You still have a life outside of the computer. Come out of there and interact with the world a little bit. It’ll help. I promise.

3. Schedule time to work and time to have off. When you are working from home, it’s hard to make sure you have time to get your work done while still having time where you feel like you can just relax. Often, I’ll be trying to work, but my mom will keep coming in to chat, because I’m home, not at work, so that means I’m available, right?

And when I wake up in the middle of the night, I check my email to see if I have another job due. At one in the morning, it’s time to say I’m not at work. Actually, it’s good to even take entire days off and only allow yourself to check your “stuff” once or twice. (As long as you don’t have anything due.) It’s healthy to take breaks, and healthy to have time set aside for work.

4. Be patient, be persistent, be reliable. These are good traits to have in any job, but you won’t get a job necessarily right away, and even if you do, you might need a couple writing jobs to equal the amount of money and work you want to be doing. I’m currently working four jobs, some more demanding than others.

You have to keep looking until you have enough work to satisfy you, and jobs that are paying enough, as well. It’s difficult getting there, but it’s doable and worth it, if you love writing.

And reliability is always important, but it’s easy to feel like your job is more lax when you get to do it from the comfort of your couch. If you treat your deadlines the way you would treat getting to work on time, then you’ll impress the person you’re working for and have a better experience.

5. It’s a good idea to brush up on a couple of skills. SEO friendly articles, news writing, review writing, and picking unlicensed pictures and knowing how to insert them are all valuable topics that many employers are looking for. They’re easy to learn, and are impressive to be able to say you know how to do.

Taking a few minutes to Google them can help when you apply for a job, because you can explain that you know how to do them well.

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If you’re interested in freelance writing, here are a couple of websites that might help you get started. It’s a good idea to have writing samples and/or a resume ready to get you going. (A blog is a good place to create some good writing samples.)

Elance

Writing Gigs

Craig’s List