How to Become a Freelance Writer

So, you have been thinking of writing for a while… A great idea; no doubt about that. But how do you get started? Is there a specific way to proceed? Yes, there are ways. Read on to learn how to become a freelance writer and earn substantial income as a result.

Get your A-S-K right

ASK is Attitude-Skill-Knowledge. To be a freelance writer, you first need to have that attitude. This means you need to get it into your head that you will start writing no matter what. Then comes the matter of knowledge. Read as much as you can about writing and start implementing that knowledge in your writing. This will help you with gaining skill. Here is when your vocabulary improves and the grammar errors are eliminated. Most importantly, you are able to connect with your readers.

Get your niche right

You can become a successful freelance writer when you choose your topics. It is possible to research online and write on any topic. However, the chances are that you are not able to create compelling content because you are not familiar with a topic. You will, at best, pull out from existing content, but that may not work all the time.

Get connected online

There are enough websites where you can register as a freelance writer. Typically, you need to bid for jobs and wait for selection. Once you are selected, you need to write for a writing project and you get paid after the project is completed.

Build your portfolio

For any freelance writing job that you bid for, your potential clients would want to look at your portfolio. Write for the online article websites and magazines. You may not get paid for these writing jobs, but you will start building your portfolio. You can showcase your portfolio every time a client wants to have a see.

Join a community

LinkedIn has communities for freelance writers that you must join. There are other online forums for freelance writers that you must subscribe to. These communities teach you a lot about writing. At the same time, you can also share your views and help others. In short, you become a more complete writer by subscribing to such communities.

Be prepared for failures

At times, especially when you are new as a freelance writer, you will not get selected for projects you bid for. This can cause frustrations and you need to be prepared for such circumstances. There will also be times when you don’t feel like writing, but you will need to because a project has to be submitted.

Manage your money

As a freelance writer, you will not have windfalls every month. There will be lean months where you will need to make do with the money you earned in the previous months. Hence, money management is a skill that you will need to develop.

Ultimately, a freelance writer is like an entrepreneur. You need to assess the market, apply for steady and long term jobs and assess risks. Own your work and new projects should be coming your way.

Image credit: Vancouver Film School on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[

Moumita Goswami is a full-time homemaker and a passionate writer. She stays in Pune with her husband and daughter. After giving up working, she started writing about five years ago and can now be seen using her computer keyboard almost all the time. An MA in Psychology from Calcutta University, Moumita has spent time in Kolkata, Delhi and now Pune. For Moumita, writing started as a sudden chance but she soon discovered her likeness for it. And now she has developed a passion for writing and hardly any day passes without her scribbling a few lines. She dreams of publishing her own book one day and is working towards it.