Why drive to work, work for someone else and watch the beautiful weather outside pass you by? As a freelance professional, you can sit in the comfort of your own home (or even by the pool!) and do your work. You may even make more money than you currently do.
The term freelance has been described as "A person who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them." This is essentially the truth of freelance writing. In many ways a freelancer works as a subcontractor. A freelance writer accepts work offered by a magazine or newspaper with no long-term commitment or promise of ongoing assignments.
It is possible that someone you have written for on a freelance basis will return to you with an additional assignment, but you have no guarantee.
The typical scenario for a freelance writer is to receive payment by the word, although some publishers will offer a specified fee for a word range. For instance they may offer $100 for a thousand words (within 50 words either side of 1000).
Most freelance writers do not rely exclusively on freelance writing for their income. Many freelance writers have part or full time jobs and will offer their skills with the written word as time allows.
Most people do not even realize some of the freelance jobs that are available to start immediately. For instance: Did you know that you can find a freelance job writing for discussion boards? Or helping run a web-based business? Or writing emails? Believe it or not, you can make money doing these activities from your home…even while outside enjoying the sunshine!
It's also now easy to market your availability for freelance services and find all the business you need to kick start your work-at-home career. Several freelance communities have hundreds of jobs waiting for new freelance professionals just like you.
Publishers enjoy the benefits of freelance writers simply because they do not have to pay a full time salary, nor do they have to provide benefits. They also have a choice of who they want to work with and on the specific jobs they determine the freelance writer is best suited for.
Much of the success of freelance work begins with speculative work. In essence, the beginning stages of freelance work means you write articles that may never be in print. By following submission guidelines carefully you have the best chance of having an editor take a look at your material and possibly consider your services as a good fit for their publication.
Many established freelancers will have clients return to them for additional work. Many freelancers find seasons when they simply fulfill writing requests with no additional push in finding new work.
Editors and publishers are looking for people that are capable of handling work in a timely fashion and with the skill and style that is a compliment to their publication. When they find a good freelancer they are likely to return to that individual regularly for additional assignments.
If you have considered working as a freelance writer begin your journey with research and speculative writing and then remain persistent.
Tons upon tons of people claim that they can write, but then you read their stuff and its either unneeded fluff or it just sounds like they have no idea what they are talking about! Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect by far. In fact Ive gotten reamed for forgetting apostrophes, or spelling words wrong! Just yesterday someone got mad at me on myspace (of all places) because on my profile I put "thats" instead of "that's." Which is really important ya know? Because Myspace is so very important!
That was sarcasm.
Anyhow, if you actually are a good writer and you have proved yourself time and time again, and if you have a nice writing style, then you can get paid for writing! A millionaire never shares his money making secrets for free but I am willing to tell you a few things about how to make money by writing as well as a few sites to check out for more information. That's fair, right? Firstly let me explain that I'm not talking about writing blogs. Anyone can write a blog. I'm talking about writing actual articles for a customer base. You have to be very versatile when writing for these people because they will ask you to write about anything from health related topics, to video games, to forex to how to make money online. Now, you don't have to be versatile, but if you are you will get more work and be respected for your versatility.
Writing articles is nice because you can make up your own business, with your own rules, and your own prices. Set up a few packages. Make sure the people get a deal if they buy more articles. Allow them to have a discount for bulk pieces. And most importantly, stick to your guns. If your doing this full time, then the money you make is helping you to live life and enjoy the things in it that you do. If you let someone shyster you into lowering your prices? Its not worth it to you. Your writing the articles, your doing the research, your the one that's going to be kicking yourself when your $100 short on bills!
There are several sites as well as books you can read about making money online by writing. One of the best sites you can go to for any literary advice or anything else writing wise is WritersDigest. This site isn't just for professional writers that have books out. This is also a great site, to make contacts, share your business with, and meet people. Mingle everywhere you go with everyone you can. Get your site out there. Get your name out there. If you want to check out a few books check these out:
How to write articles for newspapers and magazines by Sova. How to write articles that sell by L. Perry Wilbur and Jon Samsel Writer's Digest handbook of magazine article writing by Writers Digest Write to Publish: Writing feature articles for magazines, newspapers, and corporate and community publications by Vin Maskell and Gina Perry
You can also check out these websites for things:
WordCountTool - A great little device that adds your words up. Just copy and paste your writings, press submit and voila. SpellCheckPlus - Great site for grammar checks! It will seriously put you in your place when choose their or there, or your and you're! WarriorForums - A good place for any writer to visit. You can get a ton of work at this forum as well as tons of knowledge.
As said above I'm not willing to give out all my secrets. But you can find several different ways to advertise your business online, as well as several sites to join in order to make some really good money by writing articles! Good luck and have fun! This is an easy business to get into but a hard one to stay in. Remember to make time for yourself as well. Don't let the words you write down on paper or the ones you type up in your articles be the only communication your getting. You will drive yourself bonkers! And further more you will burn yourself out. Been there done that!
Both Marco Polytzo & Kristi Ambrose are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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