Even if you are not into article writing yet, you cannot escape others talking about how much money they made writing content for other websites. Such talk certainly entices one to join the article writing bandwagon. After all, who doesn't want to make money from within the comforts of one's home and that too by just putting their own thoughts into words? No sweat at all!

But the major deterring factor is the lack of information on the subject of article writing itself. There are several articles on the Internet dealing with how to make more profits once you are an article writer, but very few articles tell novices how to become professional article writers. People may have several things to tell, but without the knowledge of how to go about it, what's the use?

Getting started with article writing is a very straightforward, streamlined process. It is something even schoolchildren can do; because becoming a professional writer over the Internet is as simple as making an email id. But you want to make some good money from it, right? In that case, you must go about it in a carefully planned way. Allow me to give you some professional advice on how to become a professional article writer.

The first step is to make a good bio-data of yourself. Mention your qualifications and even put in a picture if possible. Employers would like to see who they are going to work with. Once this is done, select a favorite topic and write a good article of about 400 to 600 words on it. You will be using this as a sample article for your prospective employers. Obviously, this article has to be of a good quality, since this is the deciding factor for the employers in selecting you.

Next, you should become a member of some sites that provide freelance work. Since you are new to this, you will definitely not want to pay any membership fees. So I am giving you three good websites that provide free limited memberships. These are: guru.com, scriptlance.com and freelanceworkexchange.com

You can also become a member of job sites such as monster.com and naukri.com (if you are Indian) and mention in your profile that you are looking for freelance work. There will be an email project notification on these sites. Do check that box. This way you will come to know if new projects matching your profile are posted on the site. And remember to make a list of all the usernames and passwords on these websites and keep them safe. It will be a pity if you get a good job notification and do not remember what your login id was.

Sites like guru.com and scriptlance.com accept bids from professionals. But when you get a project notification in your email, do not be overzealous and bid on it right away. See what the employer wants. Bid on the project only if you feel capable to do it well. As this could be your first project, you will need to do it well. Wait until a suitable project comes your way.

On an average, you should get a good project (I mean, a project satisfying your profile) within a week. Once you get that, you need to place your bid. Do this carefully. Do not overbid or you may lose the project. Remember that you are a fresher and the employer might select you only if your bid makes sense to them. Most employers will also want you to write a sample article. Do not feel bad about this. Even professional writers are made to write samples (for which they may not be paid) for the simple reason that each project has different requirements. Give this sample article your best, and do not take more than one day completing it. When you have sent it, wait for the employer's feedback.

Here it is your skill that will determine whether the sample passes or not. But at least you now know how to go about the ?initiation? process.

There are some ways in which you can increase your chances of getting selected. One of them is to become members of free article directories like ezinearticles.com and iShare.com. These are places where you can submit your articles freely and even give a backlink to your website. You can put a small bio of yourself with your picture also. This will make you popular. Another way is to write posts on existing blogs. You can mention both these in your bio-data. In that case, you will not be counted as an amateur, but as a professional Internet writer.

Any job requires some research in the beginning, and article writing is no exception. If you are serious about writing articles, you must read several articles already written by other writers on the net and see what kind of style they have adopted. Make this a part of your education. This will give you tremendous confidence to face your first project. All the best!