The are tens of thousands of freelance writers in the United States. While some people fancy themselves a freelance writer simply because they have created a blog on the Internet, true freelance writers are those who have the skill and dedication necessary to earn a living getting paid to write for others. The definition of freelancing, after all, does involve getting paid by different companies or individuals to work independently for them. If you want to be more than just a part-time blogger who makes a random post on your blog site every now and then, you may be looking for a way to find clients to work for who will pay you money for your work. So how can you get started being a real freelance writer?
Finding Assignments and Projects
In order to be a legitimate freelance writer, you do have to find assignments and projects to work on. These assignments may be to ghostwrite blog posts on another website, to write product description, to ghostwrite a book that will be published under another person’s name, to write articles for SEO purposes and more. For established freelance writers, there seems to be no end to the opportunities available to write for money. For new freelance writers, however, it can seem stressful and challenging to find real, paying gigs. Finding assignments, however, boils down to finding a great resource or two that allows you to connect with potential clients. Every freelance writer has his or her own favorite resources. Some will require you to pay a small monthly fee for access to the site, and others will take a small fee out of the compensation you receive for completing projects.
Avoiding Scams and Getting Paid
With the nature of freelance writing today, the vast majority of work is conducted electronically. Assignment and projects are found online, and your application or request to work on assignments is submitted online. Your completed work is submitted electronically, and you often are even paid electronically, such as through PayPal. Because the entire process may be electronic or digital in nature, you be concerned about being targeted by a scam or about never getting paid. Some of the websites that you can use to locate assignments take the stress out of this possibility. For instance, you can review the reputation and history of different potential clients online on most freelance writing websites before you apply for an assignment. Further, many of these websites offer some guarantee that you will get paid for your service. Some, for example will collect your fee in an escrow account and will hold it for you until the work is completed.
Quality Work
Getting started working as a freelance writer can be frustrating because it may seem as though you are constantly looking for new projects and assignments to work on. For example, you may have spent a considerable time looking for an assignment to work on and were thrilled when you were awarded the assignment. However, it may have been a small assignment, such as to write five articles for a client. This may have been enough work to keep you busy for a few hours, but you may want to fill up 40 full hours in a week with paying assignments. One of the best ways you can keep busy as a freelance writer is to keep your nose to the grindstone and consistently do quality work for your clients. Many who hire a freelance writer for one project will need to hire a freelance writer for future projects. Just as you don’t want to constantly be looking for new assignments to work on, they don’t want to constantly be looking for freelance writers to do their work. By doing your best work with each assignment, large or small, you may be invited to work on projects on an on-going basis. This can reduce or even eliminate the need to constantly be hunting for new work to do.
While some people seem to struggle with the ability to find freelance writing work and to get established in this business, others slide right into the job with ease. Many outsiders view the job as simple and easy, but it can be challenging to maintain relationships with clients and to find work to complete on a regular basis. These tips, however, can help you to transition more successfully into freelance writing.
