How to Be A Freelance Writer
Tips, Tricks, and Benefits of Being a Freelancer
Freelance Writing: A Side-Hustle and A Lucrative Career
Freelance writing is a lucrative and fulfilling career that has endless potential. Really, there is no cap on how far you can get —creatively, financially, and even socially— as a freelance writer. However, resources on freelance writing careers —while no abundant on the internet— are scarce in our day-to-day life.
For instance, if you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program unless you are majoring in journalism, you’ll really have to go out of your way —in terms of gathering the correct information— in order to get a start in freelance writing.
How can you get a start in freelance writing? That is what this blog is for. Take note: this blog is purely based on my own experiences and the experiences of other freelancers for whom I have been given the privilege to consult on these matters. You’ll get somewhere with the following pieces of advice, but be forewarned: the market for writing is highly competitive. Indeed, due to COVID-19’s effects on the world’s economy —namely, its facilitation of a great shift towards remote work— such competitiveness is slated to only increase in the coming years. This warning is not to deter you from pursuing writing, but rather, to ensure that your hopes are not tainted by rose-colored glasses. It’s gonna be a challenge, but it is a surmountable challenge nonetheless —making the challenge all the more worth attempting. At least the existentialist in me believes that it makes the challenge more worth it!
The following “advice” —to be extremely trite— is to be implemented chronologically. If you are a beginner, do not skip any of these steps.
Writing Samples Are Necessary to Get Started As A Freelance Writer
What are potential clients and/or writing partners looking for in a writer? Well, writing! If you do not have any writing samples, what can you use as proof to attest to your writing skills? To be candid, most potential clients are simply looking for writers who are capable of writing clearly and concisely on the topic that they need writing for. Prove that you can write clearly and concisely to them by producing writing samples.
These writing samples need not be the greatest works of writing in the world. Indeed, when I first started producing writing samples on my Medium.com page —which was essentially my first personal blog— I simply went back and edited some of the essays I wrote in my undergraduate degree, editorialized them a bit, and published them. Thankfully, Medium’s editors and curators —who read every article posted on their website— liked some of these essays, and curated them on their philosophy, psychology, psychedelics, and relationships sections, among others.
If you do not have any undergraduate essays you can post online, you need to produce writing samples from scratch. The best thing you can do in this situation is to simply write about what you know and what you like. I personally like fitness, philosophy, and politics, so I wrote about those topics. The world is yours when it comes to which topics to choose to write about! Ultimately, if you are writing about something you are genuinely interested in, the best words will simply flow out of you —or, at the very least, your words will not be as forced as they would be if you were writing on a topic you have no interest in.
Gather at least 10 writing samples of this sort. Unless you’ve gotten really lucky, you’re not going to get paid to write these, which is the initial bullet you must bite in order to make headway as a freelance writer. I went through this phase, as did the vast majority of successful freelancers.
Create A Portfolio
Now that you have writing samples, you should place them into a designated location, known as a portfolio. If you want an example of what a writing portfolio for a freelance writer might look like, look at mine. Potential clients do not have the time to wander about hoping to find where all of your writing is. Make it easy for them. I used Square Space to create my portfolio because Square Space makes it really easy to make a website for the inexperienced web designer.
Pick a Niche or Be A Generalist
A niche is more or less the topic which you write about. So, if you exclusively write about fitness, that is your niche. I have picked several niches for my own path as a writer. My decision to do that was not for financial reasons, but rather, for reasons of creative fulfillment. I simply enjoy reading and writing about a lot of things.
There is a lot of debate in the freelance writing community about which choice is better for making the most money: being a generalist or focusing on a narrow niche. All of this debating, to my eye, is hub-bub. No one really knows which works the best —there haven’t been any empirical studies done on the matter.
Thus, the best thing you can do is to experiment. Try out being a generalist for a while, and then try out being a narrow-niche writer for a while. The results are likely going to vary from person to person. On this front, do what works for you. And to be clear: do not waste your time and money on any resources which suggest that one or the other choice is intrinsically superior. No one really knows what they are talking about when they make such claims, and until there is some sort of empirical studies on the matter, experimentation is going to be the best approach.
Create A Contract
Being a freelance writer has its pros, no doubt. If you are successful, you can attain financial, creative, and general personal freedom as a freelance writer. However, there is one con that more in our community ought to be talking about: fraud and advantageous proletariat “employers.”
In my early career as a freelance writer, I was naive with respect to the degree to which people would take advantage of my inexperience. As a result, I have endless stories where clients have stolen my ideas, failed to pay me, never issued me a contract (so no legal recourse could be taken), and have dragged their feet for months on paying me for the work I have done. These are commonplace problems in the world of freelance writing —and, really, in any form of creative work. Indeed, experiencing these troublesome engagements with clients is the rule, rather than the exception, in the world of freelance writing.
Morally and practically speaking, just think of it like this: imagine going to a tattoo artist for a tattoo, and the work they have tattooed on you is clearly good work; however, you don’t like the tattoo they’ve given you —despite it being objectively good work. Imagine now telling the tattoo artist that you do not like the tattoo and because of that, you’re not going to pay them.
I am not a Marxist, but I believe Karl Marx got one economic principle right: namely, that labor is part of the value of a commodity. In other words, when you pay for a product or a service, you are not simply paying for the result —you’re spending money on the labor that went into that result, whether or not the result is exactly what you hoped for.
But that is why before you get a tattoo, tattoo artists and parlors have you sign a contract. It should be no different with freelance writing. If a client issues you a contract, read it carefully before signing it. If they do not issue you a contract, you need to issue them a contract before submitting any of your work to them. The Freelance Writer’s Union, luckily, has a resource where you can create contracts that can protect your work and ensure that you are compensated. Before engaging with any clients, I highly recommend consulting this resource, so you have a contract ready before beginning to put out any inquiries to prospective clients. There’s very good reason to be vigilant, and you should get as early a start on such vigilance as you possibly can.
Start Reaching Out to Potential Clients
At this point, you’ve got a lot going for your career as a freelance writer. You have samples, you’re protected from crooks, and you have a portfolio. Now its time to start reaching out to clients.
There are a few ways you can do this. You can use job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed. I have gotten my fair share of clients through these mediums —in fact, most of my consistent clients —the ones that want ongoing long-term work— have come from LinkedIn and Indeed.
Two other great sources are the Opportunities of the Week newsletter and the Write Jobs PLUS+ job board. These two sources are paid, but they are highly reliable and consistent. A big problem for many aspiring freelance writers is simply where to find work and who to pitch to. These resources are, more or less, the antidote to that salient worry.
There are other job boards, such as the Pro Blogger Job Board, which are specific to freelance writers. Many people in the freelance writing community seem to have great success with such job boards. However, I have never acquired work from any of them. Maybe I am doing something wrong, or maybe so many people talk and write about those boards that all of the good stuff gets taken really quickly. It’s difficult to say which is happening, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
When you’re starting out, you’re going to want to spend most of your time doing two things. In the order of importance: (1) refining your writing; (2) inquiring to acquire potential clients. Do as much of these two tasks as you can and you will be well on your way to being successful as a freelance writer.
A Brief Word on Pitches
I’ll admit: I am not the best at pitching. I am still trying to refine my ability to pitch to prospective clients —and even existing clients for that matter. However, the nature of freelance writing pitches, generally speaking, is quite basic.
Do research on the business or publication you want to pitch to before pitching to them. The last thing you want to do is to pitch them an idea that has already been published by them. If the place you are pitching to has pitching guidelines on their site —which you should always check for— make sure you strictly adhere to those guidelines.
Keep your pitch brief. Give them a potential title and a 1-2 short paragraph summary on what your article will be about, what your sources will be, why you’re the best person to write it, and why this piece needs to be published now.
Have a very brief paragraph at the end of your pitch describing who you are and what your experience is.
Include a link to your writing portfolio and links to three relevant writing samples in your pitch.
Broader Details on How to Pitch, How to Create a Website, How to Use Social Media, Etc…
I’ll admit: this blog isn’t the most comprehensive resource you’ll find on how to freelance writers. For each point I have just written on, there are endless nuanced details that I have left out for the sake of brevity and quick-actionability for my readers. I have always found myself that, when I attempt to do too much at once, I end up doing nothing at all —I don’t assume that I am alone in experiencing being overwhelmed like this.
However, for those who are looking for more, I have the perfect resource. A resource that is deeply comprehensive in its detail, community-based, and that has testimonials to back up its efficacy in helping freelance writers succeed in their careers. Not to mention, the service I am thinking of is very reasonably priced.
If you’re looking for more, I highly recommend signing up for the Freelance Writer’s Den. For $25 a month, you can get the following amazing resources: classes that go through every detail of every aspect of optimizing your freelance writing career; a forum run by expert coaches who can help you at every step of the way during these classes; a forum with other freelance writers, who are there to support and help you along the way as well; and, an exclusive job board for member’s only —meaning, you’ll have less competition for very high paying freelance writing jobs. I do no say this lightly: if you complete each course offered in the freelance writer’s den to the tee, you will attain a near guarantee of success as a freelance writer. It’s worth the investment.
