Hard effort, solid time management skills, and the capacity to hustle to locate new gigs are all required for a freelance writing career. Study our freelance writing tips that every author should know to help you develop a rewarding career in this profession.
What Is Freelance Writing and How Does It Work?
A freelance writer is a professional writer who works as a contractor rather than a full-time employee at a corporation. Freelancers provide writing services to a number of clients and frequently work in a variety of genres, writing on whatever topic a client requests. Freelance writers can work for a variety of customers, including selling short stories to literary magazines, writing newspaper and magazine pieces, and working as a copywriter or content writer.
Top Freelance Writers’ Tips:
Follow these freelance writing strategies to learn what it takes to make a life as a self-employed writer:
Always keep an eye out for new freelance writing opportunities: When you own your own freelance writing business, you’re in charge of seeking new clients. You must pound the pavement for new freelance writing gigs to prevent downtime between projects—and to keep making money. Look for employment openings on the internet. Send an email introducing yourself to the content director to reach out to new clients. Make connections with other authors who can refer you to employment when their schedules are busy.
Make your own story pitches: As a writer, you’re certain to have your own thoughts running through your mind. Consider which newspapers or journals you’d like to contribute to, then brainstorm related storey ideas and begin pitching. You’ll have an easier time pitching ideas to other magazines once you’ve gotten your first storey authorised and your first byline.
Do not give up your day job: If you’re a novice writer, start out by working part-time as a freelancer before launching your own small business. As a successful freelance writer, it may take some time to secure your first client and start earning good money. Keep your day job if you have one as you start freelance writing. Take the jump and make freelancing your full-time career once you’ve established a continuous pipeline of freelance tasks and writing clients.
Make a clean copy and submit it: It’s critical that you submit your writing effort with error-free copy. This entails double-checking your work and self-editing it. Make sure your sentences are short, to-the-point, and simple to understand. Check your work for typos, poor punctuation, and grammar, word by word and line by line.
Start a blog: Consider blogging on something you’re passionate about, such as cooking, parenting, or skiing. Maintaining a blog is a creative outlet that can help you improve your writing skills, develop your writing style, and become a better writer. It also provides you with an internet presence and the ability to use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to help potential clients find you.
Learn the fundamentals of SEO: More businesses require content that will attract clients. They’ll need content marketing writers who understand the fundamentals of SEO and how to improve their website’s search engine rankings. Have a basic understanding of how search engine optimization works and where to strategically position keywords to boost online traffic to the company’s website as a freelance writer.
Consider a variety of assignments: Take diverse forms of freelance writing jobs and work for different types of clientele when you first start writing as a freelance writer. Many of the topics about which you’ll write will be unfamiliar to you. One of your clients might assign you white papers, which are in-depth, well-researched thought-leadership pieces that necessitate a significant amount of study. Another company might hire you to write social media posts for them. Another option is to hire you as a copywriter. While the two jobs are vastly different, each will provide you with excellent writing experience.
Build a thicker skin: You will receive comments on your work from your clients. Sometimes you’ll be able to deliver a flawless work, and other times you’ll have to do a lot of rewriting. Negative remarks should not be taken personally. Writing for a client entails matching the voice and tone of their brand and producing the content they require. As a freelance writer, you must have a thick skin. Successful writers accept criticism with grace, make the necessary modifications, and use the experience to enhance their craft.
Improve your time management abilities: Each writing project will have its own set of deadlines. A client may give you a month to write a brief piece, while another may require a 2,000-word article in three days. Learn to schedule your time on a daily basis, setting out several hours at a time to focus on your work and fulfil deadlines.
Find a specialty for your writing: Some assignments will need you to start from beginning, writing on a subject you are unfamiliar with. See whether there’s a type of writing you enjoy and are good at as you take on more tasks. You might discover, for example, that you enjoy technical or medical writing. You’ll become a sought-after writer with those types of companies if you specialise in a specific genre.
