Three Keys to making a Solid Freelance Writing Income
Making a solid income as a freelance writer is more than possible. I must admit, when I first started out I was scared that reaching a reasonable income level would never happen. But within a few months things started to break my way, and the rest is history. This is not to say that making a living as a freelance writer is easy, but it is a career path that you can follow if you put your mind to it.
Here are three keys that are essential if you are interested in working as a freelance writer, and of course, making enough money to support yourself.
1. During the early stages of your career do not be afraid to take lower paying jobs. This does two things for you. First off, low paying jobs will give you confidence in your writing skills. Even though you are not getting paid a lot, you are getting to practice your craft. Additionally, these lower paying jobs can add up over the course of a month. If you do not have any other jobs on the table, why would you pass these up? Any work is better than no work.
2. If possible, make yourself available to write on a variety of different topics; at least when you are getting started. This will give you the ability to service a wide range of clients, and also get a better feel for what topics you like and don’t like.
3. It is essential to turn one project into another. In other words, you need to garner repeat business. This is the lifeblood of a freelance writer. Once you find several clients who hire you time after time, you will notice that your freelance writing income is building.
These three tips should help you when chasing your dream of making a solid freelance writing income.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been interested in freelance writing for awhile now.
I just signed up for Elance, hopefully I’ll find some work soon. ;0)
- Andrew
October 1st, 2007 at 1:37 am
Good advice, Chris. Interesting that the first two seem to go against a lot of advice that’s prevalent: don’t write for less than you’re worth and find a niche.
However, I’m not sure your advice really contradicts the conventional wisdom. After all, when you’re just starting out, you have to prove what you’re worth, and building clips with low-paying jobs is one way to do it. The key is to move beyond that level as you gain experience and credits.
And trying a lot of different topics gives you more work in the beginning and also helps you find your area of specialty if you later decide to have one. I still do a wide variety of writing and editing, though I tend to focus on editing manuscripts for self-publishing authors.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:43 am
I think #1 is good advice as well. It’s the tactic I took (with programming, not writing) when I got my start. Starting off low helps you build up a portfolio of work and start making business contacts. My first pay job, which I made an absurdly low bid on, eventually led to a lot of other work down the line.
Of course, you need to know when to raise rates though or you’ll find yourself overworked and underpaid very quickly.
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