How to Earn Freelance Writing Income

Freelance writing is a field to earn good money, and to work from home. As a journalist for many years, I explored freelance writing on occasion. Often, these led to results, but it takes time. These steps are the ways I have learned that a quick freelance income can be made. These are no set-in-stone rules; just a few ideas for how to earn as a freelance writer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. If you are beginning: One thing you must do is start asking questions. This will lead to more sales, because asking questions always leads to good things. A writer can tell you of a market you never heard about. Another freelancer can give you a short critique on one of your articles, possibly leading to a sale.

2. Join a writing group. Sometimes, freelance writers will be too busy to offer you critiques. However, many times a good writing group can help a writer find that hidden voice. Some of the best, in my experience, are Urbis.com and CritiqueCircle.com. There are countless others, but these are the two best. Critique Circle is slanted more toward fiction, but you can get help there. Also, consider Yahoo! groups: there are dozens of writing groups, some better than others.

3. Write for newspapers. There are thousands of newspapers that are often in need of content or fillers for their papers. The competition is less stiff here, but so is the payout. Freelance writing for newspapers is getting harder because most of the material is written by those either working for the paper or writers with big names. Query the editors with article possibilities on a weekly basis. Find out which papers accept freelance content (often free papers will, along with college newspapers).

4. Write for content sites. These are any sites that have recurring or consistently refreshed information for users. Many say, "Never write for a content site, they waste your time, and they're not real clips." That may be true, but for the beginner for the struggling freelance writer, a few extra paychecks at the end of the month can do wonders. Yes, content writing is usually about the money, but some publications will accept these as clips. The trick is to write well from the start, taking time to write something of quality even for low-payment. Content sites are ever-changing, but some of the best are Constant-Content and Associated Content.

5. Query ASAP. Send as many quality queries you can every single day of the week. This is crucial to getting the needed income. Some say to write five queries a day, which sometimes can take a whole day. Try to get out at least one a day, while continuing to write feature articles.

6. Write an Ebook. Ebooks won't bring in thousands of dollars, but they can help you get experience. As a rule, fiction rarely sells as well as non-fiction (a fact many e-writers will agree with). But, many of us are experts in some other field. If you are a therapist, you could write a book on depression. The list could go on; find what works for you. Some quality e-publishers include Lulu.com and Booklocker.com. Most ebooks that sell well are how-to. So a "How to Fight Depression" would sell better than "Why I Collect Trading Cards." This is not a get-rich-quick scheme as Ebooks are a growing field.

7. Develop relationships. Sometimes, when you are having no success, it can be hard to write at all. You need no connections to succeed in freelance writing, but it sure helps. Building relationships with editors-even if they reject all your articles-will help along the way. Be courteous and send links or clips of your latest articles. Also, build relationships with other writers, and keeping contact with them, is crucial to learning of new markets or improving your writing ability.

Tips & Warnings

• For beginning writers, content sites are a prime market. You need no experience for most of these sites. Some are better than others, so make sure to follow the first rule and ask other writers some questions.
• Make sure you have a strategy before quitting your day job.

Resources

• urbis.com
• critiquecircle.com

[sivalik]

on 10/5/2008 Another blog, with good tips:

http://internetfreelancer.blogspot.com

[WendyRenee]

on 6/6/2008 Good Resources!