How to Set Up a Filing Cabinet for Freelance Writing

You have taken the step to become a freelance writer. There are clients coming to you wanting you to write for them. All is good in your freelance writing career. Then you look at your desk and realize that you are a mess. Your freelance writing business is booming, but if you do not get organized you are going to be buried alive. You need a filing cabinet for your freelance writing. This is the best way to keep all the papers and research neat and organized in your freelance writing career. You can set up a simple, yet usable, filing cabinet for your freelance writing in no time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Buy an inexpensive filing cabinet that you will use for your freelance writing. You can start out with a simple 2 drawer model to accommodate your organizational needs. As your freelance writing career grows you can add on to your system later down the road. The key is to keep everything about your filing cabinet for your freelance writing as simple as you can to make sure that you will use it on a daily basis.

2. Designate the top drawer of the filing cabinet as your active works files. This is where you will store anything and everything that you are working on. This is for current one time projects as well as long term contracts. When it comes to freelance writing you will have a little of everything so make sure you give yourself the room to personalize your writing filing cabinet to your specific needs.

3. Create sections for each client that you are working for. Each client will need multiple folders to house all of the different items that are needed for your freelance writing. One folder to create is one for contracts and nondisclosure forms. By having a separate folder for these you can easily reference them anytime that you may need to. Other folders would be for research, drafts, and submitted articles. If you do not keep a copy of your invoice saved on your computer you can also create a section in your freelance writing cabinet for invoices.

4. The bottom drawer of your freelance writing filing cabinet will be for your archives. This is clients and work that you are no longer working on. It is good to keep records of all the work that you have done as a freelance writer. You never know when you may need to use some of this material later. As you stop working with clients, move their folders from the top drawer to the bottom drawer to stay organized.