How to Make a Living As a Freelance Writer

If you have dreamed of being your own boss and working from home and have good writing skills, you could make a living as a freelance writer. Freelance opportunities are abundant for writers who can produce quality work. If you can run your freelance career like a business, you can make a good living as a freelance writer.

Things You'll Need

• Filing system
• Accounting program, such as QuickBooks

Instructions

How to Make a Living as a Freelance Writer

1. Develop a portfolio of strong writing samples. If you're just starting out in freelance writing, use pieces you've written for employers, write a few free articles for a charity or other organizations or write some samples on various topics to use for your portfolio.
   Create a website that showcases your best samples and direct potential clients to it. Include a variety of clips from different mediums and include those written in different voices and for different industries. Highlight any special recognition or writing awards you've received.

2. Research the market rate for your services. Visit writers' job sites and note what different projects pay. A good rule of thumb is $1 per word, the industry standard for years, but many venues, like online sites, pay far less. Research freelance sites such as GoFreelance and FreelanceWriting to find current market rates.

3. Create a budget. Calculate exactly what you need to earn each month to meet your monthly expenses, and use that as a minmum goal for the month. As a freelance writer, your income will fluctuate from month to month. It's a good idea to have a few months' worth of expenses saved up when you're just starting out, so that you can survive a few slow months.

4. Create a marketing plan, deciding who you will market to, the marketing strategies you will use and the types of writing you will offer. Choose whether you will specialize in writing for a specific industry, or take on a variety of clients. Decide if you will write for magazines, newspapers, corporations, websites or all mediums. Identify the marketing strategies you will use to reach potential clients, such as print advertising, cold calling, networking or direct mail. Set aside a certain amount of time for marketing each week and stick to it.

5. Create additional revenue streams. Write and sell ebooks or write content for personal websites to earn advertising revenue. Create other informational products, such as print books and special reports, that you can sell repeatedly.

Tips & Warnings

• Hire an accountant to do your taxes. The professional will find deductions you may miss. Track any expenses connected to your business in a journal or spreadsheet and keep all receipts.

Resources

• Freelance Writing
• Online Writing Jobs
• The Writer's Journey
• How Much to Charge for Freelance Writing and Editing
• How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates