How to Get Paid as a Freelance Writer

Video Transcript

"REBECCA SATO: Hi. I'm Rebecca Sato with ExpertVillage.com, and we were just talking about how to build up some writing samples or a writing portfolio. And what we're going to talk about now is the next step. Let's say you've built up some writing samples and you've applied for a freelance position or some type of writing job, and you've got it. So now you're on to your first assignment. What do you do from here that you've got your first assignment? I'd say first thing is make sure that you have some kind of guarantee that you're going to get paid, and that's a starting point in the freelance community. So some writers will say make sure you always have a contract that clearly states what's expected of you and what's expected of your client. And personally, I haven't always made sure there's a client contract, but you have to know--you kinda have to use your best judgement: Can you trust this person? Is it a reliable source? Now, if it's some big nationwide company, yeah, you can probably guess that they're not going to try and rip you off because they've got a reputation to protect. But if it's some private client saying, "I want you to be a ghost writer for my novel and I'll pay you $10,000, but I want--but I'll pay you after you've done it." That's a little sketchy. So you'll want to set up a payment table to make sure that income is coming as the work is done, for example. So that's the first thing to consider, is to make sure you're going to get paid, because you're a writer now and you deserve to get paid for your work."