Writing


Freelance writing is an incredibly broad business, so you It should be narrowed down to a niche.

Now you want to become a full-time writer...

Do you have your reasons? Have you loved writing, have people told you that you have a way of words?

 

But how do you know when the time is right?

 

I urge you to immerse yourself in the craft. If you really want to become your own career, make sure you know what you're getting into yourself.

 

Writing full-time is not a hobby, a pastime, or a talent. It means discipline. It's a job.

 

This is not easy.

But, oh, the rewards...

 

How To Start A Writing Career in 10 Steps

 

1. Don’t wait to call yourself a writer.

You don’t have to be published to be a writer. You’re a writer if you’re writing—working at it, learning, progressing.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice.

Every writer you can name began unknown and unpublished.

 

2. Don’t quit.

You’ll find more than enough reasons to give up. Determine to write no matter what.

Study, research, grow, develop a thick skin, work hard, accept editing and input—painful as they can be, and learn to become an aggressive, even ferocious self-editor.

Get your seat in the chair every day and get words on the page. They won’t all be perfect, but writing is the only way to get better at it.

 

3. Write from your passions.

I was a sports fanatic as a kid, dreaming of becoming a big-league baseball player. Every book report I wrote in junior high was about baseball until my teacher insisted I broaden my reading.

I read Sports Illustrated, the sports section of our local newspaper, and anything else sports-related.

My father created a dice baseball game that occupied me for hours. I wrote about each game as if I were a sports writer.

At age fourteen, I talked my way into a sports stringer job covering high school sports for the local newspaper. I was paid a dollar per column inch that survived the sports editor’s edits, making me a professional writer.

At nineteen, I became sports editor for that paper. My passion had become my profession.

 

4. Work at it every day.

Would you believe I still work at honing my writing skills every day?

I believe that if I’m not growing, I’m stagnating. Writers who think they have arrived get lazy and become obsolete.

 

5. Create your writer’s website.

When you begin pitching your work to agents and publishers, they’ll look you up on the Internet.

Your website becomes your calling card, your portfolio, and it also allows you to begin building the following you need to become a full-time writer.

 

6. Look for opportunities.

Do you volunteer with an organization that could use writing help? Is your local newspaper looking for content?

Opportunities, paid and unpaid, can give you valuable experience.

Be willing to do what nobody else will do.

 

7. Seek like-minded writers.

Most writers I know are surrounded by a helpful community that helps them deal with:

  •     Frustration
  •     Discouragement
  •     Procrastination
  •     Wanting to quit

Another pair of eyes on your work can prove invaluable. Ten pairs of eyes are even better.

That’s why I recommend finding a writer’s critique group or a mentor.

Be prepared to take an ego-bruising at first. You’ll become a better writer by being held accountable and encouraged to stick with it.

One caveat: Be sure at least one person in the group—preferably the leader—is experienced and understands the writing business. A group of all beginners risks the blind leading the blind.

 

8. Network, network.

Meet people in your community. Get involved. Volunteer. Build relationships.

Introduce yourself and get to know writers who you admire.

Gaining experience isn’t just about writing; it’s about building relationships. The more people you know; the more opportunities will come your way.

 

9. Focus.

A writer's career can mean more than just writing books. You could become a journalist, a medical writer, a translator, a business plan writer—all niche markets need writers.

As a freelancer, you can’t be all things to all people (especially when you’re first starting out). So, you need to pick an area of focus.

Here are a few of the most popular writing career paths:

 

·        Novelist

Do you have a story idea that so captures you you can’t get it out of your mind?

Maybe you’re meant to write a novel.

Start by immersing yourself in short stories and trying your hand at writing them. You’ll learn the business, how to interact with an editor, and you can benefit from the feedback.

·        Nonfiction Writer

Categories include, but aren’t limited to: articles, autobiographies, biographies, essays, memoirs, nature writing, reviews, profiles, reports, sports writing, how-to, self-help, and travel writing.

The demand for nonfiction is huge—and nonfiction writers have produced some of the most influential books of our time.

 

·        Comic Book Writer

This is an art form best accomplished through teamwork. The writer is the visionary—he creates the plot, characters, and story. Illustrators create the art.

·        Video Game Writer

Like comic book writing, video game writing is an art form in which teamwork is a given.

The video game writer works with developers, animators, graphic designers, and voice actors and creates the plot, characters, and scripts dialogue.

·        Journalist  

Do you love news and have the ability to be objective?

The best journalists have stellar research skills and the ability to detach from the story in order to give the most accurate, neutral account possible.

Journalists write for newspapers, magazines, news websites, or create scripts for television news broadcasters.

·        Web Content Creator

Individuals, companies, and organizations need content for blogs, social media, and websites and often hire freelance writers.

It helps to be versed in SEO, HTML, CSS, and WordPress and also be a social media specialist.

·        Columnist

As opposed to a journalist, a columnist writes opinions and perspectives on current events.

·        Songwriter (Lyricist)

A songwriter is a poet who writes song lyrics.

·        Greeting Card Writer

This is a competitive art form that requires writing a concise, moving message—humorous or compassionate—that appeals to a broad audience.

·        Speechwriter  

Politicians aren’t the only ones who need speeches written. So do government officials, business executives, celebrities, and PR firms. Some even hire writers to craft wedding speeches and toasts.

An excellent speechwriter gets to know the voice of the person doing the speaking, researches the subject, and prepares the speech.

·        Screenwriter

Writing scripts for movies, cartoons, and television programs may be the most collegial of all freelance writing. Up to a dozen people may have a role in producing a script.

Working on a movie set or the stage and learning the business is helpful for writing in this field.

·        Technical Writer  

If you can turn complicated jargon into something readable and understandable, technical writing might be for you.

 

·        Grant Writer  

A grant writer finds funding sources, conducts research, and writes proposals seeking money for foundations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and corporations.

·        Ghostwriter  

A ghostwriter writes but doesn’t get the credit.

He’s often the writer behind social media posts, scripts, speeches, blog posts and other web content, and even books. He could be doing any of the jobs listed here but remains behind the scenes.

Ghostwriting requires you to get excited about someone else’s message, to write in their voice, and to be quiet about the work you do.

·        Copywriter  

A copywriter creates publicity and advertising copy, including brochures, billboards, websites, emails, and catalogs. He must know how to say a lot with few words, conveying a powerful message that invokes action.  

 

10. Respect the profession.

Writing is hard, exhausting work, and if it isn’t, you’re probably not doing it right.

Writing a book is especially daunting because of its sheer magnitude of it. Attack it the way you would eat an elephant—one bite at a time.

Don’t let fear of failure stop you. Even the most successful writers are afraid there’s too much competition and that they’re not good enough.

Don’t try to overcome that fear. Embrace it! It’s valid! Let it motivate you to do your best work every time.

Follow these steps, and you may find there’s room for you in this business.

 

 

Ø where should you look for online writing jobs?

Here are some of the best places to find freelance writing jobs online:

 

1. SolidGigs

SolidGigs is part job board, part productivity tool. Why? Because their team literally saves you hours of scouring job boards. They hand-pick the best gigs from around the web and compile them into a weekly email, including remote opportunities. 

 

2. Freelance Writers Den

A great resource for freelancers, this membership site is so much more than a job board. For $40/month, you get access to more than 300 hours of “bootcamps” that teach you how to make money as a freelance writer and hundreds of forums where you can get any question answered. Whether you want to listen to the expert guests on their podcast, access the 24/7 community of writers, or check out video and audio training materials, the Den has everything a freelancer needs to grow their career — all in one place.

 

3. FlexJobs

One of the top job boards for freelance writing jobs and remote work, FlexJobs enables you to create a custom job search profile to meet your specific needs. Select your categories (there are several under “Writing”), your preferred work schedule, your experience level and more to hone down your search results to those that best fit the freelance writer job you’re looking for. You can also set alerts so you’re notified when new jobs matching your search criteria are posted. 

 

4. ProBlogger Job Board

Created by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, an authority site on blogging, the ProBlogger job board features part- and full-time, contract and freelance writer jobs across a wide variety of locations, industries and writing specialties.  

 

5. Upwork

Although Upwork has a bit of a reputation for offering low-rate jobs, it’s definitely possible to find postings offering livable wages for writing jobs online. When this article was published, a job to write a finance/trading article for $500 and a ghostwriter gig for $600 were both listed.