Freelance Writing Basics

Freelance writers are not employees. 

Freelance writers are generally considered to be independent contractors, so if you get a freelance job with a company you are not an employee in the traditional sense.  Freelancers must adhere to deadlines and get paid just like salaried writers, but they are not eligible for benefits such as health insurance and 401k accounts.  Freelance writers often have a home office as opposed to a desk within a company.  Companies that employ freelancers usually do not take taxes out of freelancers' paychecks, making the freelancer solely responsible for paying taxes and making contributions to retirement accounts. 

The beauty of being a freelance writer is that you can pick and choose you writing projects, taking on as much as you like and juggling multiple clients at once.  That means if you want to take a day off to take the kids to the zoo or to watch a Twilight Zone marathon, you can.  There is no employer keeping tabs on the hours you work, so as long as you meet your deadlines you can work whenever you want to.

Freelancers can work in their pajamas. 

With a home office, freelance writers are able to work from home.  If you want to conduct a telephone interview while wearing nothing more than a robe, that's up to you.  Many efficiency experts suggest that work-at-home people dress up every day, just as though they are heading off to an office.  As long as being dressed sloppily does not affect your work, however, there is really no reason to don a three-piece suit in order to write your next piece. 

In fact, many freelance writers point to the informal nature of their workday as one of the ways they allow their creative juices to flow.  The fact that you can get up from your work area when an attack of writer's block occurs and go for a stroll, or clean out your closet, or whatever helps you to get back into a writing mindset is one of the best things about being a freelance writer. 

Freelances do sometimes take on jobs where they do actually need to report to an office for the duration of the writing project, but since you are ultimately the boss of your own destiny as a freelancer then you can decide whether or not to apply for these types of freelance writing jobs.  As a freelance writer, you could conceivably spend the rest of your career working from home or other locations which you choose on your own.  As a result, you may never have to adhere to another dress code, attend another business meeting, or miss another recital at your kid's school.  Just be sure to clear it with your child before you show up at the recital in your pajamas.    

Freelancers have to be organized. 

Although one of the highest praises for a freelance writing career is that you make your own hours, this can also be the downfall for a writer who does not prioritize and organize impending projects correctly.  If you are an admitted procrastinator then you will have to work extra hard to make sure that you are getting everything done in order to meet all your deadlines.  Use whatever methods you need to use - schedulers, computer programs, sticky notes riddling your work area - to stay on task. 

Don't think that just because you don't answer to an immediate supervisor that this gives you free reign to ignore your work until the last minute.  You will only get into trouble this way.  After all, you never know what great project will come along as a last-minute tasking and you won't be able to accept the work because you are on a tight deadline to finish another project that you have been ignoring for weeks.  If you have hopes of becoming a successful freelance writer then you will need to work on your organization skills and tackle writing projects in an efficient manner. 

Don't accept every job that comes your way. 

There are plenty of employers who are constantly seeking new writers, especially on the Internet.  New websites need content for their site, and this can be a great way to break into writing for pay.  You have to be careful with taking on to many jobs, though.  When you first start writing you may find that you get a bit of an exhilarated high from getting paid for writing, and that's great.  It is all too easy, however, to start applying for every job you find regardless of the topic or the pay. 

You should aim for writing jobs which are pertaining to a topic you find interesting, or at least that pay you well enough to make it worth your while to write about something which you don't have a passion for.  If you aren't careful, you might find yourself staying up until two in the morning to complete boring assignments which don't even pay enough to fill up your gas tank.

YOUR SPECIALTY

What do you know about?

Of course you won't want to jump into a writing career revolving around writing about something you aren't too familiar with.  Not only will you get bored, but you might also wind up frustrated from writing about a topic you don't know much about.  Composing articles and other pieces about things which you have to research - and perhaps don't understand fully - will take a lot more time than writing about something you know a lot about. 

In the beginning, try to find writing jobs which will not be too difficult for you to write quickly and easily.  If you are a stay-at-home mom, finding jobs writing articles about raising kids should be a breeze for you to tackle.  If you are an avid videogame player, then writing reviews for various online games should be not only easy, but also enjoyable.  Unfortunately, you may not be able to find a good amount of jobs which involve writing about things you truly love, but if you can then it's a great idea to snatch these up if you can.  Your writing work will go a lot quicker if you can compose pieces that are about topics which you are familiar with.

What do you know that not everyone else knows?

If you are fortunate to have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject, you may want to start out by writing about that subject when you first start writing.  If you spent time working in a bank, look for people who want to hire personal finance writers.  If your hobby is creating websites, find a webmaster site to write for.  Even if your area is not something you are particularly interested in writing about, you may want to consider using that topic as a way to get your foot in the door and build up some bylines.  This will give you some work to list in your portfolio and establish you as an experienced writer. 

Get your foot in the door, then start writing about things you love.  Maybe you have a degree in business management, but you have turned to a career in writing because you don't particularly enjoy working in a business management capacity.  Even if you don't enjoy the business management sector, you undoubtedly have vast knowledge on the topic, so you might as well start out writing about related topics.  If you can prove yourself as an efficient writer you will build up your résumé and get some bylines.  You can then branch out and apply for other writing jobs which interest you, and use your previous writing experience as proof that you can deliver a well-written piece.     

Don't fake it. 

It is one thing to take on a writing job about something which you are not entirely familiar with but you have the ability to research effectively.  For example, you may not know much about choosing an air purifier, but with the abundance of research and marketing materials available makes it a relatively easy topic to tackle if you are hired to write general articles.  It's another thing completely, however, if you fake credentials and lead an employer to believe that you have the credential necessary to write about something which you know absolutely nothing about. 

It becomes even more of an issue when the topic can be a possible liability issue for the organization you are writing for.  Consider this scenario: you are asked to compose an article regarding cash-out mortgage refinancing.  You may not even own a home, let alone know much about taking equity out of the loan for cash.  Instead of passing up on the job, however, you take it and do some quick research on the Internet.  Since you do not have personal knowledge regarding mortgage products, you don't really know where to do your research so you just take the first website that pops up. 

Unfortunately for you, the website turns out to be an advertisement website for a less than scrupulous mortgage lender.  You take all the information you need from this site, and therefore deliver an inaccurate article to the buyer which endorses a mortgage cash-out system that is generally not accepted as legitimate.  The best case scenario is that the buyer of the article recognizes the shady nature of the information in the article and gives you another chance to redeem yourself.  A more likely scenario, however, is that the buyer recognizes the inaccuracy of your writing and decides to not use you as a writer anymore. 

The worst case scenario goes a little something like this: The buyer doesn't know anything about cash-out mortgage refinances either, so he or she takes your writing as accurate and valid and posts it on the website.  A reader follows the advice in your article, winds up in a horrible financial situation - compliments of your shoddy advice - and winds up bringing legal action against both the publisher and you.  You can avoid nightmares like this by not accepting any writing jobs which are beyond your scope of expertise.  Stay away from writing about medical, financial, and legal topics, unless you have the expertise and schooling to back up what you write about.   

Fiction writers need exposure. 

Some writers consider themselves fiction writers and have absolutely no desire whatsoever to do anything but write fiction.  This presents a unique problem for writers because there are fewer chances to get a bunch of low-paying jobs for exposure.  Writers who are willing to take on a large amount of low-paying jobs outside of their specialty get plenty of experience and exposure, but when it comes to fiction writing there may not be as many opportunities to showcase writers' talents in the beginning.  Writers in this situation may need to find places to publish their work for little or no pay. 

Luckily there are hundreds of websites designed by and for fiction writers where they can present their work to the general public in an attempt to gain exposure and feedback.  How often does something like this turn into a paying job? Unfortunately, this does not happen too terribly often.  If you are a fiction writer who has a ton of talent, however, this may be one way to get your work out there and get noticed by the type of people who may eventually pay you for your writing.  At the very least you can get plenty of feedback on your work from the many viewers who log on to these types of websites.  Some of the comments you get from people like this may prove invaluable when you start working on your next creative pieces.

YOUR INSPIRATION

Find your muse. 

Many great artists claim to have someone in their lives that inspire them to create their art.  For writers - even those writers who do not compose fiction and poetry - having a person or thing that sparks their creativity can be a real boost to their productivity.  Aspiring writers can choose a favorite author and scroll a quote from the author across their computers as a screensaver.  Parents can use photos of their children taped to their work area to inspire them to forge on ahead.  Any inspiring person or thing, whether it is a travel brochure from a tropical island where you plan on vacationing when you make it big as a writer or a necklace from your Great Aunt who you admire greatly, can be your muse. 

The important thing is to have some sort of inspirational symbol that can help you keep writing even when you feel as though there is not one creative juice left flowing in your body.  Figure out what inspires you to write, and then get a visual reminder of that person or thing to place prominently in your work area.  When writer's block hits, or you are just a little tired of writing, your muse may be able to give you the little burst of energy you need.

Find a great location. 

Sure, you may have a nice desk at your house that has always suited you just fine for when you are writing.  If you have a laptop computer, however, you should realize that you can take your writing just about anywhere you can think of.  Sometimes, getting away from your desk and sitting somewhere a bit more inspirational can up your energy level exponentially.  Take, for instance, sitting in a comfy recliner or at the kitchen table where there us a great view out the window.  You will want to have your desk as your proverbial home base, but there is something great about working at a different location. 

Consider taking your "show on the road" by packing up and heading to a local coffee shop or library.  Most appropriate writing locations feature wireless internet access, so if your computer is set up for it you can do all sorts of work away from your home.  You may find that you actually prefer doing some of your writing away from your home because the change of scenery inspires you.  At the very least, you can get a nice cup of coffee while you work, and caffeine can be a great inspiration too.

Read, read, read. 

If you aggressively pursue a writing career you may wind up at a point where you have an awful lot of writing to do.  Don't allow your workload to stop you from doing one of the most important things a writer can do: read other people's work.  This advice certainly is not to read in order to take other writers' ideas, but instead to help you keep your brain sharp.  Many successful authors make the claim that you just can't be a good writer without being an avid reader, and there is a lot of validity to that assumption. 

When you are planning out your day, be sure to carve out some time to get some reading done.  It doesn't matter if you read works which pertain to your style of writing, or if you simply read a quick pulp fiction novel for the entertainment; the point is to keep reading.  Make it a priority, and don't ever allow yourself to be convinced that you don't have time to read for fun.

Writing is more than just typing words on a computer. 

Writing with the right tools, the right inspiration, and the right environment will make the process much easier than if you jump right in head first and with no preparation.  Of course, there are a few talented writers who can indeed jump right in and knock out some great writing pieces, but unless you are blessed with this talent you will have to take the time to stack the odds in your favor.

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