Building a Freelance Writing Career

When you decide to start a career in freelance writing, you will have a difficult road ahead of you. In order to succeed on this path, you’ll need to know exactly what to do. The following tips will help you with this:

• Step 1: Decide on your specialty.

  There are two types of freelance writers, those who write articles on any topic and those who specialize in one area. Both of these options have their own pros and cons. Therefore, you will need to decide which route to follow in the beginning of your career.

  Usually, people that want to write part-time, are advised to work with general articles. This way, you will be able to get more offers.

  If you want to specialize in some specific field, you should start your career with building some credibility in the area and making connections.

• Step 2: Knock on every door.

  One of the important things you’ll need to understand is that rejection is a part of being a freelance writer. Thus, don’t take it personally. You’ll definitely get more than one rejection letter from editors, but if you don’t send out your offers to many different people, you’ll never be able to get a good job.

  You’ll have a better chance of succeeding if you prepare a well-written query that you can send to potential clients. Include several good ideas into it and wait for replies. If not a single one of your emails brought any positive feedback, you should work on them a bit more and keep trying until you get the job.

• Step 3: Build a portfolio.

  When you create accounts on different freelance writing websites, you’ll need to post some of your articles there. This portfolio will show prospective employers what you are capable of. Thus, you should choose the pieces you’ll post there very carefully.

If you pitch for some specific niche, you’ll need to post several articles that prove your proficiency in the subject.

• Step 4: Meet new people.

  Connections are a very important part of every freelance writer’s success. You should use every opportunity you have to meet new people in your field. You can approach PR specialists and experienced freelancers during various social events. Making a good impression on these people can help you get a job in the future. If you do nothing but sit at home, you will lose many opportunities to build your reputation.