Deciding to Start Freelance Writing

The decision to start a freelance writing career is a tough one for some. There are numerous things to think about and organize and a certain level of motivation and commitment required in order to be successful. But you can always start freelancing slowly for those of you who are too scared to jump right into full-time freelance work right off the bat.

You can always start out as an occasional freelancer, writing when you want to, accepting the jobs you want, not starting another until you've finished with the first, all while keeping your regular job (if you need one of those horrible things). Put together a simple portfolio of some sample work you've done (whether published or not) so you can have something to show potential clients. The occasional freelancer may do some marketing or blogging but generally can just gain projects and clients by replying to ads on job sites.

Once you've gotten comfortable with your method of freelancing and you are able to complete your projects with more ease and efficiency than you did with your first project then start moving into part-time freelance. Part-time freelance (to me) means you start marketing yourself, you start blogging and getting your name out there. You may start contacting a few businesses here and there to let them know about your services and see if they need someone to do some content. You gain one or two regular clients and you basically keep a steady stream of "light" projects or one or two heavy ones.
Once you start freelancing part-time and are finding that you are enjoying it, then start setting goals for going full-time. Do you have a time-line of six months, two weeks or even a year? Where do you want to be by then? How much do you want to be making? Start making a list of all the things you need to do to to achieve your goals and put it in a conspicuous spot where it will remind you regularly about your goals.

Now you're ready to move to full-time freelance writing? Get a website, you may have done this previously, but if you haven't then it's an important step in freelancing full-time. Personally, mine is still being designed because I spent too much time trying to read Creating Web Pages for Dummies and failing. Start studying up on self-employment taxes, running a home business and finances. Make some spreadsheets to track all of your clients, payments, publications, accounts receivables, etc. or you can invest in a Quickbooks program. Then market like crazy. Network like crazy. Spend about 50% of your time marketing and doing your finances and the other 50% writing. Make sure you don't miss too many days of marketing, you may not see the effects immediately, but likely a month later you could end up with a gap in work.


All in all, this is an easy method for those who like to play things a little safer, or need a full-time regular job while starting their freelancing career, or for any other reason.