Online Class: Freelance Writing 101

Courses Frequently Bought Together:

Advertising, Marketing and Sales Writing

Journaling and Memoir Writing

Creative Writing Workshop

Course Motivation

What is freelance writing?

Freelance writing is simply writing professionally as someone who is self-employed. Rather than working for a company and being on its regular payroll, you are in a position of working on your own to help the company meet its editorial needs. While freelancers usually work from home, some work in on-site offices.

If you are self-employed as a freelance writer, you are responsible for finding your own work, getting paid for your services, and even reporting those earnings on your tax return. Freelance writers provide writing services for a multitude of venues, including magazines, newspapers, Web sites, public relations, advertising agencies, and more. There are so many possibilities as to where your writing assignments may come from and what they could cover.

As a freelance writer, you may be someone that is working at it full time, part time, or doing other things in conjunction with it, such as working a day job and freelancing in the evening. In this regard, there is no right or wrong; it is a matter of what you are looking to do. Can you have a full-time freelance writing career and make a good living? You bet! Many writers are doing just that. You also can use freelancing to supplement your current income, or start out doing this and transition to full time once you build up experience and clients. Another option for some people interested in freelance writing is to use it as a way to promote or gain publicity for something else they do, such as their medical practice, professional service, or a product.

Determining Your Purpose and Goal

Have you given thought as to why you want to join the ranks of being a freelance writer? If not, you need to. The answer to this can make a big difference in what direction you take your freelancing career and what goals you will set. It may also influence the type of places you query, what you write about, and the type of money you will be comfortable making. Not everyone writes for the same reason, believe it or not. Some people freelance to fill an inner need, others do it to see their name in print, and still others want to spread a message about an issue close to their heart.

Before you go any further, pause for a moment and ask yourself why you want to freelance. What purpose are you seeking to fill? Are you wanting to make extra money? Build a successful writing career? Get your nonwriting-related business noticed? The answer to this question is very important in going forward. There is no right or wrong answer; but before you can reach goals, you need to know where you want to go first.

Some people do freelance writing merely as a hobby . They are not out to make much money from their writing and may even be comfortable doing it free of charge. Some people write as a hobby because they enjoy writing or they like to inform people about a specific topic. Others do it to promote their main business or career. For example, a psychologist may take up freelance writing on the side in an effort to become established as an expert in her or his field and get the practice noticed. Others just want to make a living as a writer , without having any other ulterior motives.

So give some thought to where you fall in this realm. While there is no wrong answer, much of this course is geared toward the person who wants to make a living as a freelance writer. Yet the information also can apply to those wanting to freelance for any reason.

Think Like a Businessperson

If your goal is to make money as a freelance writer, rather than to write as a hobby, you will need to treat your writing like a business. Keep in mind that businesses sell a product, and your product is your writing services. This means that you will want to consider the money, time involved, record keeping, marketing, etc.  

By thinking like a businessperson, you will be more apt to make decisions that will increase your chances of success and make more money for you in the long run. You will set realistic goals about how much money you would like to make the first year, third year, fifth year, and so on. Setting realistic goals will mean you are not dreaming about what you can do and make. It is great to have dreams; but when you have realistic dreams, you are more likely to reach them and can build upon them to reach your bigger dreams.

Time Management

One of the most important aspects in regard to freelance writing is that of time management . Writers work on deadline, meaning that just about everything you write will have a due date assigned to it, and you will need to make sure you meet those deadlines. To do this, you may need to use a calendar to write your assignment due dates on. Many successful freelancers use a calendar to write interviews they need to conduct, when it is time to write the draft, when the piece is due, and any other notes they may need.

Record Keeping

Another important thing you will need to keep up on in a freelancing career is record keeping . You will need to keep track of queries submitted, money earned, expenses, and more. You can do this by obtaining a computer accounting software package, or simply using Excel, or just using handwritten methods of recording everything. Much of this information will be used when filing taxes and also keeping track of what you have written and where it has been published.

The world of freelance writing is an interesting and exciting one. The advances that have been made in technology in the last decade have really opened up the field, making it an easier, quicker, and streamlined process. Gone are the days of using postal mail to send off all your ideas and the final drafts of an article. Today you can contact and receive responses from editors within hours or even minutes, making this career field accessible to all.