How To Break Into Freelance Writing Fast

1. Write. You can't be a writer without writing, and the potential clients that you are about to have will want to see samples of your work before they are willing to hire you to do their work. Write at least ten articles, approximately 500 words each, on various topics.

2. Get a domain name and Webhosting.
Install a WordPress blog on your server, and post your articles. Since this site is strictly for the purpose of displaying your work, try using your own name for the domain name. Use your real name. It's more professional. The site doesn't have to be fancy, with all of the bells and whistles. It just has to be functional.

3. Make sure that you have the right software. You absolutely need Microsoft Word, or the equivalent. You also need a PDF converter (for ebooks), but there is a free one that is online, which you can access here.

You also need a dependable email client, and I recommend Microsoft Outlook. I personally have the whole Microsoft Office suite, and it comes in quite handy, but it is expensive, and you may not want to shell out that money just yet. As an alternative, you can try the OpenOffice Suite, which is free.

4. You need a way to get paid, and I highly recommend PayPal. Through PayPal, you can accept PayPal payments and credit cards, as well as online checks. There is no set up fee, and the per transaction fees are reasonable.

5. Get accounting software. You need to keep up with the money that is coming in, and going out, and Uncle Sam will definitely be interested. I recommend Microsoft Office Accounting Express, which is free.

In fact, right after you get that accounting software, give the IRS a call. You will be amazed at how helpful they are. They will actually tell you what you need to do to stay straight with them, and will even advise you on paying your taxes quarterly, which I highly recommend.

True Story: I knew NOTHING about really paying taxes, from a business standpoint, and my first year as a freelance writer, I ended up owing the IRS $6000. OUCH. I found out that I should have been paying in quarterly! This type of freelance writing really is just that lucrative.

Those are the tools that you need, other than a computer with an Internet connection, which I am assuming that you have. Next, we will really get to the meat of the subject, and you will launch your freelance writing career.

Are you ready to find work as a freelance writer? It's a great deal easier than most people realize, as long as you realize a few vital points.

Point #1: You do not get to start at the top of the heap. You start at the bottom of the heap, as a new freelance writer, which means that you must make it a point to bid low in the beginning. Later, when you are established, you can command more money. That will happen sooner than you think.

Point #2: You aren't the only person in the world who can string sentences together. Lots of people can, and those people are competing against you for the same jobs. This doesn't mean that you can't win those jobs.

Point #3: The clients are not going to seek you out - at first. Instead, you must seek them out and communicate effectively with them.

Point #4: If you misspell words and use poor grammar when setting up your resumes/profiles, or use the same poor grammar and poor spelling when communicating with potential clients, you can kiss that client goodbye.

I'm not saying any of that to be rude. It's just that I've tried, in the past, to help numerous people, and they all failed because they weren't willing to 'pay their dues' so to speak. They wanted to start at the top, and it just doesn't work that way.

At first, it won't seem worth it. It will be a great deal of work, for very little pay. You must keep at it, and in a very short period of time, again, you can command the higher pay, and clients will seek you out and be willing to pay what you want to charge. Trust me on that. I started out making pennies just a few short years ago. By the end of my first year, I made about $55,000, and that amount has gone up every year since.

So, if you are willing to 'pay your dues,' let's get the ball rolling.

1.Surf over to Rentacoder and sign up as a coder. No, you don't need programming skills - you are a writer, and there are tons of writing jobs, offered by clients (buyers) available at Rentacoder.

Set up your profile, which I believe they refer to as a resume. Put a great deal of thought into this, and make sure that you upload a picture of yourself. People with pictures tend to get more jobs.

Once your profile is set up, view the job listings and start placing bids. When you place a bid, be very professional. Don't just post a dollar amount. Tell the client how much experience you have, assure them that you can meet the deadline, and make sure that you state what you are bidding on, and how much you are bidding, just for the sake of clarification.

Don't be upset if you don't win jobs right away. Are you bidding low? You need to be. Include the link to your sample writing. Make sure that your resume looks good, and make it sound like you have experience.

You wrote those articles, and posted them on the Internet, that could be considered as 'experience.' If you have a lens here at Squidoo, that could be construed as experience.

Bid on at least ten jobs initially, and then wait to see if you win any. It would truly suck to win all ten jobs, and not be able to meet those deadlines because you have too much work. Don't worry, you won't win all ten, but you might win one or two.

Just a tip: The writers at RAC who have already made a name for themselves often stay away from the 'smaller' jobs. Jump all over those bid requests.

The objective at RAC, and other freelance sites, is to build up your rating. Once you've done this, you can start bidding higher, and you will win those jobs because of your fabulous ratings. Overall, I believe that the majority of your earlier jobs will come from RAC, which is why I listed it first.

2. Sign up at ScriptLance, and repeat the same process. You won't find as many writing jobs at ScriptLance as you do at RAC, but there are writing jobs, and you can win those jobs. Again, bid low and build up your reputation at the site.

3. Repeat the Process at ifreelance, elance, guru.com, BizReef, and any other freelancing site that you are interested in. Just a tip, however, most of your work will come from RAC, ScriptLance, and ifreelance.

4. Post bids daily for work, and be patient. Be careful about the number of bids that you are submitting. Again, while you do want work, you don't want so much work that you can't handle it all and meet deadlines.

Just a note: Some of these sites have 'premium' membership and such. I managed to carve out a successful career as a freelance ghostwriter, and I have never, ever paid a membership fee at any of these sites.

5. Get a membership at the Writers Market. This is the web version of the famous book that every writer owns and loves. It costs something like four bucks a month, and this will give you access to paying markets, where you will be published under your own by-line. It takes longer to earn money as a freelance writer this way, but you can search the listings and do some writing for magazines, websites, and other venues...where your work will be recognized as your own.

6. When you aren't working for clients, continue to write. Join sites like Squidoo, Helium, Hubpages, and others like them, where you are actually paid for your content. Not only does this give you more exposure, but it does give you a small income.

That's it. That's what you need to do to quickly, easily, and cheaply break into freelance writing. If you do it right - if your resume is great, your bids are great, and you aren't bidding too high for the jobs, you should be making money in two weeks or less.

Be sure to read on for more freelance writing tips!