New Word of the Day 

Always good to keep up on the vocab.

amatory: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

amatory: expressing love

Freelance Writing Advice: How to Start As a Freelance Writer 

Getting started is the hardest part for most freelance writers

For many beginning freelance writers, or individuals who want to break into freelance writing, getting started is often the hardest part. If you've never made a sale, this process can be very intimidating. For freelance writers looking to get started, there are several things to consider.

First, what type of writing do you want to do? What kind of writing do you have experience writing? Being a niche expert can be a very good way of making enough of a name for yourself to score some higher paying jobs, but that takes time to build up, and being a writer who can take on any type of writing can also help you find work and lead to a higher income.

A second consideration is what you're looking for. Are you only interested in a part time income, or do you need this to be a full time profession? Either way, some of the beginning steps are the same, and here is some advice to get you started as a freelance writer.

#1: Just get started! I spent months and months researching, looking up data, trying to figure out the best way to break into freelance writing. Then a car accident damaged both of my legs badly, and out of necessity I had to get started. I found out from there that there's no better advice than simply getting started. You can't sell writing you haven't written yet.

#2: Write Online. There are tons of opportunities online for writers. Constant-Content, Associated Content, and Helium are all places where you can start writing immediately and get paid. Squidoo is another place where you can do the same by writing and setting up "lenses" (think simple web pages). This can get you money and exposure.

#3: Have short and long term goals already figured out. Short term goals might be to get a small amount of sold articles every day online and sending out 3-4 queries a day to magazines. A long term goal might be going from lots of low level Internet articles to several higher paying magazine articles.

#4: Learn how to sell and re-sell your usage rights articles to get the most out of each and every one of your articles. This is critical to building your freelance income.

#5: Spend some time every single day looking for new work. When you get busy this can be difficult, but a common mistake is to get a lot of work done, then realize you not only have no more work lined up, but you didn't send any queries out. This hurts you in both the short and long term.

These five tips hopefully gave you some good advice to get you started in learning how to become a freelance writer.

Constant Content Ebook - Coming Soon 

You don't need it to succeed at CC, but this will definitely speed up the process

PayPal--A Must for Modern Freelancers! 

Especially if you're just starting out, PayPal is the way to go!

If you don't have a PayPal account and you want to be a freelance writer, one of the first things you should do is get one! PayPal makes online payment easy, and offers a certain security. Also, once you get familiar with doing repeat work for a client, they may want to pay you directly, and getting the PayPal payment directly means a lot less off the top then if you get it through an auction site, then through Paypal.

Associated Content and Constant Content both make payments via PayPal. This makes it necessary if you're going to get any type of income from these sites.

In addition, I've had some jobs where people living overseas (usually involved in a tourist industry) wanted me to write articles, and the easiest form of payment was via PayPal. Even as I hung up full time freelancing for a great full time writing job, I still earn about $20-40 a week via PayPal freelancing. When I never withdraw it, and have it in a MoneyMarket account that's paying over 4% annually (and pays out every month) as of this writing, a year from now that will be my Scotland trip :)

Having a PayPal account also makes it easy to find good freelancing books on eBay, to receive quick payment from employers, and takes away the worry of wondering when the check will get there, will it clear, because once that money's in your account, it's not going anywhere.

PayPal accounts are completely free to set up. To any beginning freelance author, you definitely will want a PayPal account to increase business, and even make some extra off the interest on the side!

For the Casual Freelancer 

If you don't like to be told what to write...

This first site might be scoffed at by full time professionals, but if you are interested in writing more for the sake of writing than anything else, but if you love to write, and would prefer making a little decent scratch on the side, then a great starter site to check out is Constant Content.

The types of freelancers working as writers at Constant Content vary. One of the most published authors is a grandmother who wants something to do on her free time, so she writes and sells articles. Others are part time college students, others just want a little extra money on the side.

Constant Content is a website where writers can write about anything they want, and then load the articles onto the website for free. Buyers looking to get content for their web sites can look at and buy your articles.

There are three types of rights you can sell:

Usage: This means that they can post your article, but can't change anything. Your name is on the article, and not a word is unchanged. You own the copyright and can re-sell this article as many times as you can find buyers.

Unique: This means nothing is changed, but they are buying the unique rights to publish your article, meaning that you can not re-sell this.

Full Rights: This means you sell full rights. You can charge a lot more for this, or choose to never sell full rights at all, but if you do the buyer owns everything, and can change this article any way they want.

The nice part about Constant Content is there is no charge to uploading articles, and you get to set your own prices. You keep uploading material, and whenever a buyer wants your article, they can purchase it. The web site takes a cut of around 30% and once your account hits $50, they pay!

If freelancing is a side thing, this could be a great way to get your feet wet until you decide if you like this set up or want to move on. It also lets you write articles about your interests whenever you want: and you'd be surprised about everything that sells given enough time.

If you're really interested, try signing up through here. You can set up an account for free, and go on from there.

Best of luck!

Elance: Most Upward Potential for Auction Writing Sites 

Several pros make a full time living from this web site alone

Elance as a place for freelance writers is one of the best online writing sites for freelancers, both beginners and for professionals. Elance and Guru are by far and away the two best online auction based websites for freelance writers.

Elance has the highest earning potential by far. It's not at all uncommon to see multiple jobs in the $10,000+ range. Obviously if you are a true beginner, these jobs are going to be out of reach until you build up a major reputation, but there are more high end jobs on Elance than on Guru.

The minimum pay for a Guru job is $25, while it is $50 for Elance, which is a nice upgrade over the bottom line. You can also see your fellow freelancers' bids on Elance, which helps you to decide where to price your own work.

Good things about Elance:
You can see your competition's bids
The minimum project fee is twice as high
More high money jobs
The ability to make a full time living off this site
Most money to be made writing online for freelancers

"Bad" Things About Elance
Their cut or % is much higher than Guru's
Harder for true beginners to build a reputation
Takes longer to build up to top freelancer status
No saved templates for bids

If you're looking to make a full time living writing only online, then you need to write for Elance in addition to Guru. The combination of these two sites, both of which are growing amazingly fast, can lead to a full time income for any freelancer--and if you work hard enough to get into the top tier, you'll be living very comfortably indeed!

Freelance Writers: Versatile vs. Niche Expert - Which Is the Way to Go? 

Two writing strategies - is one better than the other?

The question of whether to be a niche specialist or versatile freelancer is a question most writers face on a weekly basis. Or even if you haven't made that jump to starting your freelance writing career, it's still a question you should ask yourself.

What strategy should you take in what type of writing you do? Should you go for a versatile, "jack-of-all-trades" mentality where you're willing to adjust and learn new styles, or should you become a niche expert, someone who takes the time to build an absolute "expert" status so your name becomes synonymous with a certain type of writing?

This is a difficult question, and it's one where there's not necessarily a right or wrong answer. There are also many individual factors that can affect your decision on this. How good are you at multi-tasking? Do you already have a specialty? Are you capable of all writing styles (example: great copywriting is highly profitable, but only a select few excel at this style of writing)? All these factors should be taken into consideration.

The good news is that both directions can be correct. I did very well as a "jack of all trades" before landing a full time writing job (courtesy of some freelance gigs that led to this job), and others have done far better than me going that route. Meanwhile, other writers absolutely thrive off being known for one topic or one type of writing.

While I pride myself on being a jack of all trades type of writer, early on I did have an advantage because I was also an amateur player at a card game associated with Texas, (one that will set off the spam filter if I name it) when that card game's craze was hitting full force around 2003-2004.

So my position as a professional writer and as a card player definitely gave me an edge in landing a lot of writing jobs since everyone wanting articles on that specific game, and having an "expert" status did allow me to generally charge more per article than with other assignments. Look at your own life to see what specialties you might have.

Another consideration can be your background. Did you do business writing while you were in the corporate world? This could give you a natural lead in to the type of freelance writing that could be profitable. Press releases earn a good amount of money per release, and as the Internet continues to grow, there is always demand for more content on about everything you can imagine.

In the end, you're the only one who can make a decision about going the expert route, the jack of all trades route, or somewhere in the middle. Both can lead to very profitable, and more importantly, very fulfilling, writing careers. Figure out which direction suits you the best, and go for it!

The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success

Some of the Best Resources I've Found 

Education is a necessity--but that doesn't necessarily mean the classroom

I've personally picked these out as some of the books and other resources that have by far and away helped me out in the most concrete ways to make money as a freelance writer and to understand the business aspect of writing--which is even more important to success than the writing itself.

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments

by: Jenna Glatzer

If you're looking to break into magazines and want to learn to really guage your odds and make a great pitch, this book is the best, BAR NONE. Even covers business aspects of writing, and many "I wish someone had told me beforehand..." concerns. If you're looking to freelance and you don't have a copy of this, order it now.

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 11/21/2008)

The Street Smart Writer: Self Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World

by: Jenna Glatzer, Daniel Steven

Freelancing is hard enough without predators. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams and sharks out there, and this is the best book to help you avoid them. I've only been stiffed once in three years, so this is a great guide.

Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 11/21/2008)

2007 Writer's Market

This is called "The Writer's Bible." More markets than anything else. Do I need to say more?

Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 11/21/2008)

The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success (The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series)

by: Linda Formichelli, Diana Burrell

Knowing how to bend the rules just enough to stick out is a huge advantage when 99% of the herd is going by format.

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/21/2008)

On Writing

by: Stephen King

Yes, part of this is biography, a lot focuses on fiction, but as far as a book that is just on the process of writing, of learning to write, of learning how to write, there is nothing better out there.

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/21/2008)

I Want to Write What I Want, But I'll Take My Money Up Front 

Recent Rival to Constant Content does its own thing and prospers!

Constant Content is a great place for part time writers to write about what they want and put articles for sale. The web site's commision is a little steep, but you pay nothing to sign up, and can you complain about it when you sell a $50 article you wrote and forgot about it a year ago?

Theres another option, however, in Associated Content. Here you can't set your prices, but you don't have to wait for buyers that may or may not ever come. You get your money up front.

The requirements are simple. Articles need to be a minimum of 400 words or more, have proper grammar and structure, and nothing deragatory. Associated Content's own web site describes it as "think PG-13."

Payment ranges anywhere from $3-$20, and once the article is accepted for payment, you will receive payment via PayPal just for having your article appear on the site: no waiting for buyers, no searching for niches. If they accept your article, you get paid. Just that easy.

If your articles do well, you can even be eligible for a performance bonus!

If you want to learn more about Associated content, here's a link to their FAQ: FAQ Here.

Take a look around and enjoy the stream of writing income that comes from writing anything you feel like!

If you think this definitely is for you, here's a referral link where you can sign up:
SIGN UP HERE!

So I Checked Out All the Fuss... 

E-Book Review of "6 Figure Freelancer"

So I checked out all the fuss about an e-book I kept hearing about, so I relented and bought a copy of 6 Figure Freelancer to see what all the fuss was about.

I tend to have mixed feelings on e-books. There are a lot of crummy and questionable ones out there, but I've also written e-books for clients who had a high standard, and I've bought some that have been extremely helpful for me during my freelance time.

The six figures was the part I was dubious about. It is possible, but it's difficult, and I wanted to see if this author would be straight forward about it, or would it paint a rosy picture that wasn't accurate?

All in all, I have to say this isn't a bad product. I'm not sure it adds anything to the advanced freelance writer's portfolio, but for a pure beginner this is a really solid e-book, and it covers important subjects like setting prices, dedicating a lot of time early on to get work, building a reputation, and especially marketing.

Marketing may be the most important part of being a freelance writer, which is part of the reason I'm big on both Squidoo and Associated Content, because I've received job offers and have landed some pretty good jobs because of my writing being discovered on both - even though both of these are pretty new additions to my freelancing strategy (as in only 6 months old).

Sometimes I think the prices and outlooks may be a little rosy ($35 for an article is a rate I have not been able to get from Guru, but he says range for pros is $15-$35, and I have gotten $25 an article for some repeat work), but no claim that's so high it's unrealistic.

I would say this isn't perfect, but what is? This e-book is 100 pages, and it gives some very solid information that balances you needed outlook and professional behavior as a business person with how to write and quickly increase your income.

This is a good enough e-book that I have no problem reccomending it for beginner, novice, or intermediate freelance writers, especially those looking to balance online work with "real world" work.

It's solid and full of some very good information, and even points out which types of writing (copy, business, and technical) pay the most, and how more than one strategy can be used to get you to $100,000 a year if you're willing to work for it.

7 Tips to Emotionally Prepare to Be a Freelance Writer 

Freelance writing can be emotionally difficult

Being a freelance writer is not easy. Aside from the constant struggles that every freelancer faces such as finding consistent work, writing at a level that sets you above the rest, and always making sure there's enough in the bank account for those annoying quarterly taxes (and they are annoying)-there are the hassles of completing assigned work and looking for more.

This isn't even taking into account that being a freelance writer can be very stressful and emotionally trying.

Many freelance writers don't think about this before going into the business, but there are certain emotional factors you have to consider before diving in head first if you want to succeed, and that might mean that sometimes you have to bend over backwards for a problem client, and other times you might have to get downright stubborn to get paid.

Here's some tips that can help you learn to deal with all aspects of the freelance writers' life.

#1 Grow a thick skin: Whether its family members snickering at your early attempts to be a writer, or problem employers who want everything revised ten times while calling you every name in the book, there will be plenty of rough times. Rejection is also a constant. Learn to grow a thick skin, and don't take any of it personally.

#2 Realize you may have to bend over backwards: Some customers don't know how to do business civilly. Sometimes, especially early on, you'll have to do a crazy amount of work and re-working to get the project done as needed to get paid. Provide unbelievable customer service, and just politely refuse any future work (or ask for a giant raise).

#3 Loneliness: Even if you tend to keep to yourself, freelance writing is a very lonely endeavor. Joining a writer's forum online can help this, but you'll want to just get out once in a while to be around other people.

#4 Civility and basic politeness matters: It's amazing how many beginner writers are straight out rude, never say thanks for the work they get, and just make themselves headaches to the employer. Basic business politeness and manners go a long way, even with clients who you want to strangle with both hands.

#5 Never be afraid to ask for a raise: If you're good enough for them to want to re-hire you, don't be afraid to ask for a raise, especially if you started with a low bid. My experience actually shows that by charging more I got more work (there's a natural assumption that if it costs more, it must be better).

#6 Never be afraid to drop a headache client: It's not worth the time, stress, or effort. You can use that extra time to find better clients who appreciate your work and pay you what your work.

#7 Unshakable self-confidence bordering on ego: This doesn't mean being egotistical to clients, but no matter how rough things get, you need to be confident about your abilities as a writer. By all means, learn new skills and practice writing to keep yourself sharp, but always have confidence that you can do it.

Following all these tips will help you be mentally and emotionally prepared for all the rigors of a freelance writing career.

Doubling the Sales, Doubling the Miles 

A quick strategy to get more profit out of your "use rights" articles

Making a living as a freelance writer is hard, especially in the very beginning. You want to take advantage of every opportunity to maximize your profits and squeeze every cent out of what you write.

One of the strategies I use to get the most out of my "use rights" articles helps to do this. This isn't a huge money maker, but it gets more from less. On this lens I've explained how Constant-Content and Associated Content works. You can use both of them to your advantage with "use articles."

By "use articles," I mean articles that have been published, but you still have the rights to the article. Constant-Content allows you to sell "use" articles, and Associated Content also pays for "use" articles, so you can sell them from both sites.

There's just one caveat: you want to publish on Constant-Content first. If your article is published on Associated Content, Constant-Content may say that there's something too similar to it elsewhere on the web, even if it's your content. Associated Content is fine with buying previously published material, as long as it has your byline.

Once the article is on sale for usage rights on CC, send it to Associated Content, which pays up front. It's not much, but you get your up front money, and you still have the chance that people can buy your articles for future use.

Now that's a strategy for maximizing your profits!

How Far Do You Want to Take It? 

First you need to decide how freelance writing will be part of your life.

Making a living as a freelance writer is a very hard thing to do. Even making a sizeable side income as a freelancer takes a lot of work, especially in the beginning. It's a field full of a lot of writers and would be writers flooding the marketplace while most businesses would rather stick with someone they're confident in.

In other words, the field is tilted heavily in favor of those who are already established. It's not fair, but it makes sense. If a business finds a good writer, the security of that and of knowing quality work gets done in time is worth the extra money over taking a chance on the unknown.

And by the way, that bachelor's degree or master's degree in writing probably doesn't mean a thing 99% of the time. If you don't know the differences between copy writing, commercial writing, white papers, journalism, academic writing, business writing, technical writing, and ad copy, then you also have some crash course learning to do.

So what's the good news in all this?

The good news is this:

There ALWAYS, is, and always will be, a demand for good writing. There will even always be demand for average writing.

A good writer who learns the ropes will always be able to find work.

The first thing to decide is how seriously you want to persue a career in freelance writing. Is it something you want to do full time? Part time? Are there only one or two types of writing you want to engage in, or are you open to learning anything? Can you put in the time it takes to get established?

How you answer these questions determines what paths are open or closed, what's a good idea, or what you should avoid. If you're only looking for $100 extra a month and somethng to do on free time, that's easy, and much different than trying to make a full run of it.

This lens will be updated frequently and will cover a huge array of topics, so keep checking back. There's so much to cover (look how many hundreds of books there are on writing--we'll discuss that later, too) and we'll hit it bit by bit. Hopefully some of what I went through can help you avoid the early pit falls and find success sooner.

If nothing else, I hope to give you an honest and blunt look at breaking into the freelance writing market so you know what to expect. If you're determined to make it, it is possible, and I'll do my best to help you to that dream.

Where Can You Go to Write? Here's a List: 

First step is to find some work

A Place for Part Time Freelancers

If you're looking to freelance just part time because you love writing, and don't care as much about immediate payment, this is a great web site where you can post your articles and set your prices. Tens of thousands of people come here to find web content!

Associated Content

You don't set your prices, but it's free to use and you get paid for all approved articles straight up.

Guru

This is one of the two best auction based web sites for professional freelance writers out there. As with all things, it takes time to build a reputation, but a beginner can build their reputation and make some good money here.

Elance

This is the other major auction based work site for professional freelance writers. It's a little harder to get going than with Guru, but as of now the ceiling for how much you can make is much higher, as well.

Good Article

A good article on online auction sites for freelancers about learning to market yourself to take optimum advantage of online opportunities.

Writer's Digest 101 Best

Great resource site by Writer's Digest for the 101 best web sites for freelance writers.

Funds for Writers

Run by a very sucessful freelance writer who sells great e-books, gives solid info, and finds great grant programs.

Max Barry--Black Sheep Link

This really isn't about the business of freelancing, but Max Barry is an excellent fiction writer with a great web page and his story shows you how there are unconventional roads to where you want to go.

Writing Links

It's not as focused as the other links, but part of succeeding as a freelancer is figuring out where to scavage quality work, and there is some good stuff here.

Writer's Manifesto Blog

A fantastic blog about a writer who has failed, re-tried, and made it. Great information here.

Master Dayton

Master Dayton is the name of my freelance writing blog, which includes some of the information on this lens, and will include a lot more that I simply don't have the space to cover here. Please feel free to come on by and visit!

What Do You Think of Craig's List? 

Finding Freelance work in the online classifieds

I've heard a lot about Craig's List and online classifieds. While this can be very useful for a wide variety of things, the question comes up on whether this is a good place to look for freelancing work.

In my personal experience, I would say this is NOT the type of place where you want find freelance work. This isn't saying you can't find work here, but I've seen a lot of shady ads where they ask for writers to "try and write a product review" and the end result is you get asked to look over a subscription service.

Too often this type of thing ends with the writer getting billed, not paid.

There are much better places to find work than from online classified ads. There's Associated Content that pays you up front for articles you write, or Constant Content, which allows you to write about anything you want and set your own prices and conditions.

If you want to be more than a part time freelancer, then there's no reason to look at Craig's List, either. There are several web sites designed for full time freelance writers, though the best two by far are Guru and Elance.

I'll have more on these sites later. The long and short of it is that I just don't see Craig's List as a good place to find freelance work. Too much risk for too little reward, and without any of the security other sites offer.

You'd be better off spending some money on Quality E-Books about how to make money online or e-books on where to find money online. Just do good research and take advantage of the resources on this page and you'll be on your way!

I Want to Break Into Freelancing Full Time 

The benefits of Guru.com

The web site that started me off from taking freelancing from a side income to a full time income was Guru.com. Guru and Elance are considered the two best auction based web sites for freelancers. These are sites where employers get to post descriptions of their projects for free, and freelancers are allowed to bid on them.

Two absolutely essential pieces of advice if you are looking to build up a freelance reputation on Guru:

1) Buy a year long subscription. Last I checked it was somewhere around $150, and it is cheaper than going month to month and is well worth the cost. One good job, or even six minimum wage jobs (the least a person can bid is $25--that's always the absolute minimum you will earn)covers the subscription easily!

2) Have patience! If you're starting out it takes time. Think about it from an employer's point of view: you have two bids, one person has ten jobs in his/her history and $1,000 in earnings with a five star rating, the other has no background. Which would you choose?

It takes time, but look at any ad that says "new writers welcome" or "SEO," or look for jobs that are ridiculously cheap. I would never again write ten 500 word articles for $30, but to get that initial positive feedback and job under my belt, I would to get going. And early on, every dollar counts.

Elance is said to have a higher ceiling than Guru, meaning that while it's extremely difficult to make a living wage just off of Guru, there are many authors who do so off of Elance now. That may be true, but Elance's minimum fee is $50, and I've noticed that it's harder to get started there. Guru is more open to new writers.

In addition, in the two years I worked on Guru, the number of jobs and amount of money paid to authors went up dramatically. It is far easier and more likely to make a full time living off Guru now than in early 2005, an outsourcing continues to make Guru grow.

At one point I was doing over $2,000 a month in jobs, 60 hours a week in work, and I was turning down any job that didn't pay over $12 an hour. I turned down repeat work, as well, so the markets are improving.

I still recommend Guru over Elance, especially getting started. I've found the percentage cut that they take to be far less than what Elance takes as a cut (it's always a minimum of $10), while Guru is 8% with no minimum.

A writer who really wants to build up can get accounts with both, which is something I've done. If you want to go beyond casual, this is a great place to start, and it will even save your query letter formats to make it easier to apply for a lot of jobs and to sharpen your skills.

Helium.com good for freelance writers? 

Not a bad place for freelance writers, after a second thought

This update is a quick blip, and it's about Helium.com. This is a web site where you get paid on the side for writing, via split of the site's advertising profits. This is a pretty standard set up for many of the web sites paying for writing.

I viewed this site a little bit, and my first impressions were that I wasn't impressed. In fact, I made the comment that I would take Associated Content or Constant Content over Helium.com any day of the week, and as far as up front payment, that's still true.

Even if your articles are high traffic, you're only splitting Adsense, which comes in pennies at a time. That being said, after looking around more, I would say that Helium.com definitely has their place.

For one, there are a lot of contests on Helium that give you a chance for recognition, and more additional cash that is more reasonable. $25 to win a contest with a 400 word article isn't bad. In addition, this is passive income, so as long as the articles are up there, you can still get money trickling in weeks, months, or even years later.

That being said, the one best part of Helium.com is that they do have an excellent area of assignments that publishers post. You can post an article to the request, and if it's accepted, you can make anywhere from $25-80 for a 4-700 word article (not a bad rate at all for an online writing place) and several writers have been contracted for more articles around the same rate off of these.

There is a very good selection, and this gives you a genuine opportunity to make some decent money writing articles. As far as up front payment, AC and CC are still better picks, but if you have an article that you can only sell usage rights to, Helium is a good place for it because they only take non-exclusive rights, meaning you can always re-sell that article.

So if you're already selling usage right articles on Constant Content and getting paid for traffic off that same article at Associated Content, then you mine as well add that article to Helium and see what happens. This is also a good place for short articles that you can't find a home for anywhere else.

Combining all three of these web sites with building up a large collection of lenses on Squidoo is a very solid start to an online writing career, and those side jobs posted by publishers do push Helium above Associated Content (unless you're amazing at getting traffic to your articles), and give it some potential to get closer to Constant Content than it first appeared.

Still, if you want to go more serious, buy a year long subscripton to Guru and Elance. Between all of these you can start earning steady money easily within a year, and good money within two.

You're never going to get rich off this site, and no one article you will make you a lot of money unless it answers a marketplace request, but there's more to this one than meets the eye, and the community is fantastic, so it is worth a whirl.

Help, My Fiction is Dying! 

Freelance writers need time for their own writing, too

This article may not be useful to everyone, but for writers who write business copy, press releases, and Internet articles day after day while still harboring life long dreams of writing that special book, then the title probably hits a chord.

While I love making a living writing, and can't imagine enjoying any other type of a job more, it can be frustrating for me after a long week of writing articles to find the time to sit down and write the short stories, creative non-fiction, and novels that are just bursting to get out of me. At the very least it's annoying. At the worst, if I go a week without any serious writing, I feel like I'm dying inside, and for me depression can often follow.

Establishing yourself as a freelance writer means a lot of overbooked weeks early. Sixty and eighty hour weeks aren't out of the question, and when you're writing (even if it is a different kind of writing than creative writing) it can be mentally exhausting, and the thought of re-working that novel or short story isn't very appealing. Sometimes when trying to force it, that blank page just mocks you.

Finding a balance between the commercial writing and creative writing can be very difficult, but for many people it's necessary. Here are some tips that I've found have helped me when I was having a hard time.

1) Don't write creatively and commercially in the same place. This is a big one for me. If you have a laptop this can be as easy as moving from one part of the apartment to another. If you have a desktop this isn't so easy, but having one desk or set up for work and a different setting for creative writing has helped me excel more at both.

2) Write creatively in the morning. If the creative writing is what you really treasure, then get a couple pages done early in the morning. This can make you happy by working on your own stuff, and get your mind in a relaxed writing mood for the rest of the commercial writing that has to be done.

3) Daily unbreakable goals. I've never been a "list of goals" or "write down where you want to be" kind of person at all, but a little older and a lot busier and I find this is the best way to keep me writing. One day off always leads to more, but if I have a small goal, even if it's just one page or five hundred words, that's at least something. Give it a try.

4) When was your last vacation? If you haven't taken one day off from commercial writing in months and months, choose a day that's just for you. Go to a coffee shop, enjoy a hike. Take a small notepad and pen for ideas, but don't force it. Write a letter. Do something. Even one day off can make a huge difference.

5) Don't despair. Rejection is part of the game. The best writers aren't the ones who get published. The most stubborn ones are.

I hope these tips help you to make time for your own writing, as well as the commercial freelance jobs.

Freelance Writers - Get the Most Mileage (Money) from Your Articles! 

Freelance writers, sell your articles more than once!

One of the most critical aspects of making a consistent living as a freelance writer is getting the most out of your articles. There are very few writers who can make a full time living writing one article for exactly one sale per job.

This is especially true for online freelance writers in the beginning. If you can make multiple sales off one article, you are obviously going to make more money. You're also going to save enough time to write more articles, and as a writer your time is your most valuable asset.

You will often hear this advice emphasized the most with travel writing, but it applies to every level of writing. Even if you're only looking to write online for an extra $100 a month or so, this piece of advice is critical: get the most for your work!

For example, an interesting place to hike in my old home state of Iowa was the Effigy Mounds, a hiking trail that had mounds of dirt designed in the shapes of animals by Native Americans thousands of years ago. A quick story here could be sold for $50 to an Iowa hiking magazine (trade journal level).

Another quick 100-200 word blurb for the front of the magazine focusing on the mounds themselves might find a place in a Native American or Cultural Studies magazine (another $40-50). Maybe the Iowa Board of Tourism will pay $15-20 for a good 400 word web article.

If you still own all the rights (and you should) after writing these articles, you can upload a copy to Constant-Content and put a price on it for usage rights (say $10-15), upload it to Associated Content and Helium.com, where you'll at least get something for any web traffic you generate. It's not much, but that could be another $15-20 you don't otherwise get.

Using that hypothetical example, you could have used that trip to write one article for only $50, or for about an hour of extra work, you can re-write it a couple times and sell it three times for $105 or more, plus whatever you get online.

Plus, you never know how often in the future your article will re-sell on Constant-Content. Ten years from now you may get another $15 for an article you wrote a decade ago.

Getting the most out of your writing applies to every level. Suppose you write a short online article, mainly just to promote a website or blog of yours. Why not upload it to Constant-Content for a small usage fee, then load it to both Associated Content and Helium.com? At least now you get paid for your promotional attempt at least twice, and possibly even a third time from Constant-Content.

Every little bit helps, and stretching every last penny out of your articles is something you absolutely have to learn if you want to know how to become a writer.

That is what separates the successful freelance writer from the one who just couldn't quite turn the corner.

Don't You Have to Be Lucky or Know Someone to be a Freelance Writer? Part I 

Hard work and good writing will create all the luck that you need

One of the most common questions that comes up when the conversation of writing for a living is: "Don't you have to be really really lucky or have connections to make any kind of a living?"

This question is asked by newbies, by part time freelancers, or even frustrated freelance writers who have spent some time, maybe even a year or year and a half, writing and just not making enough for the amount of work that they do. This isn't just a common question: it's a good one.

My answer: yes, but with an asterisk. Or maybe no, with an asterisk. Let me explain:

If you write long enough, to succeed you will get a few jobs, a few contacts, who will definitely be your "lucky break throughs." The thing is, these "lucky break throughs" have exactly jack and squat to do with pure luck.

Ever hear the saying "You make your own luck?" This is the key to perservering to success as a freelance writer! You will need some lucky breaks. You need those first clips--you need to be able to find employers who don't have enough good writers to up your per hour and per article pay. Sometimes timing is everything.

But the thing about "luck," as it relates to freelance writers, is this: you make your own. If you put in the hard work, always give 110% (even to those employers you dream about running over with your car--I've had a couple of them) then you will put yourself in a position to be successful, and eventually something will stick.

I can think of two major "lucky breaks" for me in my freelance writing career, and I can then tell you how each was not pure luck.

The first was when I was still struggling to get a name for myself. I had some articles on Constant-Content, but I was trying to move up in Guru. I probably had 30-50 bids out on Guru jobs all the time, and I was getting depressingly little response.

In fact, my first two months saw $200, a kill fee for a project that was killed after only 10 articles, and $45 for a brouchure revised three times. But I kept at it. I studied and thought to myself "How do I make my queries better?" I read the books I share in the Amazon module on this lens. No detail was too small to work on.

Then in early March there was a request for an e-book on poker, with the caveat that despite needing 30 pages of text, they could only pay a measly $60 an e-book, or $2 a page. This provider had told a friend they would help with overflow, only to get overflowed themselves.

I knew a lot about poker, so I applied at the agreed on price. I was unemployed, still couldn't walk (I had suffered a car accident, which was why I was unemployed--but I'll go more into my story later), and the $60 was badly needed. Also, based on the tone of the Guru ad, I figured this guy wanted help, and would give a very good ranking back if I helped out.

Since rankings (on Guru it's $ made * # of stars feedback, weighted and then gives a general star ranking, as well as your overall # ranking among all pros in your field) are the biggest way most employers decide on writers, building my reputation was worth the slave wages for the first job.

In fairness to the employer, they were great guys, it was just a bad job their friend shouldn't of took. After that book they asked if I was willing to do another on Koi ponds for the same price. I had no idea what the heck Koi even was, but I accepted and did the research. They were so happy, that they gave me a 3rd job: 10 articles on Morocco for $12 a piece.

I managed to finish those in two days, and the money and feedback led to me getting around eight more jobs that month, small ones, and at the end of the month I had a five star rating and $680 banked. April doubled, and after that I had to work like crazy, but I was making about $1,500 a month off the auction site (NOTE:Guru was young and earnings potential is much higher now, but that was pretty decent for spring of 2005).

After that I had the clout to do two things: 1) Raise my hourly wage immensely 2) Get a lot more work because of my good track record.

Was the e-book a lucky break? Sure--but a great job on the first work got me two more jobs, and later another four from them at even higher pay, around $15 an hour. Hard work, gettng done before deadline, and having a positive attitude broke open what could have been just one low paying job into a lot more.

This is much longer than expected, but I don't want to short you any information, so I'll go into the second "lucky" break in part two.

Don't give up, and keep writing. This is a dream worth fighting for!

Other helpful sources from Amazon 

In freelance writing, you can never have too much education

Not as solid as the other works, but more niche specific and still very helpful

Writing Effective News Releases...: How to Get Free Publicity for Yourself, Your Business, or Your Organization

by: Catherine V. McIntyre

It is extremely easy to learn how to write press releases, and there is ALWAYS demand for good press releases - and if you even ger an average rate ($30-40), an expert can knock one out in 20 minutes.

Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)

How to Write Irresistible Query Letters: An easy-to-follow guide to writing professional queries that produce sales--for articles and nonfiction books

by: Lisa Collier Cool

Sad as it is for the pure writers (I myself am a disappointed brother of that fraternity), marketing is even MORE important than the writing. Learn how to get the job - then you can wow them with your skills.

Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less

by: Peter Bowerman

This is one of the most popular and well respected books out there on freelance writing and how to make a legitimate living doing so.

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 11/21/2008)

Get a Freelance Life: mediabistro.com's Insider Guide to Freelance Writing

by: Margit Feury Ragland

From mediabistro, one of the premeire online websites for freelance writers and journalists.

Amazon Price: $11.20 (as of 11/21/2008)

The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels

Another solid guide for the aspiring freelancer.

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 11/21/2008)

Don't You Have to be Lucky or Know Someone to be a Freelance Writer? Part II 

The second example of making your own luck

Hello all, and for those of you who left kind comments, thank you very much, they are all greatly appreciated. The first time I talked about my first lucky break that busted the flood gates open, and I want to talk about that a little bit more before I get more into growing my business as a freelance writer.

Most freelance writers I know have an initial "flood gate period," which helps reinforce my idea of making your own luck. Getting that one job that creates a flood gate of work and profit for you can make that one job lucky, but also if you keep at it, working hard, there will be a flood gate.

Another way I put it: isn't it amazing how often those guys working really hard with extra hours end up getting "lucky" over everyone else? Someone made the comment that my dad was the luckiest fisherman they ever knew: he caught several trophy fish, and caught the only world record fish ever out of the state of Iowa.

Is that lucky? Sure. But my Dad also fished religiously:12-14 hours a day on weekends as long as it wasn't winter and every day off. So who's more likely to get lucky fishing, the 50 hour a year fisherman, or the 700 hour a year fisherman?

This is what I mean by putting yourself in position to get lucky.

After that floodgate time, because of a movement of professors at my old grad school (read: the good ones stayed, the ones who ran me out on a rail didn't) I ended up moving back to Alaska, and freelancing was my life blood to afford to move back, to find a place to live (Alaska is not the place to be homeless), and to get back into grad school. At that point I was making about $1,300-$1,700 a month. Solid, but not great, especially with the higher taxes you pay as a self-employed person, but it was enough.

Fast forward to the spring. I had articles out at Constant Content as well as some steady monthly work from referrals I received from past happy customers, as well as my work from Guru. I had also opened an Elance account, since I had been told the ceiling for high level income was higher there than at Guru.

My subscription for Guru was about to run out, and I needed to decide whether to renew my annual subscription or not. I thought about it, really not sure what to do. I was looking at getting into teaching, I had taken student loans to pay for grad school, and knew most of the spring would be spent on my thesis to graduate.

I also knew that as a "self-funded grad student" (read: loans and Visa cards), I simply could not afford to make $20-25,000 a year if I was getting taxed as a business (they pay about 13% more than if you're employed).

I decided that looking at the price of a subscription, I knew even if I stopped freelancing in the fall, and did little in the spring, that I would make far more than the cost. Besides, I had built a good reputation, and you never knew what was in the future, so I figured it was best to have more nets in the water.

A week after renewing my subscription, I received an e-mail asking about an e-book, and offering a rate that translated to roughly $22 an hour, by far my best multi-hour project. I did one e-book for this client, then a second. Long and short, come April, when I knew I was going to graduate, knew I'd rather write than teach, and was over-joyed, panicking hard core, and without any idea of what to do or where to go when this employer decided they needed a full time writer.

Writing for them, I was always respectful, I never gouged them, and I always contacted them if I was going to be delayed and miss a deadline. They decided to fly me down to Austin, Texas, to show me around and see if I was interested, and at the end of the two days and after discussing terms, I knew this was the opportunity of a life time.

This is why I am now a full time writer as opposed to a freelancer--though I still write several gambling and sports articles, but the blessing is I have a great writing job with a lot of independence while the only freelancing I do now are the easy jobs that I love to do and pay respectably.

I didn't know much about writing e-books, but I was always willng to learn a new style, do new research, and learn new skills. I was willing to work harder for a little less if it helped me out in the long run.

By doing this, I ended up being top of the list when my current boss needed a writer, and so I ended up with a great job that pays enough for me to pay all my bills and live comfortably, has a great future, and he even introduced me to Squidoo--so the education continues!

If you're willing to work and struggle through the hard times (and there are plenty of those) then when a lucky break comes up, the more often you put yourself in a position to benefit, the more likely you are to catch a bunch of them.

Best of luck, and keep at it! I'm not a lucky person by any normal stretch, so if it happened to me, it can happen to you, too!

Thank You Mr. W! 

Way to get going!!

Well, if no one believes that I keep updating this page, this should prove it beyond a doubt! I saw the other day that I received my first referrals at Constant Content and Associated Content from this page. I won't use the person's name, because that's not good form, but I have three words for Mr. W: Way to Go!!!

The hardest thing about freelancing can be deciding to take that first scary step. For me, it was easier to make the decision because of necessity. I had been in a terrible car accident on my 25th birthday that resulted in deep bone bruises on both my legs, ankle to hip (clasp your hands tightly together, then push all your fingers and palms apart two inches. Now imagine that's your bone marrow, and that's a deep bone bruise--basically tons of hairline fractures), as well as tearing up my ankles and knees.

So I couldn't work, but I had bills and was desperate. I HAD NO CHOICE! I did heal over time, though over three years later I still have small bruises on my lower legs. But I thank God for that acccident--because it forced me to take action that I would always have found an excuse not to take.

So I applaud Mr. W, and it encourages me because nothing gives me a bigger thrill than seeing someone take the first steps to succeeding--whatever their goals are. I used all the excuses, but that desperation made me take action, an ended up causing me to do what I really wanted to do all along: write for a living.

There's 1,000 excuses not to get started, but I want to encourage everyone who reads this to ignore those. This page has a lot of good information from my own personal experience, and the best thing about writing is that you don't have to quit one job to start writing--just start writing and build it up until you're able to do it ful time, or keep it as a permanant side income!

Associated Content and Constant Content (see articles below for sign up links) allow you to sign up with no fees or charges, and allow you to start writing for money RIGHT NOW. If you decide it's not your thing, you can walk away with no problems whatsoever.

But you may find you do better than you expect, and it can lay the foundation for some great things. I started college in 1998, and I'll tell you what--if these opportunities had been around back then, I would be a much wealthier and happier person. Take advantage of them, whatever your age.

Mr. W has, and so have I. Good luck to everyone else out there. This is about the safest plunge you can take, so hold your breath and jump in. In no time the money may start trickling in.

Becoming a Freelancer Reader Feedback 

Stop by and chat, hopefully share a success story.

Let me know if anything here is helpful, or if you've found something that has really helped you out along the way, as well. Best of luck, and hope I've helped!

Freelance Writing Blog Posts from Google 

Good information for beginners freelance writing around the web.

See what helpful tips others have to give from around the web.

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