Don’t fall for those ‘How to learn to write in a day/week/month’ e-books either. You’re much better off trusting your own instincts – and there are so many free online articles that talk about how to get there – so don’t waste your money.
A Thick Hide and a Sense of Humour
I’ll club those together as they are really two sides of the same coin in this game. They are also absolute essentials in your freelance finding crusade. Don’t get disheartened – so many others have walked down that same path and they are doing so well today! Don’t let just a handful of crazy clients spoil your day. Don’t let snooty established online writers frighten you away either – there’s place for everyone who can write in this ever-expanding world of cyber opportunity.
Learn to laugh – at the things that happen out there on the internet and at yourself. Do that and you’ll survive – and well at that. The road to freelance writing can be tough but it always feels better if you walk along it with a smile and maybe even a chuckle or two. Just savour the thought that once you break into those hallowed ranks, you’ll have so much work, you’ll be saying No to people. Go join a few writing forums ad you’ll find that it helps to vent a bit about clients and low paid jobs – or maybe even the fact that you aren’t getting any. People are so helpful and I’ve had 19 and 20 year olds guide me to all the right places where you can find a lot of work. They still pop by to see how I’m doing – in return, I offer to proofread and edit their web sites for them – it’s the least I can do for these sweet young kids.
A Great Work Ethic
This is an absolute must. When you make a commitment, a week’s deadline is just that – a week. Better still, 6 days. Not 10 days, two weeks, maybe never? If you don’t honour deadlines, you are going to be leaving a lot of disgruntled clients in your wake – and that means so many fewer job opportunities. When clients feel they can trust you to be responsible, they will always come back.
Make sure you check your copy well before you send it off. Keep your Spell Checker on and run through it twice after putting your ‘Zoom into Page’ at 150%. That way, the errors will jump off the page. Then put your work through a plagiarism checker. There are two free ones I use: PlagiarismDetect and articlechecker. Of course, the ideal thing to do when you have started writing and making a few bucks is to go join up the paid service of Copyscape.
More Persistence
I said it before, I’ll say it again – like Bruce, you try, try, try again and you’ll get there. Add a bit of patience to that and you’ll get there in a better frame of mind. And don’t forget to stir in a bit of that sense of humour to make the journey there much more pleasant.
Here are a few sites you can begin with.
- Getafreelancer
- Guru
- Elance
- Scriptlance
There are many more out there but these are great for making that first break. Start off with low bids – you need to build up that all-important feedback. Once a few clients are happy with your work and they post up feedback about you, you’re in. Then it’s up to you and what you can do to get to the next level. Being a big fish in a small pond is not a bad way to rise above the heap.
What to Aim For
$1000 a month? An easy target in a couple of months after you make that break. With luck, it could be three times that amount. Much, much more for the great writers. With time and effort, the money will come. The thing is to go get a handful of clients who pay well and who you are comfortable with. Then stay loyal to them. Until of course, something really big that you just can’t say No to comes along. Even then, stay in touch with your clients. Find them another writer online if you have to move on. Trust me, they’ll never forget. And never mind what people might say about the impersonal nature of the Internet, about how it is an emotionless, faceless world bereft of a lot of the decency we grew up with, I beg to differ. There are wonderful people out there too – just like in real life. There are some fabulous clients out there – you just need to look, find them and then stick with them. You need to make sure you have clients who treat you right – and you need to reciprocate as well.
I have been blessed with a number of wonderful clients – last Christmas, I opened my mail to find that a favourite client had deposited a Christmas bonus in my PayPal account. He also sent a message to say that it was just a little something to say ‘Thanks’. You can’t top that feeling for a great Christmas gift – and it’s a feeling that stays with you for a long time after that!
