Freelance Writing as a Career
BY ZOE LEA
Most people would love to make
a living from freelance writing. If you tell people that you
are a freelance writer, chances are that they will respond by
telling you about their own desire to be a freelance writer.
People often imagine that working as a freelance writer is
some glamorous affair involving interviewing celebrities and
writing up reviews on luxury items. The reality is that making
money from freelance writing is far removed from the
idealistic picture that many people paint.
A freelance writer can be
defined as anyone who sells their work to others, even if it
is on an ad hoc basis. But making enough money to sustain
yourself in the world of freelance writing is hard and can
even be a little soul destroying. However, you can make money
as a freelance writer so long as you are dedicated and
committed to making it a success.
With the arrival of the
Internet, there is now more work than ever for aspiring
freelance writers. Every website needs content, and finding
good content that is ripe for search engine optimization (SEO)
is a hard thing to come across. So if you have a talent for
this type of work, then you can make a feasible income from
freelance writing. And even though the magazine market may be
shrinking, there is still some freelance work to be had, so
long as you are in it for the long haul.
The best way to achieve your
goal of making money from freelance writing is to write
everyday. The most infuriating thing anyone can do is start
boasting about working as a freelance writer without actually
doing any writing. You must have come across such people, they
tell long tales of work that they are chasing up, projects
that they are researching and yet when you ask what they have
actually written, the answer is zero. Nothing. No one can make
a living from nothing, so start writing today. Keep a
word-journal and make a record of the amount of words you are
writing each day. This simple task will open your eyes to what
freelance writing actually entails. And, by writing a little
everyday you will become better and your success rate will
improve.
To be a successful freelance
writer you also have to remember that as well as being a
freelance writer, you are also a sales person, a PR guru and a
marketing professional. Without these other elements, your
freelance writing career may never take off at all. You have
to know how to approach magazines and prospective web sites in
the correct manner so that they are interested in what you
have to show them. You have to make your writing appeal and
stick out from the millions of other submissions that are
received and this takes practice and a lot of research. A
career in freelance writing is not for the faint hearted, so
if you are not ready to push yourself you may find your
freelance writing career a very short one. But by steadily
working, submitting and applying yourself mercilessly to your
chosen craft, you will start to gain commissions and see your
work in print. And only then when someone asks you what you do
for a living, can you confidently say that you are a freelance
writer.
Copyright © 2005 Zoe Lea
Zoe Lea is owner of UK-based
Lea Writing Services, and writes articles, Web content,
features, sales copy and more. Her articles and literary short
stories have been internationally published and she currently
advises people on how to break into the world of freelance
writing, having done the job herself for a number of years.
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