Freelance Writer: How to Start

First of all, my apologies for writing this post quite late as I have promised. I have been busy looking for projects and finishing them. You see, I have this bizarre complications of being an "OC" that once I started with a project, I would finish it in a day or two. Anyway, one asked on how to start a freelance writer. Yeah, it is a very promising venture; earning while at home. And not to insult those other home-based "jobs", freelance writing is really a job.

Here is a step-by-step procedure to get your career as a freelance writer a start..

1. Recall your writing skills
This should be the first thing that an aspiring freelance writer should take into consideration especially if the last time you were into writing was during your essay final examination in college :-0. Remember, clients are into the quality of work that you can render to them. So how can you do this?

• Start writing! This is the only way to do this. Start with what you did when you were little, you can write about your day or anything in your thoughts in a piece of paper or in a notebook just to be back in sync with your writing.
  
• Create a blog. Since you will be dealing the online world then your writing must be available online. There are many free blogs like Blogger and Wordpress which are user-friendly. Then try to write a piece which is at least 300 words and increase this as fast as you can. When applying for jobs, most articles would run for 500 words and some would demand 3-5 articles each day!

2. Prepare your portfolio.

A portfolio has all your past work like articles. It is not enough to attach a word document of your article when applying for a writing job. As mentioned, there are many free blogs that you can use. Your blog can be your portfolio if you have articles in it or you really have a separate portfolio that potential clients can refer to. Like this blog can already be my portfolio for some clients. For my website, I have a menu for my portfolio, I have listed down my articles that has been published; my clients will just have to clink on the URL and viola! my article!

3. Get your Paypal account
Most Filipino writers cannot move on with their career as a freelance writer simply because they don't have a Paypal account. Paypal is still the most common payment method online though I use Payoneer often since they have higher exchange rates. For Paypal, you need to have a credit card or go to apply for an EON Cyber Account with UnionBank. It would take at most ten days to validate your Paypal account. While you still don't have Paypal, you can use your bank account or Gcash.


4. Look for clients

This is one of the most time-consuming part of this industry. Even if you already an established writer, just like any business you need to look for clients. You can either market your site or blog or look for them by yourself. For a start log on to freelance sites like Odesk or Getafreelancer. Some find it hard and long to land on their first assignment, but it is worth it. You can start carving your niche in these sites as a freelance writer.

Now, while waiting for your assignment from freelance sites, you can look for small scale writing jobs. Believe, the pay is very low but as I said, make this as an investment to enhance your skills and to learn about the world of freelance writing. There are some writers who need help from others to meet deadlines. You can visit pinoymoneytalk, Entre Pinoy Atbp. and even friendster!


After you land your first assignment, please do your best. Like any business, repeat client will make your business grow; on my experience, my first client with Odesk is still with me and she keeps bringing income to my wallet. So never let go of this opportunity!

Write and Earn!