Many people would love to be a freelance writer. It could mean being your own boss, or you might want to make a large income. As exciting as it sounds, it’s important to understand that it’s not that easy. It takes a lot of hard work and you aren’t guaranteed success. If you want to begin a successful freelance writing career, hear are some pointers for getting started. Decide what you write well. Find your edge. If you are an expert in an area such as business, travel, teaching, or computers, you can work in that area. It’s easier to write what you know and you will have more knowledge in your subject and should do a better job as well. If you don’t know what you should write about, try writing fiction, such as short stories and poetry, or search through an issue of writer’s market and find a newspaper or magazine that you think you could contribute to. Think about what you are familiar with and look at different writing pieces you have finished before. If you have a area you want to write about but you don’t know much about, read up on it and learn what you can so that you can write about it. If you are really interested in a subject, you should enjoy researching it. Write as often as you can. The only way to get better at writing is by practicing. In addition to practicing, you want to get as much of your writing out there as possible. Don’t just write a few pieces, send them out, and think you are done. You don’t want to just write two or three articles, mail them out to a magazine, and wait. Once you finish one article, write your next one. You want to get your name out there. Submit every good article. If you’ve spent hours on a piece and you hate it, don’t give up on it. Work on it some more until it is to your liking. Chances are, if you spent that much time on it and can finally get it right, it’s probably good. If you’ve spent 5 times as many hours as you had planned and you still don’t like it, then maybe you can give up. You do have to remember to submit your best. Still, don’t be too hard on yourself. Put it aside and look at it days, weeks, or months later. Maybe by then you can look at it differently and make something of it. Build a portfolio. Just like an artist has an art portfolio, you should have a writing portfolio. A lot of times, a publisher will need to see some examples of stories or articles you’ve previously had published. Keep your work organized so that you can easily send out examples. Keep track of everything you’ve done with your freelance career and think of each as one step closer to succeeding. Don’t give up unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you’ve been writing for 6 months, had several rejections, and only 1 or 2 published pieces, this doesn’t mean you should stop is not necessarily a sign of giving up. A slow start is the reason why you keep another job until you are established. But, if you have been writing nonstop for 5, 10, or more years, have never had a piece published, and have been told you are a bad writer, maybe it’s time you end your freelance writing career. If you love to write and believe you are an amazing writer, this hopefully won’t happen to you. Constantly look through your work and find out ways to write better, and success will come in time.
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