Freelance writers need to decide what they
want to get out of writing. It is important to have a plan to
keep their writing career on track. This is the best way to get
paid for writing and get published. Here are some areas for
freelance writers to consider.
Writers need to start by deciding how much
of their time is available for writing. This will depend on
their circumstances. Some people work or run a home full-time
and writing is a spare-time activity. Others are able to devote
all their time to writing. Once writers have decided how much
time is available for writing, it will be easier to decide how
to use that time.
Example: Joe has a full-time job
but wants to become a freelance writer. He decides that he can
spend two hours on writing every evening. He signs up with a
freelance work website, but he only bids for projects that he
can complete within 10 hours a week. Other projects will have to
wait until he can spend more time on writing.
Once writers have allocated an amount of
time for writing, it is important to stick to this. Writing time
should be put in the diary and should not be used for anything
else, such as housework or watching television. Writers should
be disciplined and should write during writing time. Every piece
of writing can make money for writers.
What Would You Like To Write About?
Everyone knows about something. Writers
who are doing other jobs will be able to write about issues
related to those jobs. Writers who are parents can write about
parenting issues. Of course, the most successful freelance
writers will write about anything they are assigned. However, it
is important for writers to have a goal or target area.
Example: Jill works part-time at a
hospital. She knows a lot about how hospitals are run and the
health care system. This gives Jill an area of expertise. Jill
has two children, so she can also write about parenting. Now
Jill has two subjects she can write about.
Writers need to think about the things
they do and have done that might provide ideas for articles and
series of articles. This will give them a niche in which they
can become expert. Expertise in an area will help writers to
make more money from articles.
Who Publishes Writing In Your Area of
Expertise?
This is where writers need to do some
research. For writers who work in an office, magazines delivered
to that office will usually be related to their field of work.
That will give some examples of places that might need articles.
Writers can also use directories such as Writer's Market
and Writers' and Artists' Yearbook to find publications
that need well written articles in their area of expertise.
Example: John knows a lot about
soccer. He plays in a team and follows Manchester United. This
is a natural area for John to write about. He uses subject
indexes as the back of the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook
to find two magazines that publish articles on soccer,
FourFourTwo and World Soccer. He then writes to the
editors of those magazines with his idea.
