Roughly a year ago I posted something under this same title because I had people asking me for freelance tips and advice and I figured a single post would be easier than repeating myself. After a month or so I deleted said post because I’d been politely informed more than once that some of the links didn’t work or the companies I mentioned weren’t taking applications anymore, or no longer paid, or whatever, and deleting the post was less work than going through and verifying/correcting every link.
But in the past few weeks, I’ve again had several people coming to me for freelance advice, and I again don’t feel like repeating myself. So this is a somewhat updated version of the old post from a year ago, with the same title, but without all those pesky links I’ll feel compelled to continue updating. And a caveat: these tips mostly only apply to U.S. freelancers, coz that’s where I live, and I don’t have time to hunt down laws and resources in every country in the world.
Here’re a few initial tips:
Learn to use google. Google is your friend. Google will help you. If you don’t understand something or don’t know it, for fuck’s sake google it and learn. You’re supposed to be a freelance writer, and freelance writers research. Never ask a present or potential client a question you could’ve answered yourself with a 15-second google search. They will seriously doubt your ability to produce quality work for them.
Learn to edit and proofread. Most websites that publish freelance content use AP style. Get an AP style guide and learn that shit. Write in active voice. Anything you send to a client, or a pitch or query to a potential client, should be edited and proofread at least twice. If you just said “but that’s the editor’s job,” you’re in the wrong line of work.
Join the Freelancers Union. It’s free, so you really have no reason not to join, but hundreds of reasons you should. Freelancers Union offers low-cost medical and dental insurance, retirement plans, contract forms, job listings, and tons of information, advice, and resources.
Hustle. Despite what you may have been led to believe, freelancing is not easy. Working a minimum-wage job in the service industry is easy: your job responsibilities are (mostly) known and (mostly) simple to complete. Freelancing means you’re your own boss, and you’re only as good as your next gig. If you don’t have a “next gig” (or ten) lined up before your present one dries up (and you never know when that might happen), you’re not eating. Plan to set aside time every day to actively hunt for other potential sources of income — and follow through. This is where the title comes from: you need a lot of different eggs (clients) in your freelance basket — maybe even more than one basket — to make freelancing work.
Freelancing is a gig-based job. Even if you find yourself in a (relatively) stable relationship with a steady content provider, you still need to constantly seek new gigs. This means you have to grow proverbial balls of steel and learn how to be comfortable telling people you don’t know (typically via email) how amazingly skilled and talented you are and how you’d be the perfect person to write 20 200-word blog posts on the price of tea in China for $100.
To obtain legitimate freelance gigs, you need the following:
A writing resumé. This highlights your accomplishments and experience as a writer (assuming you have any). If you don’t actually have anything to fill that page, embellish where you can. Contact family friends or local businesses and see if they have any copywriting needs. For example, if you have a friend who recently started an Etsy page to sell the cute little animals she crochets, offer to write descriptions for them. She doesn’t have to pay you (although maybe she could give you a free crochet animal for your efforts) — you’re just looking to pad your resumé so potential clients can see examples of your work.
Education. Experience can make up for education, but generally speaking you’re more likely to get legitimate freelance gigs if you have a college degree (or are working towards one) that involves a lot of writing. It doesn’t have to be English. At present (and probably pretty much always), tech writers are in high demand — so if you have education or experience in a tech-related field, you can definitely capitalize off of that (although you’ll still have to be able to prove you can write).
Expertise. Is there something you happen to know a lot about that isn’t necessarily listed on a traditional resumé? Put it on your writing resumé. Include literally everything you’ve ever been remotely good at, and think how that might translate into a broader category. Remember, this is the internet we’re talking about — there’s a need for content on every subject that exists.
Relevant writing samples. Some clients ask for their own on-the-spot samples, to see how you’ll do with a topic or prompt of their choosing. But all potential clients want to see your work. Generally speaking, they want to see work that was approved and published by a third party — meaning even if you’ve written 5,000 Tumblr posts, they’re probably not going to count as “writing samples.” This is also where the “copywriting for your friend with an Etsy account” comes into play. If you know somebody who has a website for their business and you know anything at all about their business, offer to write some informational articles for their website. Google “SEO” and learn how to write copy that will pull potential customers onto their site.
A portfolio. There are several online portfolio sites where you can set up accounts for free or nearly free (google “freelance writer portfolio sites”). You can use these sites to collect all your writing in a portfolio, and also find samples relevant to the gig you’re trying to land. All the ones I’ve seen also enable you to upload a PDF of a piece of writing if it’s not available online.
Social media. Sharing articles across social media has become a driving force for many websites, and most of them require their writers to share their writing across different social media accounts, so obtain social media accounts and use them for something. Your web-based following (if you have one) can help you land gigs, especially if a site is new. At a minimum, you need Facebook and Twitter. If you have a personal Facebook and don’t want to use that for your freelance work, set up a fan page for yourself as a writer. LinkedIn is also good and allows all those people you write things for to endorse your skills and write testimonials about your work.
The bottom line here is that even once you’ve decided “hey, I’d like to write freelance for a living,” you’ve still got a lot of work to do before you can get to that point. On average, it takes about two years for new freelancers to have enough clients generating enough income for them to sustain themselves. “Don’t quit your day job” means don’t drop that guaranteed income until you get to the point where you’re turning down work that would earn you more money than you’re paid to punch that clock.
If you’ve read this far and you’re still thinking you want to do this thing, here’s a few caveats, warnings, and assorted advice-type shit you should at least file away in your “word to the wise” file:
When you freelance, you’re an independent contractor. This means taxes aren’t withheld for you. You won’t get a W-2; you’ll get a 1099. You’re responsible for paying all of your own taxes because you’re self-employed. This means you own your own business. Even if you don’t get a 1099, you’re still responsible for reporting that income and paying taxes on it. Generally speaking, plan ahead by assuming your actual income is roughly two-thirds whatever rate you’re being paid, and put that other third aside for taxes. This also means you can deduct reasonable business expenses on your tax return, including everything from office supplies you use, a portion of your costs for internet, etc. Freelancers Union has a lot of good tax resources as well as many other websites.
Plan on working hard. Don’t attempt to divide your pay into time increments — you aren’t being paid by the hour and you’ll find it demoralizing. At the same time, do evaluate time investment on assignments. If someone has a project you estimate will take 4 hours for you to complete and they’re only willing to pay $10, let them pay some other hack. However long you estimate it will take you to complete something, multiply that by 1.5 and that’s probably closer to how long it will actually take.
Sites like oDesk and eLance are chock full of people who evidently have little value for the work and skill of writers, but they want two dozen 1,000-word blog posts written in prose that would make Stephen King weep — and only have a $100 budget for the project. Don’t waste your time. Clients with pie-in-the-sky expectations won’t be satisfied with the results, even if you produce copy worth 10 times what they’re paying you. It’s not worth it. If you undervalue your work all you do is screw yourself.
You’ll still get burned. You’ll write shit and not get paid for it. Do your due diligence on any potential client, but rest assured that no matter how thoroughly you’ve vetted them, you’ll still probably get fucked by somebody somewhere down the line. I know people who’ve gotten screwed out of freelance pay by major mass media companies. That’s freelance. And also life, if you think about it. Move on.
Make sure you know up front what’s expected of you before you sign on with a company — not fulfilling their requirements can mean you don’t get paid, and you have no recourse if you didn’t deliver under the contract. Some sites may require you to “socialize” the content you write, for example, by sharing it on different social media sites within a set period of time after publication. Some have minimum quotas you’re expected to produce per week or you’ll get dropped. Make sure you know these things before you sign the proverbial dotted line.
Don’t sign up for sites that charge a fee for whatever shit they offer, or have a free version accompanied by some “premium” level with a fee. The free version will be absolute shite and you’ll get nothing from it. They’ll tease you with vague listings that seem promising but in the end or nothing. Never pay anyone to find you work.
The goal of freelancing is to get paid. If a client doesn’t tell you up front how you’ll be paid and when, be wary. The best and most reliable web content providers pay weekly or monthly via PayPal (so have a PayPal account). For fuck’s sake, don’t take a gig from somebody who says they’ll mail you a check (unless you know them personally, of course). You’ll never see it.
Also avoid sites that claim freelance writing is “easy money” or otherwise promise you “easy money” — there’s no such thing. The best way to void these sites is to not google “work from home.” Some of these sites are selling some sort of “system” (read: scam), others are pyramid schemes (read: scams), and most of them are just full of shit — but they’re all scams and a waste of your time. If a site mentions the word “pajamas” anywhere on its “write for us” page, it probably falls into this category.
Aim for flat-fee or per-word projects; eschew revenue share. The internet is loaded with rev-share opportunities. These sites will wax triumphant about average page views, and are usually loaded with “testimonials” from “writers” who are making “steady streams” of “passive income” from their work. However, unless you promote your own work, you’ll never get more than pennies. Revenue share clients want free marketing and publicity for their sites, and they get it. It’s fairly clever if you think about it.
Be honest. If you don’t have a lot of experience, say so — you can absolutely puff up that killer copywriting you did for your friend’s Etsy site, but don’t lie. Even if you’ve been writing freelance for a year, continue to tell people you’re “just starting out” — they’ll appreciate what you’ve produced as a beginner. Feel free to do work for people for free in the beginning, just to build your resumé/portfolio — you don’t have to tell potential clients what another client paid you. But don’t make shit up — they’ll probably find out, and then you’ll look like an ass.
Don’t run around telling people you’re a “freelance writer” if you don’t have anyone paying you to write and have never had such. Many people hear “freelancer” and think “unemployed” and this is why. If you were actually a freelance writer you probably wouldn’t have either the time or the inclination to run around bragging about it.
Keep in mind that “being your own boss” sounds nicer than it really is. Think about the most demanding boss you’ve ever had and be that boss. You also have to be boss to family and friends — they think because you’re “working from home” means they can bug you anytime. Tell them no. You won’t get any work done if people don’t leave you alone during work hours.
Diversify your content. You may have a niche but if you write about anything long enough you’ll not only get bored of it but risk repeating content and essentially plagiarizing yourself (which means plagiarizing another client, since they’ll likely own whatever content you submit that they publish).
Don’t get me wrong — freelance writing provides plenty of awards and benefits and generally good things. I wouldn’t do it if that weren’t true. You have the opportunity to get your name out there as a writer and build your portfolio. You build a network of writing references. You (hopefully, occasionally) get feedback from editors that enables you to hone your craft. You gain hands-on practice in writing efficiently and under deadline. You learn a lot of shit about a wide variety of topics so after awhile you can totally be a ringer on a bar trivia team and get free beer or something. And yes, the rumors are true — you don’t have to wear pants to work.
© 2014 by Jennifer R.R. Mueller