Being a freelance writer has its ups and its downs. Those that partake in freelance writing find themselves able to be more flexible with how and when they work, this is because a lot of the time they choose their own working hours, and also choose what they do. This can be a great advantage as you work to a beat that is appropriate for your lifestyle and what you are doing. It is also an enticing career choice as you can be in charge of yourself, you don’t have anyone bossing you around, you completely rely on your own work ethic to pull you through. This is great experience and enables you to become an independent worker that doesn’t have to be told what to do all of the time. However, it all sounds pretty easy, but people that try a career in freelancing often struggle to make ends meet, or to find jobs and projects that they really want to get involved in. This is common, after all it’s not your everyday 9-5 job, it’s always going to have some teething issues when you start. We have a few tips to help you through those shaky periods where you’re not sure about what to do. It happens to everyone, and you can push through to become an amazing freelance worker.
Try everything
When you are a freelance writer you need to understand that you could have a particular set of skills that fit the bill of a varied range of occupations. You might start thinking that you can only write bids for building companies, and not realise that you actually also have a knack for writing birthday messages for a card company. But you won’t know this sort of information about yourself and your style unless you try, and you push yourself into places that you might not be the most comfortable. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t go to well, you can always let the employer know that you are struggling with something. But pushing yourself to try every opportunity that comes lets you realise things about your style of writing that you didn’t know before. Another string to add to your bow is always a good thing, so get out their and be positive to potential employers about what you can achieve. Write some examples in a myriad of styles and let them know that you are open for writing anything, you won’t regret it!
Try freelancing sites
A lot of freelances often find it hard to actually source jobs that they can do. You can feel a bit like you’re adrift at sea because you have no steady method of sourcing jobs and you have to do it all yourself. This is a common feeling, so there is no need to worry. What you need to do is take advantage of the multitude of freelancing websites that are out there for you to use. There are sites that are set up to help freelancers into certain projects and jobs, these sites also handle things like contracts and terms of payment as well. So if you are starting as a freelancer and you’re not sure about the intricacies of payment and how you go about forming a contract, you can use a site that can show you! One of the sites you can find writing jobs for beginners – freelancewriting.biz has loads of jobs listed on its homepage. All you really have to do is scroll through until you find a job that you think suits your skills, then you apply for it and you will be guided through the rest of the process by the website itself. After a while you can try and move off of these sites and handle things yourself, but don’t feel like you need to do anything like that too fast, get some experience first and then worry about being completely independent.
Freelance writing can be an amazing, emancipating experience for anyone who is tired of the drudgery of a normal office job. But, it might all seem like free time and enjoyment, but the freelancers reading this will know that it’s nothing like that. You have to construct everything yourself, and you need an incredible amount of determination to be able to make a good go of it. But, if you throw yourself at every opportunity your given with determination, and if you familiarise yourself with freelance sites that can help you in your hunt for jobs, you’ll do great!