How to Become a Freelance Writer

Hundreds of thousands of writing opportunities exist. The trick is to find the ones that pay. Start by writing for smaller, possibly non-paying publications. By writing articles for smaller publications, you will establish your credentials and build a portfolio. You need that portfolio for established publications to take you seriously and hire you. If you plan to write magazine and newspaper articles, don't quit your day job until you are making enough money to sustain your lifestyle. This means that you will do your writing in the early morning or in the evening or whenever you have a spare moment.

1. Submit a poem or story to a children's magazine such as Owl if you are a young person. If you are a teenager, join your school's yearbook committee and submit articles to the school newspaper. Regard this effort as good practice for your future freelance career. If you are a college or university student, craft strong, well-written essays for class. You can also offer your services at the writing lab, and write articles for the student newspaper, literary magazine, and alumni magazine.

2. Become active in the writing community. Subscribe to "The Writer". Join a freelance writers' association.

3. Visit the reference section of your local bookstore and buy a copy of "The Writer's Market". This will give you the know-how of writing in easy-to-digest tidbit. There are numerous exercises you can do to increase your abilities as an author- submit letters to the editor of your local newspaper, write articles for your church bulletin, Create a blog, even write articles for wikiHow.

4. Realize that when you feel that you are capable of writing professionally, think of something you'd like to write about, then send a query letter to the city/lifestyles/sports editor of your local newspaper asking if they are interested in publishing an article on the topic. Include the first paragraph of your article and an outline of the rest. Call in two weeks, if you don't get a reply. If you feel you're ready for the real deal and an honest paycheck, find publishers you'd like to write for, then read their guidelines.

5. Think of something you'd like to write about, then send a query letter to the editor of a pertinent major publication asking if they are interested in publishing an article on the topic. Include the first paragraph of your article and an outline of the rest. Call in four to six weeks if you don't get a reply.

6. Write your article. Don't conform exactly to the mold of others. Be yourself, and soon your work will turn into a flower of brilliance and uniqueness.

7. Or, you can find freelance writing jobs at websites like:
* The Freelance Nation
* Get A Freelancer
* Elance
* Guru
* Writerlance
* Freelance Writing

8. Make your profile

9. Search projects

10. Place bids

11. Impress buyers by your profile and portfolio and get selected

12. Build your reputation: let clients testify about their good experiences with your work. They can write comments on your website or you can have them vote for you at Trust-index

How to Write Articles-10 Steps to Writing a Great Article

How to Write Articles
10 Steps to Writing a Great Article

1. Determine your topic. Exactly what are you going to write about? Brainstorm for ideas if you have to. When writing for wikiHow, you may even wish to refer to requested topics for ideas.

2. Figure out who your audience is. Are you writing for a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced audience? For example, if you are writing an article about "Creating PowerPoint Slides," are your readers new to PowerPoint, or business people looking for advanced tips?

3. Do your research. How well do you know the topic? Is it something you can write easily about with little or no preparation, or do you need more information from experts in the field?

4. Decide on the length of the article. Teachers, magazines, and newspapers will often give you a limit. wikiHow articles, on the other hand, are often "as long as they need to be and no longer."

5. Compile a list of possible sources for you to consult. This can include documents, internet research and people to talk to.

6. Write either an outline or a summary of your article. This will help bring the concept of the article into sharper focus.

7. Write the rough draft of the article as follows:
* Tell your readers what you are going to tell them. This is your introduction. For example:

o This article explains how to create a PowerPoint slide presentation. It covers the following information: choosing a theme, creating a title slide, and creating topic slides.
o The information in this article is written for a beginner. The author assumes that you have never used PowerPoint.

* Tell your readers what you promised to tell them. In this section you tell them how to choose a theme, create a title slide, and how to create topic slides.

* Tell your readers what you just told them. For example:
o This article taught you how to create a PowerPoint slide presentation. You learned how to choose a template, how to create a title slide, and how to create topic slides.

8. Check over your piece for presentation.
* Check for faulty information. Have you double-checked your facts?
* Delete any unnecessary or contradictory information. The only time you should have information that doesn't support your topic is if you're doing a "point-counterpoint" piece.
* Eliminate anything that is just taking up space. Don't fill your work with fluff. If you need to do more research, go ahead and do it.
* Check for grammar and spelling errors.
* Read it aloud to yourself to make sure the text flows smoothly.

9. Rewrite the article as often as it takes.

10. Turn in your completed article.