The 3 Ways To Boost Your Chances at Finding Freelance Work

[David Eide]

Do you know the three ways to boost your chances at freelance writing? MarketWatch's Marshall Loeb says he does.

The points he raises all have their place. I believe the most effective thing you can do is research the marketplace and see where your strengths can be used by editors and target those markets with excellent query and cover letters. If you do this enough times editors start to trust you and will become valuable contacts in your freelance life.

He mentions ads on the web and job auction places like elance.com which are legitimate places to find jobs. The problem is that they are so public that writers will underbid to win the contract and so depress the rates that freelancers need to keep high in order to benefit in an open market. The other problem with auctions is that they are usually one trick ponies so there is little residual benefit like referrals.

Freelance writers may want to comment on their experience in these three modes.

[Hollee Chadwick-Spicer]

Steve - underbidding is a huge problem with the public job boards. What has worked best for me in being granted the freelance job is putting together an excellent portfolio, charging fair market rates, and always providing references.
Not all low bidders can do this.
The query and cover letters are worth their weight . . .well, more than their weight in the virtual world . . . in gold.

[Helen Vandepeer]

I'm just considering the freelance market option. I have been writing more for me for fun but I find I am in need of cash again so I am thinking along these lines. Trouble is like everything else, there are no easy ways to go. If it seems too easy it probably is. So that's where I am now. Hesitant

[Leslie]

I'm also at the beginning of things in trying to get a freelance writing career started. I've been researching and reading all I can about the markets. At one time I thought about copywriting, even got into one of the copywrting courses I spent $$ after I left my library manager job. But, somehow it just didn't fit me. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance. Now, I'm looking more into other things like magazines, web, fiction, etc. There seems to be so much yet it doesn't seem to fall into a pattern of how and what, or maybe I've just confused myself. Oh sure, lots of info, but the realities get me bogged down. I really need to WRITE and quit doing all this research, I suppose.

[David Eide]

The best thing you can do Leslie is define the type of writer you want to become. Do that first, write a list of subjects you feel decent about writing about. Keep to three or four things at first and once those are defined then you can research the markets for those subjects. Remember that writing is one thing but writing professionally means developing relationships as in any business. So, give editors what they want and more and make your presentations to them very professional. And persist because it takes time to get some traction. The realities can be broken down into steps that you take on one by one. Go for it!

[Melissa Gonzalez]

I've noticed it's very hard to make it as a freelance writer, and apart from my limited experience and young age, underbidding is one of those reasons. Just two weeks ago a man contacted me about typing, editing, and formatting his short story (70+ pages) for $50. I was shocked that he would suggest that as my price.

The work I've done (usually about 3 pages of writing) has usually gotten me $100 or more, depending on the amount of work it requires. Needless to say, when I asked for more, he found someone who would do it for a lower price.

It was quite the bummer.

[Mary Anne Hahn]

Stay focused, and try not to get discouraged, Melissa--you really do have the right idea, and the right to charge a living wage. Eventually, you will land customers who will stay loyal to you at your rates.

[Leslie]

Thanks David, for the encouragement! I have been trying to narrow my subject matter. I appreciate the "broken down into steps" method you suggested. Sometimes, it all seems overwhelming if you don't, that's for sure!

[Katrina]

I've been doing a lot of research into the freelance writing business since I decided that this is what I want to do with my life. When it comes to searching for jobs, even with lists of job websites to check out, it's really hard to find jobs that are worthwhile. I've been on so many different websites, but most of them have the same jobs as all the others, or aren't updated frequently enough, so by the time I've gone through and applied for all the jobs I'm interested in there's nothing left for me to do but sit back and wait. Maybe this is lazyness on my part, because I do try and read up on articles to help improve my writing and business skills.

I don't know...does anyone else seem to find they have these same problems?

[David Eide]

The problems that freelancers have Katrina, including myself, is that the freelance writer is not an employee who simply applies for a job, waits for an interview and then is either hired or not. The freelance writer is a small business person who must hustle up business until that point where she has enough clients to get referrals, etc etc. It's not a matter of lazyness so much as it a need to change the attitude a bit and realize that business is more aggressive than being an employee. You always want to try and define what your writing goals are, what you are going to write, and then search every type of market that will buy that material. Yes, some advertise but many do not. Most consumer and trade magazines, for instance, are always looking for freelance writing but rarely advertise.

When I started freelance writing I got a few jobs from the classifieds and got hooked into that way of doing it and ended up working for non-profit hospitals, wharehouses, and computer companies because I did not learn or even know of the habits of freelance business.

I think you just have to think of it in this way: There is a very large market out there that wants excellent, interesting content for a variety of readers. You as the freelance writer are providing that content because you have writing talent, research and interviewing capability, and want to have the flexibility of the freelance life. You then have to take the responsibility to fit your writing to the market rather than the other way around. Once you get into that habit it becomes less frustrating.

Hope that helps a bit!

[Nathaniel]

I'm new to the freelance writing business, so new I haven't even started yet I'm just researching how to get started. I would like an opinion on sites like Academia-Research. Are they worth the effort and rate? That site pays $6-$20 per 250 word page and you are paid by the page. You do the research and write the paper for academic institutions and persons but do you get the credit or does someone else put their name on it? The rules and requirements are stringent but you get paid 3¢-18¢ per word (when you break down the 250 word per page rate), is that a fair rate? Are sites like this useful for building a portfolio?
I have a multitude of interests and various levels of knowledge in those interests. Should I choose one interest and focus on it, pursuing periodicals, newspaper and online writing outlets or be a jack of all topics, touching on topics that will generate the most revenue as well as ancillary topics? I'm starting a blog to post articles about current event items from an objective viewpoint to use as a base for a portfolio and reference in case a client wants a reference. Is this a good plan or a waste of time?
I'm essentially looking for an outline on how to start up, which paths are time wasters or dead ends and which are fruitful. The best ways to get noticed and how to avoid getting noticed in the wrong way. What's fair compensation for experience level and ability and where the scams are.
I look forward to learning from your experience.

[David Eide]

First of all I would check to see if Academia-Research is a term-paper mill that sells your work to students so they don't have to do it. I don't know if that's the case but there are a few places that do that. It would not be a credible clip to your portfolio.

3 cents- 18 cents is a very low rate of pay. It's a beginner's rate. You want to get to $1 -$2/word rate as quickly as possible.

Should I choose one interest and focus on it, pursuing periodicals, newspaper and online writing outlets or be a jack of all topics, touching on topics that will generate the most revenue as well as ancillary topics? I'm starting a blog to post articles about current event items from an objective viewpoint to use as a base for a portfolio and reference in case a client wants a reference. Is this a good plan or a waste of time?

This is the key element in developing a freelance stategy. Most writers are generalists and use their general knowledge to build up a portfolio but at some point in your career you need to focus on one or two interests and research the different media to find a variety of markets. You should use what you know simply to learn the nuts and bolts of a freelance business since the writing part is the "easiest" part if you are a natural-born writer or have passion for it. It's the business end that writers are confounded on. For instance, knowing how to write up an invoice, collecting on money owed to you, developing relations with editors, what your rights are and how those rights can be used to your advantage, researching markets, and on and on. Learn these things as you get your feet wet.

You have to remember too that just writing on topics will not get you too far, especially now when there is a glut of "topic writing" accessible on the net. You have to take topics, narrow the focus, and then apply an interesting angle of attack on some aspect of the topic and wring everything you can out of that angle of attack to make it interesting to editors.

There is no harm in collecting as many credits as you can as long as they are credible and they show knowledge and insight into the topics you want to pursue. It goes back to the idea of developing specific interests as soon as you can so you can gather credits useful to the market you want to sell to. An editor at a cat magazine will be more impressed with a sidebar you did for a cat newsletter than a long article on construction materials.

One big time-waster is simply to write the article and then submit it to a bunch of markets. Instead of doing that prepare a query letter after thinking through the article you're going to write, carefully research the market for possible buys for that article, then write a great cover letter to introduce yourself, briefly, to the editor, send the query, keep tabs on submissions, and have an idea of what to do with the idea if it gets rejected.

I would recommend three books to check out.

• Writing Freelance by Christine Adamec
• The ASJA Guide for Freelance Writers ed by Timothy Harper
• The Handbook of Magazine Article Writing edited by Michelle Ruberg

You're ahead of the game by putting these concerns at the front-end of your writing career. Have patience, don't get too excited with a few successes and don't get too down by rejection. Keep developing toward the better markets. And remember that writing for consumer publications or consumer websites is only one of many avenues for freelance writers.

[Kimberlee Leto]

Word to the wise, do not get involved with academic research or custom paper web sites who sell themselves to writers as doing the research for academics or master's students. It is a terrible way to be established as a freelance writer unless that is the ONLY segment of freelancing you want to do. It is lousy work, pay and sometimes not even worth paying the bills when you think about the morality of it all. You will find your work on the Internet being sold over and over with no right to it. Also it is considered illegal and considered plagiarism. Many higher learning institutions must change their course requirements in order for papers to be written by their students. Also a company like Academia Research is run by non-English speaking people who may have interests in non-American ways of life. This company also VERY rarely pays its writers because of its system of penalties and required rewrites. Don't get me wrong, I am all for providing a service for students to help them with editing their writing and enhancing their language skills because these students will pay big money for the service but I would make sure they cannot steal your writing, use PDF with protections or at least cite you as a co-writer and contributor. You can be very successful with this type of service, you just have to set clear guidelines for them.

If research is of interest to you for something to pay the bills and you have a business degree or marketing experience, I would put together a portfolio and web site but also look into your local consulting firms or local weekly magazines. I mean I found business in the most particular places, talking to people at the hairdresser or the other day in the waiting room at the doctor's. You just really have to define what work you want and run after it. I mean lawyers, mortgage brokers have to do it too. I would say much of my business in the beginning happened by word of mouth. With one customer will come others, it is just a matter of patience. I think the mistake I made was being very focused on the business analytical side of my writing because that's my niche and forgetting about my true love of fiction. That can be a hard thing to balance.

So I would give it great thought before moving forward with the academic stuff. It can prove to be regular work and help with bills while establishing other avenues of business but you also have to think about the moral implications and your time. Trust me many people would disagree with me and it would not bother them. If that is the case, I would suggest custompapers.com, out of all of them, they are the best as far as being reputable with pay and regular work as well as selling original work to every customer. It's not just a cut and paste outfit or paper mill, they want every piece to be original. So it is up to you if that is what you want to do for now. I think I have just about done it all, seen it all with what all kind of jobs the Internet provides writers and I hope my experiences both negative and positive can help other writers make educated and possibly better decisions than I did starting out. Thanks, Kimberlee