The first positive aspect of freelancing is the freelance writing jobs that are available to you. This is one career that you can have where you are not doing the same work every day, a situation that can lead to monotony and boredom. Instead, you could spend one day writing about various cancer cures, the next day writing about how to get rid of man boobs, and the day after that writing about places to stay in some exotic country. You are free to chose your assignments by topic or by style. When we talk about style, we are referring to articles for the web or print, journals, brochures, pamphlets, sales letters, advertisements, speeches, greeting cards, thank you notes, etc. — the list is endless.
Freelance writing jobs also come in a variety of sizes and commitments. As a freelance writer, you have the freedom to decide how much work you want to do, whether it's writing that requires a lot of research, writing about something that you already have knowledge of, or writing something that doesn't require anything more then a sense of humor. There can be short-term writing projects, such as writing an article for a client in two days (and then you are done), or projects that are more long term — say, for a few months or even a year.
The next pro about freelance writing jobs is that you get to decide what you are paid for a given job. Whereas a person who works for a company is typically paid by the hour regardless of the job, as a freelance writer, you set the price. There are two ways that most freelance writers go about deciding on a price to quote a potential client: You can charge by the word or by the project. When trying to figure out what price to charge, there are a few things you must consider: the time it will take you to do the research, the time it will take you to write the piece, and the time frame your client needs it in. The key here is to think about your time.
Freelance writers are their own boss. You get to set the hours that you want to work, and you also get to decide how much work you want to do. Maybe you only want to work two hours a day, five days a week; it's important, then, that you know how much work you can get done in those 10 hours before you start taking on projects.
Along with the aforementioned pros, there are also some cons. For one thing, freelance writers are responsible for finding their own freelance writing jobs. This means that you have to put in the time to market yourself as a writer, know what your specialty or niche is going to be, and get out there and sell your talents to prospective clients. Knowing your market is going to help you as you try to find work. The writing market is as endless as your imagination and initiative. We are going to cover the different types of freelance writing jobs shortly.
Furthermore, while we mentioned that you get to set your own pay for projects, you are also responsible for collecting that money from your clients. It is imperative that you set the payment agreement up before you take a job. If you have never dealt with a client before, you may consider asking that they pay half of the price for the job upfront and the remainder within a specified time after the job's completion. You also have to decide how you will be paid, whether through PayPal, direct deposit, cash, check, money order, or credit card.
Where do you look for freelance writing jobs? First, you have to know the market you want to work in — i.e., what type of writing you want to do and who you want to write for. The best recommendation is to pick at least two. Say, for example, that you want to write speeches for corporate CEOs; you may also want to write articles or blog posts for a website as a secondary option. As noted above, the market for freelance writing jobs is as endless as your imagination. Here is just a sampling of the various markets:
- Newspaper articles, magazine articles, articles for websites
- Brochures
- Speeches
- Fundraising material
- Sales letters/copywriting
- Blogs
- Emails
- Correspondence letters for various occasions
- Resumes
- Research papers (academic and professional)
- Greeting cards
- Thank you notes
- Invitations
