OK, so granted I had some things on my side before I entered freelance writing full time, that not everyone has, mainly; a BA in English and two years of editing/writing experience...I am convinced that these greatly helped me, but there were other things too, that I learned from trial and error and experience, and anyone can do these:
1) Apply for gigs daily - I found what I consider the two best, most updated sites on the web for freelance writing jobs:
http://freelancewritinggigs.com/ (site is currently down...updating servers, but is a really GREAT site, def. check it out!)
http://www.online-writing-jobs.com/
I checked these everyday and applied to the best prospects for me
2. Specialize - I kept finding all these crummy, low paying gigs that wanted "general" content...no one should work for 5$ an article! Living wages are the only acceptable wages in my book. What I found was gigs pay higher for specialized writing...I specialize in business publications - mainly sales and marketing - as I worked as a successful saleswoman for years in corporate America. I have a client paying me $75 per 300 word article for sales writing...versus an offer I briefly considered for $10 per 500 word highly researched general SEO content article...no thank you.
3. Apply to only the best job prospects, but WOW the ones you apply to - I was sooooo eager to land gigs when I first started and would apply to 20 or more a day with a quick generic email...I barely even made sure the gig was a quality one. When I started discerning which gigs I was best qualified for and paid well I saw much better results. I would apply to much fewer jobs, but do a much better job at applying...custom cover letters and all...the result, more responses from people I actually wanted to work with...quality over quantity!
4. Compete - Over half of the clients I have now asked me to write a trial article or edit a page of their manuscript free of charge...which is not unreasonable, but lets face it working for free sucks! However, to get some of the best gigs it's necessary. My thinking was this - if I am gonna write or edit for free I am going to do a doggone great - give the other fella heck - type job on it, so I land the gig. If you're going to put in the effort, go in full force and get the job, you'd be surprised at how many writers dont put that much effort into trial work.
And I did things we as writers (esp. us writer moms) already know we shoud do:
- let rejection roll off my back
- Do not settle for less than you're worth
- learn to work harder and smarter than you ever have before
- keep trying, never give in or give up
- Network
- Be organized and professional
- Only miss deadlines in extreme circumstances
...And that is how I got more work than I can handle in a few weeks time. I am not claiming it will work for everyone or even anyone but me.. but it did work for me...and if it helps another mama spend more time with her kiddos I will be very happy!
Happy Writing!
Jessica
No comments:
Post a Comment