Your Freelance Writing Career

It’s possible for work-at-home moms to earn at least some money writing on a freelance basis.

The pluses are obvious:

• Set your own hours
• It’s a career that can build into significant money
• You don’t need a degree or special schooling There are all sorts of ways to make money writing, including:

* Writing articles for the web (and I don’t mean those ads that offer to pay you 50 cents or less per 500 word article. (See links to job boards below in paid blog positions.)
* Writing for your local small newspaper. This is an excellent place to start. You simply call or drop by with a story idea or two and the chances are you’ll get an assignment “on spec.” If they like your work you’ll earn something between $5 and $25. You’ll also have created a writing credit that will be helpful when you approach other possible employers.
* Corporate writing. Corporate writing ranges from letters through the copy that goes with huge marketing campaigns. The best resource for this is Peter Bowerman’s book, the Well-Fed Writer (http://www.wellfedwriter.com/).
* Magazine article writing. Articles can pay from a penny a word to a dollar or more a word. Although there’s lots of information on the web, my favorite source for getting started writing for magazines is the book, Writer’s Market. It comes out in the fall each year and I suggest you get both the book and subscribe to the online service of the same name. The book explains exactly how to get started and provides hundreds and hundreds of market listings. The online service updates the market listings regularly.

• Ghostwriting. I ghostwrite non-fiction books for people and am well paid to do so. Of course I had to start out getting less pay and I’d had some magazine writing and newspaper writing experience so I knew I could write. Books are long and learning to interview your client in a way that lets you speak in their voice on paper can take a bit of time to learn. Probably the best way to learn this skill is ghostwriting articles for people.

• Paid blog positions. If you can write and write consistently you can make $5 or more a post on some blogs. Check out the job listings at www.aboutfreelancewriting.com, www.freelancewritinggigs.com, and allfreelancewriting.com/jobs. All three sites post freelance writing jobs and make a sincere effort to pre-sort them for you.

Ideas
One of the questions I get asked most often by moms who are thinking about starting to freelance write is where to get ideas. The ideas are easy. Almost anything you’re doing during the day can be the basis of a piece of writing you can get paid for. And I do mean almost anything. For example, if you’ve found a way to keep your child happy without setting her in front of the television, that’s worth an article. If you’ve found a way to reduce the amount of laundry you’re doing, that’s worth an article. The list of ideas is literally endless.

The trick is to take your idea and hone it so it becomes an interesting, helpful article tightly targeted for a particular publication. Master this art and you’re well on your way. Of course, freelance writing is not an easy career path. Not everyone can do it successfully, although if you talk easily the chances are you can learn to get words on paper in a way people find interesting. You do need a way with words, or a willingness to learn how to use language well. And some who find they can write well enough to get published regularly discover they don’t’ like doing it. That’s fine. Writing isn’t for everyone. The best thing would be to try it in a small way and see how it works for you. If it does, you can then go for the bigger, better paying assignments.

Anne Wayman is has been writing successfully for over 30 years. She is a respected ghostwriter and writing coach.