I receive a lot of emails everyday from people who want to make a career in freelance writing but do not know how and where to begin. Most of these people have a high paying job that gives them the creeps and they’d rather try and establish a name for themselves on the World Wide Web than be hidden amidst millions of other working people in the offline world. Maybe, it is the freedom from a binding corporate work culture that attracts them, like it attracted me a few years ago. Maybe, it is the creativity bug that drives them here.
It was also the satisfaction of being able to look at myself in the mirror after every working day and smile, rather than looking sullen and worn out, that made me foray into the world of writing.
So, this post is for all those people who were looking for concrete advice about making a mark in the world of freelance writing, but couldn’t find it elsewhere. Let’s begin!
1. Learn about freelance writing: Before you even begin the quest for glory, try and learn as much as you can about the journey. What is freelance writing? What separates it from other types of writing? What is expected of a freelance writer? If you expect to get paid, then what are the standard market rates? What are the rates for beginners? What are the pitfalls? There are hundreds of websites that can give you this information. And the best place to find those websites is Google, the grand daddy of all internet search engines.
2. Bookmark a few websites: There are going to be a few websites that you are gonna frequently visit as you learn more and more about freelance writing. And rather than going back to the search engine each time to find them, better bookmark them. You will save yourself a lot of time this way. Having it in my favorites list always seems to be easier. Besides, it keeps reminding me that I have a job to do. Some of the websites that you can begin with is getafreelancer.com, scriptlance.com, PayPal.com, rentacoder.com and elance.com. There are more, but these are the cream of the lot.
3. Get a professional email ID: By professional, I do not mean a paid email service. What I recommend is that you have an ID that looks professional. Something like freelancewriter@xyz.com or ghostwriter@ywf.com etc. Even a combination of your first and last name should suffice. ID’s like comekissme@123.com or cute_sweety@345.com are a strict no no. Remember, you are entering a professional working environment and not a dating chat room.
4. Begin as a ghostwriter: Before you begin publishing your own work or even attempting to do it, I recommend that you get a few ghostwriting gigs to gain the expertise and the confidence to begin. They aren’t easy to come by. And let me make it clear. BE PREPARED TO MEET FAILURE. But do not get depressed. Like Rocky Balboa once said, “It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how much you can take and keep moving ahead.” Consider it to be a part of the learning curve. It should only make you more determined to get the next job. There are a few places that you can start looking for ghostwriting jobs. I have mentioned them in point 2. But Getafreelancer.com & Scriptlance.com are my personal favorites. Social networking communities are a second. Twitter is super powerful.
5. Get a PayPal ID: Now that you are in the hunt, you better have a banker that you can rely on. PayPal.com can be that banker. It is a globally accepted and renowned payment service and registration is free. Most freelance websites require you to have a PayPal account before you can sign up. So this step should have been at number four.
6. Open all channels of communication: One of the basic requirements of a freelance writer is that he/she should be available for communication for at least 6 to 8 hours a day. There are numerous ways of doing this. Instant messengers are the best. Get a Google talk ID, an MSN ID or a Yahoo ID. A lot of international clients prefer Skype.
That’s all folks! I think I have covered almost all the steps that will allow you to make a START in the world of freelance writing. It took me a year and a half to learn all this. You learnt it in less than 3 minutes. 
In the next article, we will focus on preparing for the worst in the world of freelance. Cause as attractive and easy as it might appear externally, the world of freelance writing is far from easy. Till then, adios!
Image Courtesy Flickr: Enter the World, originally uploaded by kh2rac.
