Many people have a difficult time believing that they can get paid to write. Of course, getting paid to write means something different to everybody. When I started as a freelance writer my goal was to earn a couple thousand dollars per month. Over time this changed quite a bit, and now my freelance writing income is considerably higher.
If you want to get paid to write, there is one thing that you must first do: realize that this is a possibility. When you compare a freelance writing career to a more traditional office job it is obvious that there are quite a few differences. If you are not careful about your way of thinking and are easily swayed by others, you may never chase the dream of becoming a freelance writer. Simply put, there are a lot of roadblocks standing in the way between wanting to make money writing and actually doing so.
While you will be asking yourself “can I get paid to write†others will be saying “can you really get paid to do nothing more than write?†As you can see, you not only have to answer to yourself but there will also be others who want to talk about your career move as well. My advice in this area is simple: explain your situation, as well as the freelance writing industry, to anybody who asks or questions your decision. Many people think that becoming a freelance writer is a bad idea because they do not really understand what it entails. Believe it or not, many think that freelance writing is nothing more than writing books and feature articles for magazines. This is definitely a part of the career, but far from being the end all. If you explain what freelance writing is all about, including the opportunities available from a project and pay point of view, it is safe to say that you will open some eyes.
There is no denying that you can get paid to write. Even if you are struggling with this question internally and others are questioning your decision, you should always remember that this goal is attainable. It may take you one month to reach your first income goal, or maybe it will take one year. But one thing is for sure: if you stick with your freelance writing career and do not let yourself or anybody else talk you out of this choice, success will come your way soon enough.Â
I receive a lot of emails asking what topics the majority of my freelance writing projects cover. I assume that many people think that some subjects pay better than others. While this may be true in some cases, you should not get stuck in this train of thought for too long. If you only take on projects that pay a lot, you are going to find out soon enough that you are bored with the content that is staring you in the face. I find it much easier to enjoy my job if I am making a decent wage writing about topics that I enjoy.
At this time, I am working on projects based around a wide variety of topics. Some of them include: insurance, real estate, sports, gambling, health care, and software among many others. Do I enjoy writing about every one of these topics? I sure do! Although some of them are more exciting than others, they are all subjects that are of great interest to me. Over the years I have found that writing on subjects I enjoy makes it easier to complete a project while also learning a lot at the same time. By learning from every freelance writing project that you complete it will make your job much easier in the future as you ponder and accept new jobs.
The bottom line is simple: although money is important to a freelance writer, you do not want to chase projects that you perceive as high paying if they are not of interest to you. Believe it or not, every topic, no matter what it is, can be turned into a high paying project. I have worked for large companies with thousands of employees that paid in excess of $.50 per word. At the same time, I have worked with smaller firms in the same industry that paid just as much or more. In most cases, it does not matter what industry you are working in but the company or publication that you are working for.
All in all, concentrate more on topics that interest you and less on those that you feel will pay the most money. Remember, there are well paying clients within every industry. It is your job as a freelance writer to find them and then break in where possible.
If you are interested in writing feature articles, you will need to become skilled in the art of writing query letters. When it comes down to it, a query letter is what you will use to get in touch with editors and hopefully land yourself a project. That being said, writing a query letter is not always easy; especially if you are new to the freelance writing industry. When I got my start I spent hours on end trying to put together the perfect query letter. Luckily, once you write a few of these you will settle into a groove and in turn find it easier in the future.
Here are five tips for writing a killer query letter:
1. Make sure that there are not mistakes of any kind in your query letter. This includes both spelling and grammar related errors. If you cannot put together a quality query letter how can you expect an editor to trust you with a feature article? It is very important to proofread a query letter several times before forwarding it to an editor.
2. In most cases, you will be best served writing your query letter before you write the actual article. Many new freelance writers are under the impression that the majority of their inquiries will result in a project. Unfortunately, this is far from being true. You will find out soon enough that most query letters end up being rejected. Of course, this should not stop you from sending more and more as you find the time. By holding off on the article before you have an actual job offer, you will be able to save yourself a lot of time. And as a freelance writer, this is quite important to say the least.
3. Make your query letter as interesting as possible. Remember, many editors receive hundreds of letters each month. If yours is not interesting and to the point, the editor may toss it in the junk pile before they read what you have to say. You should include detailed information on your article idea, as well as some background details on yourself.
4. Find the right editor. The best way to do this is by using Writer’s Market. If you do not send your query letter to the right editor it may never get to the person in charge. By using Writer’s Market you can be rest assured that your query letter will get into the hands of the hiring editor 99 percent of the time.
5. Where can I find publications that accept freelance writers? As noted many times before on this blog, you should either purchase a copy of Writer’s Market or subscribe online. By doing this, you will have access to thousands of publications and editors who accept queries.
These five tips should help you to compose the perfect query letter. From there, all you have to do is forward your letter to the appropriate editor and wait for a response.
