How did you get started as a full-time #freelance #writer?

Full time and freelance generally don’t go together. Over my career, I have freelanced on a full-time basis (on a contract, for example), but mostly it is a part-time job.

Most freelance writers juggle several contracts/gigs at a time, spend a good deal of time trying to drum up future work and network network network.

I first started as a writer by approaching a small community newspaper with an idea for a “column” about astronomy. My proposal was accepted.

After a short period of time, the owner asked me to be a reporter for the newspaper. Several months later, the editor of a nearby daily newspaper asked me if I would work for them. I got the job based on my writing skills.

The BEST way to get work as a writer is through your actual work. Editors need good writers if the publications they work for are to succeed.

How do you know if a writer is good? By reading his/her work. Period. Education, experience, resumes are secondary to what the writer is actually capable of producing.

Beyond the ability to write good copy, a writer must also be strict with meeting deadlines and providing copy that meets a client’s guidelines and requirements, in terms of tone, voice and style.