Guest Post: Four Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Freelancing

Hi everyone! Today I'm welcoming writer Kate Wilson to my blog. She has shared a piece she wrote on freelance writing. If you have followed my blog, you know how much I recommend freelance writing to make a supplemental income.

I'd like to address the writers, designers, and entrepreneurs out there who're considering giving up their day job for a career as a freelancer.

Starting out as a freelancer sounds like a great gig, especially when you're daydreaming about it at a typical 8-5 desk job. But I can tell you from experience that the realities of freelancing are much more nuanced and far less glamorous than whatever you might be dreaming up while typing up a fresh batch of reports for the office. Some bloggers make freelancing out to be the best thing since sliced bread—and while it is a great vocation, there are some aspects of the job that aren't for everyone.

That's not to say that I want to discourage your from starting out on your own as a freelancer, far from it. I just want to equip you, dear reader, with the realities of a life change as drastic as working for yourself. So without further ado, I'd like to share with you four tidbits of advice that I wish I had known before I started out as a freelancer myself. Enjoy, and good luck to all those who do set out on their own!

Money will be tight for a while

I saved about three months' worth of salary before quitting my day job to become a freelancer. I had no illusions about the fact that it would take me quite some time before I could hope to earn a sustainable income, so I had to play it as safe as possible.

Let me tell you this: three months' worth of salary from a decent desk job will only stretch so far when money's tight and projects are few and far between. I was paying for upkeep on my own supplies and appliances, lunches with potential clients, travel expenses, etc. While there's no magic number to save before setting out on your own, one thing is for sure: if you have some money saved, chances are that it's not enough. In other words, save as much money as you can and then some before you quit your job!

Don’t be choosey about clients, even those that are difficult to work with

There is no guaranteed work as a freelancer; you're only as financially stable as the number of clients and projects you have in your docket. That means that you really have to be proactive about finding new sources for work and keeping those that you already have happy and content with your work. Sometimes you'll come across clients that seem like a godsend, ones that can articulate what they want and how they want it done, whether it’s a batch of writing or a web design. These clients are to be cherished.

Many more clients (in my experience) aren’t as skilled at articulating what they want exactly from freelancers. They'll sketch a rough idea of how they want a project to turn out, and it's up to the freelancer to meet those expectations and try to produce content that will please them. Typically this process involves a lot of back-and-forth between the client and the freelancer, including several critiques and maybe some snarky emails. But this is all familiar territory for freelancers: clients are clients, money is money, even if it comes from employers that aren't exactly pleasant to work with.

Get an agreement in writing from a client before working on a project

Which brings me to the subject of making money. This should go without saying, but it's absolutely critical that freelancers get paid for all the work they do for a client. If you're uncertain about how a client will pay for your services, be sure to enshrine your rates and policies in a contract that they will agree to and sign prior to doing any work on the project.

At the very least, your contract should include hourly rates, stipulations for overtime, and precise language on acceptable methods and dates of payment. There's nothing worse than working on a project for a client before they've signed anything, only to find out that they no longer want your work. Make sure it doesn’t happen to you by writing up a solid contact and you'll be fine.

Being your own boss is a lot of work

Again, when I pictured being a freelancer, I thought of all the stereotypes: working in my pajamas, waking up whenever I wanted to, accepting and denying work at my leisure, and taking long lunch breaks. But once you start freelancing, you quickly realize just how responsible you have to be to earn a sustainable living. Sure, you can wake up at 11AM every day as a freelancer, but you probably won't win over many clients that way. Freelancing could be a harsh wakeup call for writers and entrepreneurs who aren't used to so much responsibility, but it could also be a springboard into success for people who can handle it.

Kate Wilson is a freelance writer currently writing about political involvement in higher education for collegecrunch.org. Kate also covers topics related to higher education and mobile tech innovations, especially when both of those topics intersect. Feel free to send some comments her way!

Making Extra Money to Write Your Book

Writing a book is freakin expensive. Ok, the actual writing part isn’t going to cost you anything, but everything else involved with publishing your book will add up. First of all, the time to work on your book (time is money, baby). Then once the novel is finished, you’re going to have to put some money out of pocket. Little things will add up such as the massive amount of ink and paper you end up using to print out your query letters and partials to send to literary agents and publishers. Also, you’ll hear mixed things about this, but many writers hire an editor to go over their manuscripts before submitting them. And if you self-publish, hiring an editor is a must (you can receive bids on Elance after creating an editing job). Once your novel is released, you want people to find out about your book which means you’re going to likely want to designate a marketing budget. So, what are some ways aspiring writers can earn some extra cash to write, edit and market their book?

Freelance Writing

If you’re talented with a pen, put your writing skills to good use and pick up some freelance writing jobs. You can take on as many projects as you can handle and build long-time relationships with clients. Freelance job sites that you can bid on jobs include Elance and oDesk. A few sites I use to find freelance jobs include Freelance Writing Jobs and Online Writing Jobs. Both sites scour the internet and link to freelance jobs listed on Craigslist, Mediabistro and BloggingPro.

eBay

Ok, I’m a huge fan of eBay for earning extra cash. Every few months, I’ll go room to room in my house and put together a pile of things to sell. You can earn hundreds with only a couple of hours a work. I’ve sold everything from used clothing, video games, electronics, purses and wallets. It’s a great way to declutter and put some extra money in your bank account. If you got some pain in the butt stuff that’s too heavy to ship, post it in the sales section of Craigslist. Deal with local buyers to avoid the scams that run rampant on the site.

Sell Your Books

You can post your used novels, textbooks, CDs and DVDs on Amazon.com. You’re only charged a fee if any of your items are purchased. I made a ton of extra money after I got rid of most of my old books (except the faves close to my heart of course) when I purchased a Kindle. You can sell your books on eBay, but they have a tendency to sell better on Amazon and you're able to list the books for a longer time frame.

Depending on your lifestyle, there’s probably a lot of other ways you can get the extra money needed to write your book. I know people who have picked up waitressing shifts and babysat to get the extra cash they need to invest in their book. It may stink for the time-being, but the end result will be worth it.

Pros and Cons of Working Freelance Through Elance

Unfortunately until novel writing starts to pay the bills, I need to earn an income through freelance writing. As I said before, a few of my projects are fabulous and I have the chance to build a good working relationship with a repeat client. However, since article writing projects can enter slow down periods, it's good to find a source of new clients. Elance is a good place to find freelance writing clients.

After creating a profile on Elance, you are given a certain number of connects used to bid on freelance jobs. The scope of the job decides how many connects are used for the bid with long-term projects requiring more. You decide on a rate that you feel is fair for the project and report your credentials to the client. If chosen, you payment is funded through an escrow account and you begin work. If the client is happy, escrow is released and you receive payment via Paypal or check. Clients give you ratings and these reviews help build your Elance profile.

Skype-The New Norm When Interviewing for Freelance Writing Jobs?

I plan to do a longer piece on Elance, but for now I want to discuss a new trend I’m finding while interviewing for freelance writing jobs-the request to do a Skype interview with a potential employer. Am I the only who is slightly put off by this practice?

I had previously installed Skype since this seemed to be the norm. But now I decided to uninstall the software. I just don’t get why someone who wants to hire you for article writing or copywriting needs to speak to you face to face. I’m fine with phone interviews. I understand wanting to get a feel for the person and discuss your project expectations.

New Fashion Blog

Although fiction writing is my true love, I do get hired for some great freelance writing work as well. I've done a few horrendous assignments (I won't get into that now, but expect a top five worst writing jobs post in the near future), but I am excited to get started on a new project. It's for a great new fashion blog called zuuzStyle. They're covering everything from celeb looks, clothing deals and beauty advice. 

Building Your Freelance Writing Portfolio

Freelance writing was a career I kind of randomly fell into. I was working at a travel agency after my college graduation and was in charge of tour itineraries. The job was pretty much a yawn and I found myself with tons of downtime. To keep myself busy, I started to look into writing jobs I could do in my spare time. Unfortunately, my first freelance writing gig was working for a college essay website (I would not recommend this).

I began to apply for more article writing jobs and although most paid an embarrassingly low fee, it was a good way to build my freelance portfolio. No matter how talented you are, better paying freelance writing jobs are not likely to come your way if you've never been published before. Even if you feel your work is worth $0.25 a word, it's not going to happen for a newbie.

The first way you can build your portfolio is to submit work to a revenue share article submission site. Since most of these sites provide little to no editorial guidance, recheck your work to make sure you're highlighting your talent with the written word. Website examples include Suite 101, Triond and HubPages.

The next thing you can do is to sign up for an account through a freelance job website. Sites like eLance and oDesk allow you to fill out a profile and submit examples of your writing. You can then view and bid on writing jobs you're interested in. Once you land a few jobs, customer feedback will help you get more work and increase your bid amounts.

Lastly, consider a blog. Start a free blog through Wordpress or similar site. You can always submit the link to potential employers if they're looking to get a feel for your writing style.

As a new writer, you're not likely to make a ton of cash. However, taking a few low-paying jobs that give you a byline will help build your network and add more published articles you can use for future employers who wish to view samples of your work.

My New Blog

Hi all! So, I'm finally deciding to catch up to 2005 and start my own blog. Figured it could be a good way to share my thoughts while also providing updates on my freelance writings and book updates. For those of you who don't know me, I work full-time as a freelance writer. I take on all sorts of projects, but specialize in health and wellness topics. I've been featured in USA Today, Livestrong.com, Step in Style magazine, Feel Rich and Outlook by the Bay.

Although I love article writing, I do it mostly to pay the bills. My real passion is writing fiction novels. I just finished my debut young adult novel Second Sight. I'll be updating on the status of the book. Right now I'm in querying process (not fun, but unfortunately a must for traditional publishing).

Besides readers, I'd love to hear from other authors and aspiring writers! Please send me your blog links to follow and I would love it if you could follow me back. I'm also a big fan of Twitter and will follow on there as well: https://twitter.com/#!/woodtop255