The life of freelance writers can be both an exciting and terrifying one. It is exciting to venture into new markets and try your hand at new material. It is also terrifying when times are slow and you don't have a dime to your name. Just starting out is the most scary part but with this website we hope to give you the ammo to shoot your right into the freelance writing world.
The best part about being a freelance writer, besides the writing, is the flexibility it gives you. You can write from virtually anywhere and with laptops and the Internet we mean anywhere. Gary McLaren states it like this from his article, Freelance Writing: A Career From Anywhere, "..I started planning the newsletter in the heat and humidity of Hong Kong . When the first draft came together I was in Indianapolis , in the United States . And by the time I completed the final copy and pushed the send button I was at a lakeside cottage in Ontario , Canada , with snow lightly falling outside."
There are many directories and outlets to find work as a writer. Freelancing might be a feast or famine at times but you plan and budget not only your funds but also your time you will do very well.
One of the rules from the writer's bible of do's and don'ts is do check the submission guidelines for whatever publication you are attempting to submit to and don't ignore them. If it says submit through the mail and you email it, sure, you'll get their attention but not in a good way. You can usually find the guidelines for submissions in the publication itself or online through their website. If not send the good old SASE so you can have them mailed to you. While you are looking for or requesting guidelines don't forget about editorial calendars. If you see a topic in their upcoming calendar for an article you have already written you can get it ready and submit right away.
There are literally a bazillion sites out there to list and search for freelance writing jobs. You can sign up on some of them for automatic email updates of new job listings on most. Be careful that the site isn't some sort of adware generating site that really has no job listings but would love to have your email for spamming purposes.
Here are a few worth checking out: