How To Become a Freelancer Writer-11 Things You Should Know

Are you absolutely positively without a shadow of a doubt ready to quit your crappy 9-5 and live a life of freedom? I know you just said yes to that. It’s easier than you think (ok not super easy but not impossible either). I’m gonna break down how to become a freelance writer so you can do just that.

Live a life you deserve. A life you so desperately want and desire. Impossible you say? I’m here to tell you it’s not.

This is gonna be a very long and detailed article so grab your drink of choice, take notes and settle in.

(this post contains affiliate links so if you make a purchase I make a small commission-affiliate disclosure)

Freelance writing online=life of freedom!

If you would have told me 10 years ago I could make a living as a freelance writer I would have said you were crazy.

But here we are…

I packed up my 9-5 five years ago and never looked back. I left Northern Ontario, Canada and moved to Guatemala, because you know, as a freelance writer, well, you can work anywhere in the world you want. All you need is a laptop and internet.

I’ve recently just moved to Mexico, because you know, with freelance writing online, you can live anywhere you want and it’s just as beautiful here as it was in Guatemala. I overlook a lake, I never have to shovel snow, it’s sunny and warm everyday, it’s ridiculously affordable and soooooo liberating.

This is the life I used to dream about. Every winter I cringed. Every winter I would tell myself “there’s GOT to be a way out of this Hell”. And there was. And I found it. And finally created the life I so longed for.

I’m here to tell you, you can too!!! But you need to know one very important thing. It will take a lot of work, perseverance and dedication on your part. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible (ok, so that’s two things).

My journey to freelance writing

I think it’s important that you know my story so you don’t think I’m some sort of internet techy guru geek or anything. I’m def not! You also need to know I never was much of a writer.

I have been a hairstylist for over 25 years. 20 of those years spent in a salon in a mall working for cranky bosses. The other 5 I owned my own business but closed it up and was forced to declare bankruptcy. Oh ya. Good times.

After the bankruptcy gig I had to go back to my old job (back in the salon in the mall) with my tail between my legs. I was very grateful to my former boss for taking me back but I dreaded every damn day of it. This wasn’t the life I wanted anymore.

I was sad, broke, miserable and frustrated. I had also just left an 8 yr abusive relationship and was on a healing journey. Oh how broken I was.

I had no money, hardly any belongings, no self esteem/self worth/self respect or self confidence. But I did have one very important thing.

Determination!

I was determined to create a better life for myself no matter what or how long it was gonna take.

Now you also need to know that my only writing experience came from me writing letters to ex boyfriends who were jerks. Oh, and writing in my diary (do they still call them that?).

There’s much more to my story but that’s the Reader’s Digest version and I feel it is important for you to know it. This way you get a slightly clearer picture of who I am and will sort of have more of an understanding of my freelance writing journey.

My abusive relationship was the catalyst for my freelance writing career

Back in 2010 I went to the Canadian School of Feng Shui in Ottawa for an intensive one week course on how to become a Feng Shui Practitioner. Now you’re probably wondering, ok Iva, what the heck has this got to do with becoming a freelance writer?

Stick with me and you’ll see where I’m going with this.

I’ve always loved Feng Shui and wanted to be a practitioner. So I did just that.

Then I started up a website on Feng Shui and, like anyone else, was hoping to build a consulting business. Well that fell flat and my website became crickets and cobwebs. But I kept it.

After I left my abusive relationship and started my healing journey I started writing about it. I dug up that ugly old website, changed the name and dynamics of it and shared my stories. All my stories (some, much to my family’s chagrin).

As I was healing, I was also helping others heal. At this time I wasn’t taking the website too seriously and still cutting hair.

It was a couple of years later I decided to take it up a notch (and my life) and consider doing this for a living. Freelance writing. Why not? Seemed easy enough. Oy. I was soon to find out there was much to learn. And learn I did.

How to become a freelance writer with no experience

So we’re gonna get into the meat and potatoes of this now. I’ve told you enough about me and my life so you kinda see where I’m coming from.

People often think they need a ton of writing experience or mad skills to become a freelance writer. This is a myth. You don’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It helps if you can write even a little bit but with practice, you will gain crazy awesome writing skills.

Trust me on that.

Getting started as a freelance writer

I’m going to break this down into bite size pieces so you too will know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.

Just like me!

The first step is making the decision to become a freelance writer. Do you want freedom? Do you want a better life? Do you think maybe you can become a freelance writer?

If you said yes to those then that right there is a good start.

When you decide you want something, I mean really want it, you will do what it takes to get it. At least, you should. Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Please.

1 Do some research

Once I decided that I was going to become a freelance writer I had to do some research. Lots of research actually. I had no idea what the heck I was doing or how to even start or anything!!

Now it’s important you know that with my Facebook page, I found and joined a few groups with other personal development peeps and bloggers. Connection and collaboration is extremely important. I can’t even stress this enough.

You don’t need a Facebook page or even a website to join groups. Just join them!

Once you decide you’re going to be a freelance writer, look for and find good Facebook groups to join. If you find the right ones (and I’m positive you will) there will be a wealth of information for you!!

Get on the internet and find resources that way. I mean good GOD the internet will tell you everything you need to know about everything!

You can sign up for and download free pdf’s, free mini courses, free tutorials, you name it, you can find it. Do some digging!!

If you’re looking to start blogging, have I got a girl for you! Tracie Fobes is the bomb and my #1 go to girl for anything blogging and website. This course will get you off the ground running, easily!

2 What are you good at?

Maybe you aren’t a writer but still want to be a freelancer. Are you a designer, a photographer, a marketer? What are your skills? What’s your forte?

You can literally do just about anything online. I swear to God.

So once you find your thing, find groups and other resources to help you nurture and perfect said thing. Find out where all the successful people in your niche are hanging out and how they are growing their freelance business.

I should make a note here before we carry on. All of this will take time. You must be patient. Most of you still have full times jobs so you need to do this in your spare time. Do it.

I was working 9 hours a day cutting hair and spending 3-5 hours learning how to become a freelance writer. Yes it was long hard hours. It all will pay off for you. Stay the course. Please.

3 Write for free

Ya I said it. You have to start somewhere. No one knows who the heck you are. It’s important to start being recognized as a good writer. Find some good sites that you would like to write for (in your niche) and hit that “Contact us” or “Write for us” button.

Reach out and make a connection. Some sites ask you to send a draft of your article. Do that.

I wrote an awful lot for free. For months. Not only does it help you get your name out there but it also helps you hone your writing skills too! It really is a win win.

4 Be prepared for rejection

Ok wait, I should rephrase that and say make sure you have thick skin. As you submit free stuff, not everyone is going to accept it (oh wait, ok this doesn’t really qualify as a way to become a freelancer, more like a warning).

All this rejection is really good for you (ya right). No really. It makes you practice and perfect your craft so somebody really big will hire you (which is what happened to me, yippee!!)

I had a binder with a stack of ‘no thank you’s’ but that didn’t stop me. Don’t let rejection get you down or make you feel like a failure. You’re not a failure.

Keep at it. Don’t give up. It took me a few months before someone finally said yes. Is it frustrating? Of course it is. Nothing worth working for is easy. Remember that.

5 Free writing gigs + persistence=jobs

Keep sending those free writes to prospective clients. You have to be really persistent and determined here.

Like don’t get frustrated and give up and I know you’re going to want to. Please don’t. Keep at it. You are good at what you do.

Practice, get better, keep sending your stuff for free, get your name out there, connect and then whammo. You will land a job or two. If you’re lucky it might be the big break you have been looking for (I wasn’t that lucky right away).

6 Write it out

This is pretty important actually. Write out what you want.

Your goal, your dream, your desire, whatever the hell it is you want. I had it written out on a big neon pink bristle board on my dining room wall *Retired from my day j.o.b. by July of 2015 and a full time freelance writer*.

Guess what? It actually happened, just like that.

By July I handed in my resignation at the salon I worked at. What freedom. I saw that date on my board every single day. I looked at, felt it, believed it, damn I could almost smell it I wanted it so bad.

Write it out and look at it. Every single day!!

I’ve since upgraded to a white board that I absolutely love. I don’t care what kind of board you use, just use one!!

7 Start a website

I know many freelance writers who don’t have websites, they just write for others and do their thing. I honestly think eventually you will want more control over your work and your career. Not only that, you will want a place where businesses/site owners can maybe find you and your work.

A branding if you will.

Another great benefit to having your own website is that you can monetize it any way you want. You can create your own products, add affiliate links, have ads, the possibilities are endless! You have more control of how much you earn.

You don’t have to start all big and elaborate. A simple one page site will do for starters!

I really love Creative Live. They have courses and classes for just about everything. Here’s one for WordPress to help you get started.

Check out this video I recently did on how to become a freelance writer. So many people were asking for it! Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button while you’re there!

8 A secret platform not many utilize (but you really should!)

Medium.

Do yourself a favour. Go there. Register. Complete the two second profile and start writing. This is another amazing way to connect with other writers, practice your writing, and even make money while you’re doing it!!

You can pay a measly $5 a month and become a paid member so you can support fellow writers (and they in turn will be happy to support you back!). Remember collaboration is so important!

I signed up for Medium eons ago and wrote an awful lot. I rarely have time to write on there anymore yet I still make money from writing on Medium from my old articles.

Another good thing about Medium is that it’s a great place for you to write on your own profile but you can send your work to prospective clients too!!

9 You gotta pay to play

What I mean by that is this.

You are embarking on a brand new career and journey. You need to take it seriously and invest in yourself and your new career path.

If you became an accountant you had to spends thousands of dollars going to school to become one. The same goes for freelance writing.

No, you don’t have to spend thousands but you should invest at least a little to learn some things you might not be able to find for free. This will hold true especially if you are going to go down the website route (which I still really think you should).

You will need to learn SEO, proper blog formatting and all kinds of other crazy blogging, freelance writing stuff. Try to find a reputable blogger person and see what kinds of courses they offer. Most courses are really affordable so you won’t be breaking your bank.

10 Act like a professional

Keeping in line with the above tip I think this needs to be addressed: acting like a professional.

In starting your freelance writing career you really should take it seriously and act like a professional. You are basically going to be running your own business.

You will need to act like a business person, or, a professional. You need to go into this like your life depends on it, because it does. We’re starting this because we want a new life, amirite?

Show up for ‘work’, put in the hours, do your time (research/learning/writing), wash-rinse-repeat.

11 Keep your options open

As you connect with people along the way, different opportunities may land on your desktop. As I was doing writing for clients I also picked up other random gigs like Facebook page management and image/video creation for some pretty high authority Facebook pages.

Say yes and learn how to do the job. Don’t think just because you’ve never done something that you won’t be able to do it.

We can do just about anything when we put our mind to it and we want it bad enough. Do a good job and people will start referring you. Another win win!

So…is it hard to become a freelance writer?

Well, yes and no. I think when you have enough determination and persistence you can achieve anything you want.

Not only that, when you are learning something that you really want to do, you will be more passionate and excited about it.

Yes learning some things will be hard and frustrating but once you’ve mastered them you get pretty damn excited about yet another hurdle you crossed, all by yourself.

You really just become so proud of yourself and your self confidence soars. Trust me on that one!

Why do you want to become a freelance writer?

Or a freelancer in general? You have to remember your why.

You have to remember why you started this journey. You want a new life. You want a life of freedom. You deserve to happy, don’t you?

Are you happy right now in your day j.o.b.? If you’re reading this article right now, I’m guessing you’re not. You absolutely CAN have the life you deserve!!

The only thing standing in your way is you and your limiting beliefs that you can’t. Stop all those ugly thoughts right now.

It’s not going to be an easy journey. You will hit a lot of roadblocks. Plow through them. Stay the course. Believe you can do this.

Because you so can!!

Peace and Love

Iva