Checklist for Starting Your Own Freelance Writing Business

Becoming a freelance writer can be an extremely rewarding endeavor for anybody. The freelancing life comes with its challenges, but many writers find that the freedom and independence it offers is more than worth it. However, freelancing may seem like a formidable goal if you do not have any previous experience. If you’re thinking of starting up your very own freelance writing business, your mind is probably buzzing with questions.

Fortunately, it’s not as difficult to launch yourself into the freelancing world as you might suppose—as long as you know what steps you should take. Here are some points you should be sure to add to your personal checklist for starting up your freelancing business.

Decide what your focus will be.

As a freelance writer, it’s entirely possible that you’ll find yourself writing about all sorts of subjects you have no experience with. For many people, this is one of the chief advantages of freelancing—you’ll never have reason to be bored with what you’re writing about. It’s still a smart idea, however, to decide what subjects you’re most interested in focusing on. Do you want to focus on medical writing? If so, what area? The more specific you can be, the easier it will be for you to find jobs that interest you—and the easier it will be for you to establish yourself as an authority in a particular area.

Put together a writer’s portfolio.

If you want to impress potential employers and clients and find the kind of job opportunities that will help your career, you’ll need to be able to show them what you can do—and that means you’ll need an easy way to show off your writing abilities. In order to do that, you’ll want to put together a simple, easy-to-scan portfolio for your writing samples. Try to pick samples that will display your writing at its best, as well as samples that will showcase your versatility and ability to handle different types of writing. If you have social media experience or other relevant expertise, make sure that you mention that in the introduction to your portfolio.

Start your own blog.

If you want to be a professional writer, you need to be writing on a regular basis in order to keep in practice and hone your skills—even if you don’t have any writing gigs yet. The best way to do that is to start your own blog, using a site such as Blogger or Tumblr. Once you have your blog set up, make sure to post there at least a few times a week. Don’t just post brief or irrelevant content—make sure that you’re posting high-quality work. Here’s a tip: If your best writing samples in your portfolio are more than a few years old, your blog allows you to demonstrate to potential employers that your writing skills are still sharp!

Make a rough schedule for yourself.

For many first-time freelancers, learning how to set their own daily schedule and stick to it is one of the toughest challenges they confront. It’s a good idea to draw up a rough schedule for your first few weeks as a freelancer, dividing up your day into different sections and designating the tasks that you’ll spend your time on. It’s a good idea to buy a basic desk calendar and keep it by your work area. Here’s a tip: While you might be tempted to take advantage of your open schedule and sleep in, you might be more productive if you try to get an early start on the day!

Put together a home office.

Working outside a traditional office is one of the perks of being a freelancer, but it’s also a potential challenge. Even if you’re not working in an office, after all, you may still need many of the same resources you would find in one. It’s a good idea to set up a home office for yourself, with whatever space you have available. You will need a desk, a comfortable chair, a computer or laptop to work on, and a reliable internet source. Other tools you might need include a printer, a phone, and a blank pad of paper and a can of pencils for quick note taking. Keep your computer cord handy, and remember to keep snacks, a bottle of water, and a coffee maker on hand to provide you with fuel for long writing sessions!

Establish a social media presence.

In the world of 2018, having a presence across multiple social media platforms is a must if you want to promote your work and remain visible. In particular, you should be sure to set up accounts for yourself on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Whenever you publish a new article, you can link to it on social media to widen its potential reach. However, you should also keep up a regular presence on all of your social media accounts to ensure that you can build an audience for your work. Don’t just post updates and ignore your accounts the rest of the time, though; if you want to get the most out of social media, you need to interact with your followers by commenting and answering questions.

Start thinking about getting paid.

We don’t just mean you should daydream about how much money you’ll make from your writing—although you’re welcome to do that, too! If you’re serious about freelancing, you should be prepared for the details of getting paid for your work. You’ll need templates for contracts with clients and invoices that you can send out once your work has been completed. Decide when you’ll send invoices after submitting your work, and how long you’ll wait before following up. This may seem like a long way off if you’re just getting started, but it’s better to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.

Are you ready to discover the freelancing world for yourself? If so, you won’t find a better place to get started than Writers Work. We’ll arm you with the up-to-date resources you need to make a name for yourself in the writing universe, from our wide-ranging job search engines to our informative video series. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of joining our community of dedicated freelance writers, visit us at our website and check out our introductory video today!