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How to Build a Freelance Writing Career
Tips for Making Money From Home
Follow these tips to build a successful freelance writing career.
The flexibility of freelance writing, which allows people to work from home on their own schedule, appeals to many people. However, building a freelance writing career takes time and hard work. Follow these tips to create a successful freelance writing career.
Don’t Quit One’s Day Job Yet
Building a freelance writing career takes time. If possible, writers should develop their freelance writing skills while still working full or part-time at another job. It is definitely possible to make enough money freelance writing to support oneself, but there is a learning curve.
Writers shouldn’t depend on their freelance writing income until they know they can support themselves with it. Additionally, since few freelance writing companies offer benefits, keeping a separate job can help writers get health insurance and other benefits.
Diversify Writing Websites
Some writing companies, like Demand Studios, pay up-front fees for articles. Others, like Suite 101, pay residual income from advertising revenue. Some sites, like Associated Content and Bright Hub, pay a combination of up-front and residual payments.
Some people prefer up-front payments, while others believe residual income is more lucrative over time. Either way, it makes sense to write for several different websites and write a mix of up-front and residual articles.
Diversifying protects writers in case writing assignments on one website slow or disappear. It can take months to build a steady stream of advertising revenue, and advertising revenue may not be consistent, so writing some up-front fee articles can help freelance writers ensure they can pay the bills each month. I’m sure that experienced writer can write an essay for me easy.
Take Out Money for Taxes and Savings
Freelance writing companies usually don’t take out taxes. Always set aside 20 to 25 percent of paychecks into a separate savings account for tax purposes.
It’s also a good idea to set aside some of one’s income each month. Saving money is always a good idea, but since freelance writing does not have the stability of some other jobs, making sure one has enough saved to pay the bills for a few months in case assignments or revenue slow.
Don’t Expect to Choose One’s Topics
Writing about the topics one finds most interesting may not lead to a lucrative freelance writing career. Expect to write about a variety of topics, including health and business topics.
Expect to Work Hard
Freelance writing isn’t easy or magic. It involves a lot of research, writing and editing. Although freelancing has many advantages, like the option of choosing one’s own hours and work location, writers must be self-motivated and self-disciplined to succeed.
Invest In Good Technology
Fast, effective technology is necessary to a freelance writer. Writers should make sure they have a fast, reliable computer and Internet access. They should also consider using dual monitors to make writing more efficient.
#freelance
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5 Ways to Financially Protect Your Freelance Writing Business
Your business is your livelihood. With that being said, you will always be the one with your best interests in mind when it comes to knowing how to protect your business. You are the one in the trenches day in and day out. So it’s important to have a solid understanding of how to properly take care of your business financially.
The main areas freelancers can find financial protection include:
- Accounting
- Contracts
- Disability insurance
- Liability insurance
- Proper backup systems
As a freelancer, the responsibility is on you to protect yourself as much as possible. This includes your income, but it also means being mindful of your overall business operations.
Here’s how you can protect your business starting today:
1. Get a Solid Contract in Place
Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
Contracts are a natural part of any professional business relationship. If you think about it, pretty much every area of your life includes a contract. When you sign a lease; when you buy a house, or if you purchase a phone plan, etc. There’s always a contract involved. It’s what businesses do to protect themselves.
As a freelance writer, a solid contract may include:
- An outline of services you’ll provide
- Shows a payment plan in writing
- Includes late fee clauses for “forgetful” clients
- Who owns intellectual liability ownership rights
- Confidentiality clause to protect both parties
A legit contract basically covers that both you and the client will do what you say you’ll do. It will outline the terms that you agreed upon in black and white so there’s no disagreement about it later down the road.
This is especially important for independent contractors like freelance writers when it comes to payment of services. You can contact a local attorney to draw up a template for your business. Or, you can purchase contract templates online through an attorney-owned business like The Contract Shop.
2. Get Disability Insurance
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
Your income is truly your biggest asset. What would happen if you become disabled and unable to work for the rest of your life? How would you take care of yourself or your family?
Disability can happen to anyone.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), one in four of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled for **90 days or more **before they hit age 67.
Disability insurance is a good idea because it covers a good chunk of your lost wages in the event that you can no longer work. You can opt for short-term and long-term disability, but long-term disability is the one that is most beneficial.
#business-strategy #business-intelligence #writing #freelancing #freelance-writing
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How to Make a Website like Upwork or Freelancer
Freelancer and Upwork are some popular websites that connect recruiters and people who are looking for work are Freelancer and Upwork and through these platforms, these people get a place to interact and meet.
For self-employed users, Freelancer and Upwork rank in the top 15 sites as there is a need for sites that allow interactions between job seekers and employers, and you can create the supply for that demand.Given the extreme uprise of the gig economy, many businessmen and entrepreneurs started to invest their resources into starting a freelance marketplace like the above-mentioned platforms.If you want to create a similar website, you might be intimidated by the amount of work that awaits you. Such sites can take months to build from the ground up. And if you don't have the right tools, you'll have to hire someone who is experienced in the field.
Read “Best way to develop a similar website like Upwork”
How to make a freelancer platform in the easiest way possible?
This essential guide will not only walk you through the process of creating a website, but will also show you how to do it without using any code. You will be able to make your dream best freelancing site a reality with a few simple steps-
- Start with having a plan- When you are having a mindset that you wish to have a website or an app that caters to a huge global audience you definitely cannot start without having a plan. So, plan your platform, features, domain name, hosting, etc. so that you can prepare your budget, and the other things that are required to be there in the platform.
- Have a budget- When you have perceived what kind of platform you want to create, you can have a budget in mind accordingly. You may invest all your resources or you might have a little less that what is needed, or it also may be that you completely rely upon the investors and stakeholders for starting with the platform.
- Have goals and objectives- Once you have decided a budget, you must also analyse what do your want your platform to be like, how do you want it to develop and flourish. How do you want to make it a profit model out of it. This is very crucial if you want a freelancing app or site like Upwork, then you must be acquainted with the same.
- Prepare a prototype- Before you start with your freelancing website or app creation, you need to start preparing a prototype or wireframe, which will give you the basic idea on how things are going to work out, what are the drawbacks of the model, what all can be added, how are the users responding to it, etc.
- Use NetworkPlus- NetworkPlus is the best quality Upwork clone script which can be used for creating a great freelancer business marketplace and you can talk to clients, get gigs, talk to recruiters, make connections. The user friendly interface with Search Engine Optimization and which can be easily customized according to preferences of the users.
Know about How is freelancing the future of Businesses? NetworkPlus – Upwork Clone
So, if you want to create a marketplace similar to Upwork or Freelancer.com, contact BSEtec today for the best freelancing clone scripts! Check out NetworkPlus in the app store for such a live demo!
#Upwork clone script #Network Plus #freelancing bidding websites #freelancer clone #freelance workplace clone #freelance marketplace
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How Can Non-Native Speakers Start Writing Full-Time?
A week ago, I wrote an article about starting to write full-time. And in my social media, I asked people what scared them most when they started their freelance journey to writing. Most of them said that the beginning was the most daunting part and that it was the obstacle that kept them from going.
Should You Take Your Chances on Writing Full-Time?
Learn to navigate your life as a full-time freelance writer
It’s challenging to start as a freelance writer because the sector is flooded with aspiring professionals, but it’s way more challenging for non-native English speakers.
Why non-native English-speakers? Because English is one of the major spoken languages globally, and the sector is full of lucrative opportunities. But again, it’s not a walk in the park.
The beginning is always the hardest
I began writing for money three years ago. My first client was a Lithuanian tourism company. They didn’t pay much, but it was enough to support my student’s life. More than a year ago, I started pitching my services to international companies that needed English content.
I started from scratch. I read countless articles on how to start and accelerate your freelance writing career. About people in junior positions who were making $100+ per article. And I was barely making ends meet.
I used their formulas to attract clients, I pitched myself, I wrote and tried to improve, but the furthest I got was Lithuanian clients needing for English content.
But after a long journey of learning and failing, I landed my first international client. Then more. And now, although my language skills are far from being perfect, I’m a full-time non-native English writer.
How to feel confident writing in a foreign language?
Master the language
This one is quite obvious. Yes, you have to study and study, and then study a little more to reach a fluent/bilingual level. Whether it’s English, Spanish, or Thai, practice makes it perfect. And yet even after years of learning the language, you wouldn’t know all its nuances because you weren’t born into it.
How to Develop Your Voice as a Non-Native English Speaker?
It’s the whole science about the language we are born into and how it shapes our personality. Our character might even change when we switch the tongue.
Learning a language has never been easy for me. I studied English since the second grade until the second year of my university. And even after all these years mastering the language, I sucked.
It took me months living abroad and communicating in English daily to master the language.
I have difficulties learning languages. I don’t know whether it’s because Lithuanian is so different from others or because my brain isn’t wired that way.
I recently started learning Spanish, and I see that my teacher is sometimes getting tired of teaching me the same things repeatedly. But everyone has their pace, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed that it takes you longer to learn a language.
#writing-tips #writing #language #freelancing #career-advice #react native
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What You Can Learn about Setting from Classic Sitcoms
Giving your novel a strong sense of place is vital to doing your part to engage the readers without confusing or frustrating them. Setting is a big part of this (though not the whole enchilada — there is also social context and historic period), and I often find writing students and consulting clients erring on one of two extremes.
**Either: **Every scene is set in a different, elaborately-described place from the last. This leads to confusion (and possibly exhaustion and impatience) for the reader, because they have no sense of what they need to actually pay attention to for later and what’s just…there. Are the details of that forest in chapter 2 important? Will I ever be back in this castle again? Is there a reason for this character to be in this particular room versus the one she was in the last time I saw her? Who knows!
Or: There are few or no clues at all as to where the characters are in a scene. What’s in the room? Are they even in a room? Are there other people in th — ope, yes, there are, someone just materialized, what is happening? This all leads to the dreaded “brains in jars” syndrome. That is, characters are only their thoughts and words, with no grounding in the space-time continuum. No one seems to be in a place, in a body, at a time of day.
Everything aspect of writing a novel comes with its difficulties, and there are a lot of moving pieces to manage and deploy in the right balance. When you’re a newer writer, especially, there’s something to be said for keeping things simple until you have a handle on how to manage the arc and scope of a novel-length work. And whether you tend to overdo settings or underdo them, you can learn something from TV, especially classic sitcoms.
Your basic “live studio audience” sitcoms are performed and filmed on sets built inside studios vs. on location. This helps keep production expenses in check and helps the viewer feel at home — there’s a reliable and familiar container to hold the story of any given episode. The writers on the show don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every script.
Often, a show will have no more than two or three basic sets that are used episode to episode, and then a few other easily-understood sets (characters’ workplaces, restaurants, streets scenes) are also used regularly but not every episode.
#creative-writing #writing-exercise #writing-craft #writing #writing-tips #machine learning
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What I Learned From Writing 39,000 Orders for Textbroker
You may think I’m crazy for writing more than 39,000 orders for Textbroker over the last decade. After all, if you have read reviews from other freelance writers, you have heard that you can’t make real money on this platform.
In truth, if you are a talented writer who is willing to put in a full day’s work, you can make decent money. Here’s what you need to know.
Star Rating System
Textbroker operates on a five-star rating system. Each star level has a substantially higher per-word rate. I will be honest with you — it is not worth your time writing for Textbroker if your rating is not four or five stars.
Even if you can churn out content quickly, it may be difficult to make a living wage below the four-star rate.
If you are a three-star writer, I suggest that you spend a few weeks focusing on improving your rating. You will need to have two flawless rating reviews in a row in order to move up to four stars.
This holds true as you move up between four and five stars. However, to qualify for five stars, you also need to pass their competency test. This is a 10-question test on grammar, spelling and punctuation. You can take it once every 90 days, and you must get a 90% or higher to pass.
Bonuses
Textbroker has implemented a bonus system, which is based on your earnings. If you earn more than $10,000 per quarter, you receive a $500 bonus. This is a tiered system, so you can start earning bonuses if you make $3,000 per quarter.
I have easily made the $500 bonus each time since the program was introduced. (So, yes, I make at least $42,000 annually on Textbroker. I’m not up to sharing my actual income, though.)
You can also receive bonuses from clients. These are usually clients who you do a lot of work for or who you go above and beyond for. One of my clients consistently gave me a decent monthly bonus for over two years until the pandemic hit.
Team Orders
Of the 39,000 orders I have written so far, more than 12,000 are team orders.
If you are looking for a way to get more money for your writing on Textbroker, look at team orders. Some teams have open acceptance. You simply have to apply, and you are immediately accepted. For others, you have to leave a short writing sample or explain your relevant experience. While compensation on some teams is relatively low pay, other teams pay more than the standard five-star rate.
#writing-tips #work-from-home #freelance #textbroker #freelance-writing