The Truth About Freelance Writing

Working a conventional job is something most people dread.  Waking up early in the morning, and all the long hours can have you worn out by the end of the day. I've been fortunate enough to pick up freelance writing as a career change. I started out working at home for a couple of online sites. The money isn't what I thought it would be, and it took so long to see any views.

Most people just starting out in the freelance writing industry are driven by money. I also was driven by money, until I found out the honest truth about this job. The first thing is that you have to write for mere pennies, before you start to make any money. The reason I say this is because there isn't any clients that will pay someone without experience. It's the same as being hired for a job, you need online references. The more references you have the more money you'll get paid.

I see so many new freelance writers trying to charge ridiculous prices per word. What they don't understand is no one is going to pay a lot of money for an unknown writer. You have to establish a name for yourself, then you can demand more money. Another gripe of mine that most writers don't mention is distractions. Working online is so different from working a standard job. You have to be driven to work, and it's easy to get caught up into Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

I try to keep a schedule that I follow, so I don't get side tracked. I remember when I was just starting out the freedom turned me into a monster. I didn't get any work done because I wasn't being forced to work. When you take away bosses and supervisors, you're responsible for writing the assignments on time. This gives you ultimate flexibility when you need to get things done around the house. One thing about blogging that people rarely mention is the view count.

It takes sometimes six months to a year to get steady views on your blog. Sometimes it can be less, but generally that's how long it takes. This is the negative side to blogging is that it takes a long time before you see a payout. Realistically, if you want to make money blogging, you should have about 1,000 blog posts. I know this sounds like a lot, but most of the posts you write aren't going to get any views.

Freelance writing is like fishing, and you don't know which article is going to catch people's (fish) attention. The entire thing is one big guessing game, and it helps if you research other popular articles on the Internet. This will help you find out what people like, and what people don't like. I hope this article helps you make a decision, and I wish you the best of luck with your career.