Well, I’m one month into full-time writing and loving it.

I’ve been hustling my butt to get extra writing to top off the one regular writing/social media job that I have and I have not found it difficult. In fact, some days I’ve had too much.  But it was good to hustle for a bit.

As a result of the hustling I’ve gotten two more regular gigs and have two more in the works for September.  Between these I have no need to do anything else but I have time to take on a few more things.  That’s good.  That means that when I need to make a little extra cash I can do some of my content mill writing or I can put out word to a few sources and get a little extra in.

It’s no where nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and if I’d known how suited I was for this life I would have done it five years ago!

If you’re just getting started with a freelance writing career you may have noticed that all of the good jobs ask for writing samples.  But if you haven’t actually had any clients yet how do you get them?

Getting writing samples online is really not that difficult.  There are plenty of places that you can get your work published.  But before you start with that there are a few things you should remember:

1. Your writing samples need to have your name on it.  Without your name on it, potential clients will not know for sure that they were written by you.
2. They need to be of good quality.  Scratch that. They need to be great quality!  If you are going to use them to showcase your writing abilities, make sure that you have put the same effort into them that you would put into a clients work.  Write carefully and use the 3 step writing process to ensure that they are the best you are capable of.
3. They need to demonstrate your scope of ability.  Unless you have chose to be a writer that focuses on a single topic (and although many writers do this eventually, I don’t recommend this at the beginning; you might later fall into a specialty or find you prefer certain topics later but at the beginning you are going to need to be flexible) you will need to show potential clients that you are able to write on several different topics and that you are able to write them as if you were an expert in that field.

Now, the big question – where do you publish this writing?

I strongly believe that writers should spend at least some time writing for themselves.  The best way to do this is with your own blog.  You might want to have a niche blog if there is a specific area that you want to be able to focus on in the future.  But if you haven’t decided this yet you can have a blog that has several different focuses.  Just separate them by categories and don’t go too wide.  Keep it to about 3 or 4 topics and make sure that you identify them.  And remember that just because you are writing for yourself doesn’t mean that others are not going to read them so spell check and edit!

When I first started writing I did a lot of work for article marketing directories.  I used EzineArticles and Bukisa and I’ve since added InfoBarrel.  I know that many writers love AssociatedContent but I don’t write there because I’m a Canadian and I believe that only Americans can earn residuals there.  There are many places where you can write articles and your name is always attached.  There are some extra bonuses to writing articles for article directories.  You can earn some residual income and through resource boxes and your writer’s page, you can get valuable backlinks to your personal blog!

Guest posting is a great way to get some articles out there with your name on it.  I won’t go into great detail about guest posting because I recently blogged about it.  If you missed the post, go read about why I love guest posting now.

Finally, you can think a little less traditionally, too.  Don’t be afraid to be creative about getting your name out there on articles.  If you have an organization that you are particularly fond of, volunteer to write something for them.  Do you have a friend that needs help on their site?  Offer to help them out.  Look for opportunities to get published samples online.

And once you have them?  Be picky!  Don’t give every potential client the same list of published samples.  Choose samples that are most closely related to what they are looking for.  If they are looking for something in the health care niche – find an article that is related.  Or if they want how-to articles make sure that you choose one of your samples that is written in that style.

Getting samples is not hard – making sure that you have samples that reflect your abilities is more challenging.

Not the blog – me, as in I’m moving to a new home.  And I’m packing.  Do you know how much I hate packing?  I’ve got today and tomorrow left and the whole house needs to be packed up.  And then I have to unpack it all!  OMG – I really hate this!

So, I just wanted to let you know that for the next week my entries might be kind of sparse.

But I’ll be back in like a crazy woman once I am settled and have my Internet hooked up.  I’m still participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge so I’ll have to play a little catch up (I have one blog post pre-dated and I might get a few more in there).

But as much as I have to pack do you think I’m packing right now?  No.  I’m procrastinating!  LOL

So, while I’m getting my act together (because it is sure to happen any time now…) why don’t you check out some posts from the past that you might have missed?

I’ve met a lot of great people online since I started freelance writing and some of them have been very encouraging.  Most of them really.  Most recently, I’ve become familiar with Carson Brackney and his writing.  I immediate fell for his writing style and have been hooked on his blog ever since.

And today, I’m lucky enough to have him as my very first guest poster!

—————–

From the Recliner of Carson Brackney on a late morning in June

Danielle asked me to write a guest post for this blog and I decided doing so was a perfect excuse to take a break from an ongoing project. I moved from my desk to the recliner, flipped on the television and open the laptop.

She thought it might be interesting for me to write about how I got my start in this crazy business. Did I dive in headfirst? How did I prepare myself? What made me think it would work? Would I do anything differently? What inspired me to take the plunge?

I’m starting with the last question. Inspiration.

One of my inspirations is ten feet behind me in the next room. She’s six years old and she’s making a greeting card for a friend in the playroom. A few minutes ago, she yelled out for some spelling help.

Another inspiration walked by me less than ten minutes ago. You can’t get to the laundry room without sneaking through the corner of my basement office. She just moved a load of wash to the dryer after putting the baby down for a nap.

That little sleeper wasn’t around to inspire me to get started, but she’s part of what keeps me going now.

The sun is shining through the sliding doors of the split-level, streaking across my propped up bare feet. I found Channel 199, the MLB Network. The Rays have a 1-0 lead on the Padres. I’m thinking about firing up the grill again tonight.

I just looked at the clock. 11:27 a.m.

Right now, I know there are guys in suits checking their clocks. There are guys in Dockers and snug polo shirts with nametags on lanyards looking at their watches. In thirty-three minutes, they can walk out of their offices or away from their cubicles for a lunch break. Maybe they’ll call home and check on their kids. Maybe they’ll call their wives. They’ll eat and gripe about work. They won’t see Longoria steal second on a one-hop Hundley peg. They’ll go back to work. I’ll answer another spelling question and I’ll give my wife a kiss.

This is the story of my inspiration: Our first child was a few months shy of entering the world and I realized that I didn’t want to be one of those dads–the kind who make it in the nick of time to the preschool Halloween party, out of breath and anxious, hoping they can get back in time for a meeting or presentation. I knew I couldn’t be a “hug you in the morning, kiss you goodnight and hope the stuff in between is going well” kind of father.

I liked the idea of bare feet, an office at home, and being there. If I had known that the MLB Network was going to be part of the deal, I would’ve liked that, too.

I was always a good employee but that came from effort, not instinct. I don’t take orders well. I don’t like answering to anyone.
Money? Yeah. I wanted money. As much as I like Thoreau, I’ve never had a desire to hide out in the wilderness. I like things. I’m not greedy, but I’m not into self-deprivation, either.

So, that’s the tale. The baby was coming and I knew a change was in order. I had at least some idea of what that change needed to look like.

The question, of course, was how to make that vision into a reality.

The Internet seemed like a good place to start.

I started looking at ways to make money online. I did my homework. I read, read, read, and then I’d read more. I learned everything I could. I developed the ability to separate the bullshit “get rich overnight” schemes from reasoned advice. I learned how things worked, why they worked and what things might continue to work.

My first project of note, which I completed during my spare time, involved the creation of a series of Adsense-monetized free Blogspot blogs. Good keyword research, good content and a lot of good luck combined and it worked. I went from making a quarter per day to cashing nice monthly Google checks very quickly.

Those checks were nice, but they weren’t going to replace my income and there was a limit to how much I could scale my little blog network. There was also a reasonable amount of risk involved–sometimes those seemingly perfect projects would crash and burn. That’s fine when you’re a hobbyist. It’s not good if you want your income to buy diapers.

I experimented with affiliate marketing, too. I had some success utilizing article distribution and a pre-sell landing page bearing my affiliate link to generate commissions. Between the affiliate sales and the Adsense, I was generating a nice little side income.

During all of this experimentation and learning, which took place over the course of a few months, I reached a few realizations:

• My greatest strengths were in writing and research.
• I’ve always loved writing.
• Much of the online world was convinced that “content is king”.
• Much of the content online looked like semi-literate little kids wrote it.
• My own experiences confirmed the value of quality written materials with respect to generating online earnings.

I connected the dots.

My first writing job involved creating little informative profiles about various famous golf courses. I was surprised at how easy it felt. I was encouraged by the client’s effusive praise for the work. When I did the math, I discovered that I made pretty damn good money on that gig, even though the per word rate was well below what most people would find acceptable.

I took another gig. And another. I didn’t use the job boards and I didn’t work for third parties. I found a handful of good clients and that led to others through referrals and the connections I made. Eventually, I started reaching out to people I thought I could help.

Originally, I planned on slowly but surely building up a fund equal to about six months’ of my salary. That would take about a year, I thought. Then, I could “go full-time”.

Well, the requests for work were coming in faster than I thought. The only way I could keep up with them would be by quitting my day job. I had to choose between taking a big chance and riding the brakes.

I took the chance. The baby was still a baby and I didn’t want to stall another minute. My wife supported the gamble.

And now I’m watching Adrian Gonzalez roll a ground ball to second with one out in the third, knowing that I’m no more than twenty seconds away from finding and hugging my inspirations.

I’ve made a million mistakes since I started writing for a living. Some are small and specific to me and my circumstances. Others have been big, nasty whoppers. If I were going to start all over again, I would do a number of things very differently.

I think that’s true for everyone, though. I don’t feel bad about those blunders. It’s part of growing.

We’ve had great months when we feel like part of the Rockefeller family and, I’m not ashamed to admit, there were times when macaroni and cheese seemed like a smart choice for a dinner entree. I’ve made clients swoon and I’ve infuriated people so much that they still might give me a well-deserved gut punch if we met on the street.

Along the way, I have figured out a few big things.

I won’t call them secrets for success, because they’re not that secret and because I’m not willing to call myself a success. I’m a work in progress. But I will tell you that these are damned good recommendations if you want to find a way to make a living as a writer. They may not be right for everyone, but they worked for me and I know they’ve worked for others.

Write. Putting your ass in the chair and working consistently is the most important thing you can do. If you’re working, you’re earning or you’re setting yourself up to earn. When working becomes habit, income flows.

Learn. Never stop learning about new things. Keep your eyes on new trends. Read what other people in the business and your clients’ businesses are writing. Knowledge is power and its fuel for creativity.

Grow. I started as a would-be Internet marketer. I became a content writer. I transitioned into doing better-paying copy projects. I started doing more consulting work. As I’ve grown and changed, I’ve maintained the best parts of those experiences and have jettisoned the others.

Believe. Danielle asked me why I was convinced the writing thing would work for me. I don’t really have a good answer for that. I didn’t give it a great deal of thought to it. It made sense to me. It felt right. I believed in it and I believed in my ability to make it work.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of this recliner and move back to the desk before I fall victim to a nap. I need to get some work done if I want to sneak off to the swimming pool with the girls for an hour this afternoon. I’m not turning off the game, though.

********************

Carson Brackney is a freelance writer and consultant. He thinks you should follow him on Twitter and become a regular reader of his freelance writing-oriented blog. He is currently sporting a Mohawk at age 39 because his daughters think it’s funny.

You know, on several of the writing boards that I frequent I see that most of the women who work at home (and some of the men) are freelance writers and most of them write for content sites like Internet Brands or The Content Authority.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  I do, too.  But for me it is a little bit different because I’m totally new to the content sites.  Before I started working for them I was completely working for private clients so to me that is easy.

But I always see the people who write for content sites asking about how to get private clients.

I’ll tell you how I do it.  And it is a lot easier than you might think so don’t get mad at me.  Here’s the secret….

Apply for jobs!

Yes, that’s it – start applying for jobs and you’ll get jobs if you have any talent at writing at all.  You can’t get the private clients though if you don’t apply and express an interest in it.

Where to find jobs?  OMG – the list could be so huge!  But I’ll share a few of my favorite places with you.

1. Freelance Job Openings - this can be a bit of a grab bag but less so than other places I’ve seen.  I recently grabbed an awesome job here that looks like it is going to be a big portion of my writing income.  And the job pays more than double what I would normally get for ghostwriting.
2. Freelance Writing Gigs – I don’t know how anyone could possibly not be aware of this one because Deb Ng has been around forever and ever I think (she swears she had a beginning and if you want to know more about it you can listen to the Freelance Writing Jobs Story).  But basically, Deb and her staff troll the net for writing job leads every Monday to Friday and put them up for anyone to see.  When I don’t have time to do a lot of searching this is where I go first.
3. About Freelance Writing – this is another job list that is put together by Anne Wayman.  She’s been around even longer than Deb I think!  Her site is the other one I visit when I don’t have time to really do much searching.  There’s a little more variety there I think and she lists “Low paying” jobs at the bottom.  This isn’t such a bad thing.  I’ve actually found some not bad leads in there.
4. Craigslist – don’t knock it.  I know – there are a lot of scammers but this is still a great place to find writing gigs.  There are writing gigs and editing/writing jobs for every city in America and Canada.  Some will have more than others.  I think my first big writing gig came from there and lasted a long time.  You don’t have to stick to your city either because many of the writing gigs are for anyone, anywhere.
5. Writing forums – in general, those in need of writing will go right to the writers at the writers forums and ask for applications.  Don’t pass this off because there are some great opportunities out there.

There are so many more places where you can find private clients but the bottom line is that you do have to spend some time looking for the jobs and you do have to apply to them.  Dedicate half an hour a day to looking for jobs and another 15 applying (use a standard writer’s resume and cover letter and tweak them as needed) and I will almost guarantee that  you’ll find your writing work increasing.

And the best part of writing for private clients?  If you do a good job they almost always come back for more!

Related articles by Zemanta

• 5 Tips to Promote Your Freelancing Writing (shoutmeloud.com)
• Learn the Skills Your Clients Need (freelanceswitch.com)
• Want More Clients? Just Ask! (freelanceswitch.com)