The profession of a writer is considered to be quite intelligent and that’s one of the reasons why it attracts bright minds that have lots to say. And you must be one of them if you decided to embark on a journey a writer’s life is. Predictably enough, you must have little to no understanding of how to actually become a writer in the modern world. But since you’ve been fortunate enough to find this guide, you now have a clear path to follow.
Let’s come to the point — clients
This is what worries beginners the most — where to find clients and how to convince them you’re actually good at your job. This might seem like a puzzle but actually, the internet made it relatively simple to find someone who would need your skills. Yet, you still need to do a couple of things to get clients.
Get your own blog or get published
You will need to showcase your work, and it’s better for it to be something someone other than your relatives and friends have read. You have two solutions here — both have their pros and cons.
The first one is to publish your articles in your own blog. The pros are that you will definitely get published because you’re the chief editor here, and you will be published instantly for the very same reason. The cons are that you will need to pay for a hosting and a domain, and it’s not easy to attract readers to your blog. So you might still end up with just your relatives and friends reading the fruits of your creativity.
Or you could get published in some media you like. Most online journals will accept relevant articles from third-party authors. However, you might not get paid for that. But payment is not the most important thing here — getting published is. The pros of this method are that many people will read your article, and since it gets approved by a chief editor, you receive proof of your skill. Most likely, future potential clients will value you getting published in real media more than in your own blog. And as a cherry on top, you have a chance to make your name just a bit more popular since you will be stated as the author of the article.
The cons are that you’ll need to follow the rules of the media and get approved by a chief editor. Each journal has some kind of guidelines that determine the topics it covers and the way articles should look. You will need to study these guidelines and write according to them. This will require you to show some flexibility and maybe step away from your own rules. Although, it’s a very useful thing to do since working with clients you will have to adjust to their demands.
Getting approved by a chief editor can be an issue sometimes. You should expect numerous edits and criticism of your article — be humble and accept everything a chief editor says to you as a lesson. Remember that a chief editor is an extremely experienced professional with excellent writing and editing skills — for now, they know better than you.
Create accounts on freelance websites
Numerous sites allow freelancers and clients to connect. Create accounts at a couple of them and offer your services when you find projects that fit your skills and interests. But be careful because there are a lot of scammers on these platforms.
Never agree to move the conversation with a potential client from the platform to some other messenger. This drastically increases your chances of not get paid for your job because the platform can’t protect you if you moved the conversation away from it. So always keep chatting with a client within the platform and agree to the payment processed through the platform, too. It will take away a small fee but give you protection from scammers.
The rule of thumb — if a client offers you to move the conversation away from the platform to some messenger because it’s “more convenient”, it’s more likely a scam.
Offer your services to media
There is no such thing as too much content for online journals and they’re always glad to accept new authors. Gather some of your articles that are relevant to the media you want to join and send them to the chief editor along with a short introduction of yourself. Who knows, maybe this way you will get your first job as a journalist.
Remember that it’s not just about articles
You can write scenarios to videos, small e-books, and even fiction literature as a ghostwriter, ad copy, social media content, emails — the list is quite long. So don’t limit yourself with article writing jobs, try other types of content, too. Maybe you will like them more than the articles.
Tips on writing
Now, here are some tips that will help you improve your writing skill.
Write more
The more you write, the better you become at it. Writing is a skill, and just like any other skill, it improves with practice. So write more — for clients, for media, for your personal journal or blog, or whenever you get inspired.
Read more
Think of writing as of using the words you have in mind — and their number decreases as you write them. To refill your stock of words, you need to read at least as much as you write. Such a mindset will help you to actually read without being cocky about your writing skill. Many beginners fall into this illusion of them being advanced enough to read anything written by others. This stops them from improving their skill and learning from other authors. By imagining that your ability to write is powered by a stock of words that might get scarce, you will protect yourself from harmful illusions.
Plan before you write
Before you start writing any text, answer these questions:
- Why do you write it — what do you want to tell your reader?
- Who will read this — who is your target audience?
- What does the reader get from your text — what’s the use?
- What does the reader need to read — the needs of your audience?
This will help you to define the topic and eliminate the risk that you will step away from the main matter of your text. Also, it will help you to talk to your audience in a way they can easily understand.
And once you answer these questions, create a plan of your text. Follow it as you write.
Don’t overestimate the reader
Many beginners tend to use complex and rarely used by the public words simply because they know them and want to show off their intelligence. The only goal they reach by doing that is getting a reader annoyed. Keep your language simple, don’t leave a reader feeling like a fool. Being on the same level with the audience is what makes an author loved and popular, not showing off the vocabulary.
Imagine you’re talking to a person face-to-face
Many beginners tend to write in a very stiff manner because they think that this is the way. Then a text becomes hard and unpleasant to read. When writing, imagine that you’re talking to someone face-to-face and write the way you would talk. This will help you to liven up your text and make it friendlier.
Practice your writing and stay humble along the way — even the best writers always have new heights to conquer!