There are literally hundreds and hundreds of lucrative freelance writing jobs around all of which can lead to a rewarding income.  Making money from these opportunities is no where near as hard as people think. Unfortunately most people fail dismally and it won’t be due to lack of writing ability.

If you really want a successful freelance writing career, you need more than just a talent for putting words together in a coherent and entertaining way. 

1.     Adopt the right mindset.  Freelancing is a business, not a mutual favour system!  Don’t fawn at the feet of editors, publishers or business owners by feeling grateful to them for giving you work.  It is an equal partnership with you supplying a service which full fills their needs and helps them sell copies of their magazines, newspaper, books etc or increase their profit margin as in the case of marketing material for the business sector.

2.     Don’t write for free!  You wouldn’t expect your dentist to fill your teeth for the honour of it so no magazine editor should expect you to write for nothing.  They may tell you they have no budget for writers, but if they are selling copies of the magazine as a commercial venture and can’t afford to pay for contributions then they should not be publishing in the first place.

3.     Use a business name and set up a bank account for it.  You should be aware that any income you earn as a freelance writer has to be declared on your tax return.  If you are really serious about freelancing as a career, set up a business name and separate bank account for your earnings.

Most freelancers operate as sole traders, but that doesn’t mean you can’t operate under a business name.  Although I use my real name when communicating with editors and clients, my business is known as Writelink.

4.     Keep accounts and use properly designed stationary.  These do not have to be anything fancy, but they do need to present a business-like image.  You can design simple letter heads with your word processor and set up a simple income/expenditure spreadsheet with Excel.  If you don’t want to do this for yourself, you can buy a special Freelance Writers’ Business Pack which has templates for all these, plus a lot of other useful freelance writing information.

5.     The last must know is probably the most important!  Focus on your potential, not your limitations!  This may sound obvious, but it’s surprising how many people dwell on their perceived weaknesses.  To get over this, concentrate on the areas that you have had success with or feel the most likely to succeed in.

For instance, if you are good at writing how to articles, concentrate on the magazine market and then look to breaking into the business sector by offering an instruction manual writing service.  Once you develop skills and success in one area your confidence will receive a terrific boost which will help you to spread your net further a field.

Of course there is much more to building a freelance writing career than this, but these five must knows will help you get started.  If you want more detailed advice check out FEE-lance Writing, The Complete Guide To A Profitable Writing Business.