Freelance Writing is More Than Just Writing
Writing is only a small part of the process
Writing for a living is much more than just typing words and getting paid. Freelance writing is similar to running your own business.
You will need to learn how to do a variety of tasks, such as marketing, managing finances, building client relations, and much more.
Here is an overview of the tasks you will need to do other than writing.
Understand the Market
One of the first challenges is understanding the market. Not all work is equal.
Writing a blog post for a sports website most likely won’t pay as well as writing for an IT company. Creating landing pages for a new website is also more lucrative than writing social media posts.
Knowing the market will help you decide how much you can charge for your services.
Market Your Services
Another key part of freelance writing is marketing. Writers must market themselves to find new clients and maintain a steady flow of work. Putting your eggs all in one basket is a disaster waiting to happen.
Fortunately, you can market your services in a variety of ways. Creating a LinkedIn profile and sharing writing samples is one method.
Writing on Medium is also an excellent way to build your portfolio and make some money at the same time.
Negotiate With Clients
Many new freelance writers make the mistake of treating a client as an employer. You need to remember that you are providing a service, and you set the rates.
If a client doesn’t agree with the rate, that’s fine. You just move on to the next one.
Way too many writers will accept any available work. I’ve made this mistake starting out, and it’s not fun writing for cheap clients. These clients are also the pickiest, and most are miserable people.
It’s better to be selective with who you choose to work with as a writer.
Manage Deadlines
Dealing with deadlines can be stressful if you don’t plan things out in advance.
Most clients will give at least a week to write a few blog posts. Some of my clients will give me an entire month if they send me twenty blog posts to complete.
Keeping track of your deadlines and completed work is key to staying organized. I use a calendar that tracks everything. I’ve never missed a deadline or asked for an extension.
Clients appreciate dependability, and it’s a great way to keep receiving ongoing work.
Develop a Payment System
No one ever wants to write blog posts and not get paid. You will need to use a payment processor that works best for you and your client.
I get paid mostly through PayPal every couple of weeks. Other popular payment processors include Stripe and Payoneer.
If you use a writing platform, you won’t have to worry about trying to find a payment processor on your own. These websites will take care of the payments once you set up everything during the sign-up process.
Pay Your Taxes
No one enjoys paying taxes, but I would rather pay them than deal with the IRS. Taxes are more complicated if you are a freelance writer because you must pay quarterly self-employment taxes every few months.
The self-employment estimate tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare). The amount you pay is based on your income.
The deadlines for payments fall in January, April, June, and September.
Handle Rejection and Criticism
Rejection and criticism are part of freelance writing, especially in the beginning. It can take a while to find the right tone and develop your voice.
Some clients are impossible to please, and it’s best to move on from them as quickly as possible.
If you do need to revise content, don’t take it personally. Over time, you will eventually develop a thick skin, and most things won’t bother you anymore.
Revisions and rejections will also begin to happen less and less.
Thanks for reading. I hope you learned a few things about the behind-the-scenes process of freelance writing. Feel free to let me know your experiences or any other suggestions.
