Linda Hansen Freelance Writer For Hire

Starting Out

So…. I decided to try becoming a freelance writer. The writing portion of this whole thing is not the issue, as I have more than enough to say on just about any topic there is. However, some words of advice to the newbies out there!

First off, I recommend Elna Cain’s course, Writing Your Way to Your First $1K. It’s chock full of great tips and hints. However, do NOT do as I did, and as I was going through the course, try getting set up. And, do not set up your website until you have everything ready to add, including samples of your work.

Reason why is because of the simple fact that your site represents you as a writer, and if you don’t have anything on it, it’s not going to look well for you. Well, I was having fun trying to get my site connected to a domain, especially since I am,  well, broke at the moment.

Google Domains offers a real good deal on pricing: $12 for one year and you get to set up what you want your name to be. Of course, all domain hosting sites do this, but the free ones will generally add their name to the end of your URL, so it would look like this: http://www.purelyinnovativewriting.net/wix.com instead of: http://www.purelyinnovative.net/

I can’t tell you how many different website builder sites I went to, trying to find a theme I liked. I’m still searching, as we speak. The biggest problem is not building the site, but getting it connected to the domain, unless you’re building a site with say, Bluehost or Weebly and have decided that you’re going to purchase a domain name with them.

Your final result is never going to be truly finalized, as you’ll add content and change graphics, in attempts to drive new subscribers or followers to your site, which will result in getting clients.

So, the way I would start out is:

1. Decide on what type of services you would like to offer, as there are several and you can change these at any time.
2. Decide what your passions are, as these can form your “niche” or specialty. You’ll also want to take into consideration what your hobbies are, what type of work experience you’ve had in the past and build upon those to create that niche which is yours.
3. Get some good head shots of yourself and upload to your computer.
4. Create a logo. There are plenty of free sites available for creating this.
5. Decide on what you want to convey with your photo of yourself. I have a blog/newsletter titled “Twisted Politics”, in which I explore how politics got started and how we, the public, can make our elected officials accountable to us. So, I wanted it to appear as if I was coming out of a fog, and I’m pretty sure that’s what my background photo conveys. 

There you have it. I’d love to hear from you on what experiences you’ve had in getting started, and any tips that may make it easier for others wishing to join this fascinating world of writing!