What's the Very First Step?
Sunday June 8, 2008
Here's a question I get almost daily: What's the first thing I need to do? Whether you're looking to freelance full time, or just want to see your name in print, there's one thing you need to do to get started.
Want some advice tailored to your exact situation? Visit me in the forums, and I'll try to give you a helping hand.
A reader “LB” had an additional way to get a clip not covered in this article:
“You forgot one sure-fire way to get a first clip or two. Find a local weekly paper and volunteer. They always need more content and have mo money to pay for it.”
The hardest thing about freelnace commercial writing is circumnavigating all the website mazes, remebering passords and user ID codes and finding jobs. I refuse to do students homework for them, I personally feel that is stealing from their parents (and the students education). So I don’t do it. I do write for an online magazine which I enjoy very much. It started with one article and the response was so great I was asked to write on a regular basis. Now, no matter what anyone says, the money does not magically appear when you start being a copywriter. No matter how good you are, no matter how much preparation you have done. You gotta market yourself. You also muust crawl before you can walk. Doing a lot of little jobs and build up to the better paying jobs. There are a lot of projects out there if you want to write for $2. per page. The best thing I can offer is just hang in there and if you have a passion for writing, find a niche and stick with it. It is always good to have a specialty.
JR Hafer