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Basic Freelance Writing Skills

August 3rd 2010 19:20

Freelance Writing Jobs ran an article today on 10 Skills Freelance Writers Must Have if They Want to Succeed.

These are the first three skills listed:
1. Spell
2. Follow Grammar Rules
3. Proofread

At first I thought, those are a bit obvious. Of course you need to be able to spell, know your grammar and proofread your work as a freelance writer. Then I remembered all the badly written travel articles and blog posts I come across on a daily basis. The shortcomings they have in common: poor spelling, a neglect for basic grammar rules and no proofreading whatsoever, by the looks of them. So while those writing skills struck me as not even worth mentioning at first, I had to agree with Susan on second thought.

Now I'd go even further: If you struggle with spelling and grammar and consider proofreading a waste of time, may I suggest you should rethink your career choice? Freelance writing is difficult even if your brain comes with a built-in spell checker and you have a black belt in irregular verbs. These three basic skills are non-negotiable for a successful freelance writing career.

Read Susan's post to find out what the other seven freelance writing skills are.

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Posted By: Sonya 1 - Category: about freelance writing, new to freelance writing

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Freelancing: Fact and Fiction

January 19th 2010 22:45

Many people have a romantic notion of being a freelancer that bears little resemblance to the truth. There's the old cliche that as a freelancer, you can wear your pyjamas all day. Many fantasize about working in the sun. And too many people think that you can get away with working for five hours tops and then recline to the sun lounger.

Freelancing reality comes in many different versions, but more often than not clothes, a desk and long working hours are part of it.

If you want to write relevant, informative articles you have to do your research. You may have to talk to people or experience the subject of your article first-hand so you can make it come alive for the reader. Facing the outside world in my pyjamas? I don't think so.

Has anyone ever tried working outside, on the balcony or in a sunny café, maybe? Then you'll know that the sun makes it often difficult to see the pixels on your screen, and wind can wreak havoc with your notes if you scribbled them down on loose paper. Having your workspace is much more productive.

I don't know about you, but I like to have a certain standard of living. If I only worked five hours a day, I wouldn't make enough to even afford the rent in London, let alone eat. No, I still work full time as an employee and then another four or five hours freelance on top of that. Whenever a longer freelance project needs more than five hours a day of my attention, I use some of my annual leave. When you start out as a freelancer, chances are you'll work more than before.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone - far from it. I just want you to be realistic about the freelance adventure. You'll have to invest something in the beginning to get yourself in the position where the well-paid jobs are the rule rather than the exception. You want to be your own boss, don't you?

Fact is - sometimes I'm in my pjs all day, the wind dies down and I get everything done by lunchtime.

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Posted By: Sonya 1 - Category: about freelance writing, miscellaneous, work/life balance

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