There's no doubting that the world of freelance writing is a buyer's market. With thousands of good writers looking for positions in various industries and on seemingly endless subjects, the key to finding successful employment in the contracted and freelancing writing markets is elevating your status from good to great. In doing so it is vital to not only understand the market through which you might wish to sell your services, but also the services that may be required/expected of you by any potential employer.
Freelance writers can be considered in most cases to be self-employed journalists, and must therefore adhere to the stipulations that dictate what makes good journalistic work. Of course writing skills are an article writer, blogger or subject specific writers most potent and influential tool, but that alone will not create a successful project or marketable profile. Much of the journalistic work circulating in the market today revolves around an individual's ability to research and analyse a subject in such a way that allows them to effectively replicate and display the ideas they produce via a thorough dissection and ultimate understanding of their chosen issue. There are various methods by which it is possible to attain the information required for an assignment, ranging from reading articles based on paper and online materials to networking and sourcing information from relevant contacts.
In any profession, a jobseeker needs a platform from which they can push off and advertise themselves with. While many freelance writers may already have a background of published materials, those starting out need some extra help to have a chance of wrestling contracts from their more experienced competitors. The perfect way to have your writing recognised and published worldwide for free is through internet blogging, which has become something of a modern phenomenon. With the technological developments of past years, the internet has become easily accessible from almost anywhere, making any blog you create available to literally billions of people every day. Whether you decide to keep a journal, review popular media or just verify the world is updated on the most popular make of pants on any given week, your blog could become vital in obtaining your next writing role. It is, though, worthwhile to note that if you seek to write on a specific issue professionally, your best chance of doing so is in keeping a blog that reflects this.
It is crucial in such a competitive market that you show yourself to not only be a good writer, but a skilled one. Millions of blogs and internet posts already exist though only a very small percentage of them are written by paid professionals, and when hoping to become one of them you must ensure there is parity in class between your work and that of paid journalists. Apparently menial tasks such as checking your word count, spelling, grammar and consistency are all techniques by which you can reach the standard employers will both expect and respect. It may sound obvious, but it is crucial to your progression and hope of finding contract work that your competency as a writer - and in your understanding of an article's subject - should be a clear yet basic element in all your pieces of writing. An absolute fundamental is your capability to proofread and make corrections to your own and others' work, which not only adds legitimacy to your pieces but is also a very useful thing to be able to put into the skills section of your CV.
Being a freelance writer does not solely revolve around your communication capabilities with the written word, but also in your general communication with people. Successful networking through building contacts and advertising yourself via social media such as Twitter and MySpace will really make your profile stand out above the rest and add that every inch you may need to secure a valuable contract in the future.
Diligence is key for the self-employed worker and this can be no more apt than where considering the freelance writer. Starting out in the writing industry is the most difficult aspect of it, as you will undoubtedly continue to hone your skills with each piece of writing you pen and thereon create the opportunity to truly integrate yourself into the sector as far as your determination cares to allow.