In the few years I’ve been freelancing, I’ve sold a several hundred articles to more than thirty magazines, newspapers and websites. I get asked on a regular basis on how to break into freelance, so here are a few tips.

One of the most basic and important things is to be able to write, and this includes a strong understanding of grammar. I think a lot of would-be freelance writers get rejected off the bat for grammar mistakes. I know it surprises me when I get emails from people interested in freelance and they seem unaware of all the errors in the message they sent me. There are plenty of books and online places where you can learn what you need to know about grammar.

I usually recommend to people that they start out small and build up. Unless they have connections, odds are their first article is not going to be in a big magazine. I had no connections, so I started where I could. I originally did freelance work for a small newspaper, but that counted on my résumé, and from there I started to get into smaller magazines. Once I had written for a few smaller magazines, I could go to bigger ones and they’d take me seriously because they saw I had a solid work record.

Persistence is key. Sometimes you have to write to a magazine (or newspaper, or website) more than once. I emailed places like Booklist and Publishers Weekly several times before they responded and began having me write for them. However, take breaks (a week to a few weeks) before writing back again. If you send them too much, you might annoy them and get deleted. Also, I recommend you only try this technique if you think you have a good chance of getting into the place. I wouldn’t go to the biggest magazine out there and email them over and over, because odds are you’re wasting your time and theirs.

Write about what you know. If you’re knowledgeable on a subject, try magazines that cover it. It might lead to other magazines of a similar nature. I wouldn’t recommend trying to write for a magazine that deals with something you don’t know about.

Having a website can be very useful. I have one, and on one of its pages I have links to about 200 articles I’ve published at various places. When I write to new editors, I can link to my website.

Be aware that becoming a freelancer is hardest at the beginning. When you’re brand-new and don’t have a résumé, it takes more effort to get yourself out there. However, with such things as good writing skills, persistence and knowledge, your efforts ought to pay off.

Danica Davidson is a professional freelance writer who is now actively seeking to publish a YA novel. She was interested in novels before freelance, and has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and featured on the Guide to Literary Agents about her novel-writing.  She has also adapted Japanese books into English. Please check out her website or follow her on Twitter.

In this article, we’re going to look at 4 fast methods of  ways of starting your career as a freelance writer. These are: Write for Free, Write Book Reviews, Write Profiles and Look for Editing Jobs.

Writing for free is a great way of getting started and is a method I’ve used many times in the past. It might even lead to a job with that publication. Once you get a feeling for writing, and more importantly, working within the style guides of different magazines, you can move on from there.

When I began writing, I had many options. My decision was to specialize. I chose to stick with photography and computer graphics software. Both of these can be highly technical areas and if you write for these publications, you’ll be expected to do in-depth research. I started with reviews (which can be really time-consuming). Later on, I progressed to “how-to” articles, which were much easier (and enjoyable) to write.

The 2nd method is to write book reviews. This is an easy way of getting your writing career going and will give you referral material for other jobs. When you’re in the early phases of writing, getting credibility is very important. This will increase your value in the eyes of editors. When writing a review, create a strong opening paragraph. When writing the review, let the reader know what the book is about without giving away the story.

The 3rd method is to write profiles. This is one of my favorite forms of writing and is a great writers market. You get to interview a person and tell their story. It’s also an easy way of writing, if you do it correctly. I had one writing gig (Streaming Media World) and the vast majority of my work was interviewing people. Over time, I became quite good at it and could create articles quickly. Most of the time I recorded telephone interviews,which I’d transcribe and edit later. If I had enough lead time, I’d do an email interview, which made life easier.

I’ve saved the best for last. The 4th method is to look for editing jobs. If you have good writing skills, consider looking for work as an editor. Here are some compelling reasons why: The pay is better, the hours are generally better, you don’t have to write everything from scratch and you get to learn a new skill and improve your writing.

Looking for success as a freelance Writer? Download a *free* chapter and learn how to find great writing jobs at http://www.freedomfreelancewriting.com.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

My most recent book is Secrets of Profitable Freelance Writing. It is designed for the person who would like to start a career, either part-time or full-time as a freelance writer. In the book, I reveal what I did to build a career, including all the resources I used, and techniques for working with editors, magazines and building long-term relationships.

As an example, I have one relationship that has spanned nine years, through several different magazines and assignments.

Tell us something about yourself.

Well, if we’re going to go all the way back, I was born in the frozen wastelands of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1959. My folks didn’t stay there long, though. Within a few years, we moved to the U.S., to California and my father tried to build a career there. He wasn’t all that successful and after being down south for a few years, we moved back to Canada, to Calgary, Alberta. That is where I did the bulk of my growing up. When I was 23, I left Calgary and moved to Vancouver, B.C.

At that time in my life, writing was the furthest thing from my mind. For most of my childhood, I lived and breathed airplanes. I built them, flew radio control models and ultimately, I obtained a Commercial Pilot’s license.

I’d hoped to build a career in that, but in the early 1980’s the economy crashed and I found myself without a career, so I had to reinvent myself. I went to university, but found that wasn’t to my liking and dropped out after a couple of years. After that, I bounced around for several years, not doing all that much until the mid 1980’s, when I became interested in special effects photography. One thing led to another and with my father’s help, I began working in the multi-image industry, creating special effects photography for computer controlled slide shows. This was a precursor to multimedia, as it’s known today.

Writing came later much later, in the late 1990’s when I was offered a job as a software instructor. I was given a manual, but it was completely inadequate for my course. I offered to rewrite it, did so and taught the course based on what I had written.

A year later, in 1998, I moved to Victoria, lost my job there and that’s where the writing saga begins. Now, all these years later, it is the glue that holds everything together in my career.

What inspired you to write this book?

It was the result of hanging out on forums. I encountered many people who wanted to write and the vast majority of them had no idea what to do. Worse, many of them were working for writing sites that offered a pittance for their work, which really ticked me off. Essentially, these writers were being taken advantage of. I also knew that many of these people would quickly burn out under the intense workload they were given and would probably quit writing entirely.

How did you choose the title?

The original title was The Fast Track to Profitable Freelance Writing. Oveall, I liked it, though I realized that changing the title and incorporating the word “Secrets” was a better idea, partly because my book reveals information that few freelance writers seem to know.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

Mostly how to create a title for Print on Demand (POD). I am familiar with PDF files and am comfortable in the Web space. The problem was not having much experience in the print world.

Fortunately I’m comfortable with software and technology, so it hasn’t been all that difficult, just time-consuming.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

First off, I never planned to be a freelance writer. At the time, I had just moved from one city to another to take a job as a software instructor at a local technical school.

Without getting into all the drama of what happened, things went off the rails almost immediately. I had a many problems with the students (most of whom weren’t qualified to be there) and the owner of the school and me didn’t see eye to eye. Within a matter of weeks I was fired.

So here I was in a new city, without a network and without a job. Worse, I couldn’t go back to where I’d come from, since I’d exhausted my options there as well.

I spent a couple of weeks where I had no idea what to do next. Fortunately, I had a cash reserve though my prospects were looking pretty bleak. That was when my cousin, who was working as a freelance writer, came to visit.

When he heard about my situation, he asked me: “Would you like to learn how to write?” He told me the fee, which was $500.00 and with no other options in sight, I accepted.

Do you have any writing rituals?

One in particular, which I discuss in my book, has to do with writing reluctance or avoidance. I offer several strategies. One of them is when serious avoidance sets in. Here’s what I recommend:

Put a timer on the table beside you and set it for five minutes. During that time, write about anything. Play with headlines. Spend some time on a fun project, etc.

When done, set the timer for another five minutes and begin the process all over again. Repeat as many times as necessary. Eventually, you will overcome the reluctance to work and will be able to get on with your day.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?

The biggest thing I learned came from my publicist, who informed me that if I stayed in the online realm with an ebook, I would lose out on 90% of my potential market. That was huge!

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

I would do keyword research using Market Samurai from day one. I would also write the book with the idea that it would be for print and the Web, not just the Web.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Well, I do like mystery novels. Some of my favorite authors are Michael Connolly, John Sandford and Lee Child. I like these authors because of the quality of the writing and the character development. They create a lot of depth, which I really enjoy.

The other books I read involve what I refer to as hard-core spiritual practice, by such teachers as Stephan Bodian, Nisargadatta and Adyashanti. I like these teachers for their clarity, directness and no-nonsense approach. I consider myself fortunate to have found them.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

Do your homework. Good, solid research is the foundation of a successful project. Don’t underestimate that and don’t take shortcuts. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

The person wants to earn money as a freelance writer, whether that be part-time, full-time or with a career in mind.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

You can find my book on Amazon.com. You can also learn more about freelance writing on my blog, at: http://www.freedomfreelancewriting.com My ISBN is: 978-0-9784919-1-8.

If you are committed to being a freelance writer, you will need to have a marketing plan in place. You will also have a commitment to learning the craft of writing on various subjects; how to calculate the keyword density for the articles you write that require SEO keywords as part of the requirement given you by the client. You must also commit to writing something every day. You can’t just hang out and then write when you get the next assignment.

You need to build up clips. Clips come from writing, take a guess at what you need to do. Write, write, write, and write. If you are not willing to make this commitment, you are probably not going to make it as a freelance writer. It takes a commitment to writing, improving, learning, marketing, and promoting to make it as a beginning freelance writer, and even after you are established. No writer can rest on their laurels, especially the freelance writer. A freelance writer must work doubly on staying in the mind of clients and working on finding the next client, unless you work in-house for some company and they find your clients. If you want to keep busy, you will have to spend more time looking for work, than actually writing.

If as a freelance writer, you are not willing to do the work finding jobs and promoting yourself, you probably won’t make it in the freelance writing arena. Marketing and promoting have become an integral part of every writer’s life, not just the freelance writer. Especially as the economy slows down and companies merge, they can do the promoting for you any longer. You will need to reinvent yourself with almost every piece of copy you write.

Learn, read, and above all practice your trade. Learn to write press releases for your business to let people know you are there. Also look at the copy from businesses in your community, see if you can make it better. Approach the local Chamber of Commerce, social clubs, fraternal organizations, your church, and work on their newsletters, and pamphlets. Anything you can do to learn the art of freelance writing. Write web content for organizations, or church you belong to; any kind of writing to gain practice in the various types of writing freelancers write for a living.

If you cannot maintain this type of commitment, you should reconsider your choice of becoming a freelance writer.

Robert Medak built a website where he offers his services, and maintains five blogs. He also maintains two blogs for AllBook Reviews,
and does marketing for AllBooks. Robert created a social networking site for freelance writers at Ning.com. He keeps it an invitation only site to keep spammers out, he has been plagued enough with spammers in other writers’ sites where he is a member. He also maintains a critique group at Yahoo Groups called “critiquings”. Robert created a course for writers at Writers’ Village University (WVU) which he has facilitated, he has facilitated other courses at WVU. He also helped establish a Creative Writing Workshop at WVU.

Website: http://stormywriter.com or blog, http://rjmedak.wordpress.com/.