Fab Freelance Writing Blog

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If you’re a new writer, congratulations! I wish I were starting my career today. You have unlimited opportunities to make as much money from your writing as you wish. These five steps will help.

Just follow the steps - all of them. By the time you’ve completed all five steps, you WILL be paid for your words. There’s an immense hunger online for words today; if you can write, you can make money.

1. Write ten articles on any topic you choose (as long as it’s not about yourself)

Write ten articles. These ten articles can be on any topic you choose; basically topics for which there are magazines: fashion, mountain bikes, dieting…

There’s one topic you should avoid, and that’s anything to do with yourself. Unless you’ve lived an amazing life, or write with humor, there’s next to no way to make writing about yourself profitable.

Here’s the thing: you’re aiming to write for people who will pay you, whether they’re magazine editors or business people. These people all have an audience, and that audience is interested in a specific topic.

To sell your words, you need to write about topics in which others are interested. So study magazines on a newsstand, and write ten articles.

2. Create a small Web site

Many of my writing students baulk at this one. Creating a Web site seems complicated. Agreed, the first time you do this, it may well be like assembling a toy for your children at Christmas - frustrating. You may want to swear a lot and kick things. Feel free to do it if it relieves your feelings.

Nevertheless, creating a Web site is an essential skill for writers in the new millennium.

And it’s EASY. Really.

I promise you if you take yourself to Blogger, it will take you less than three minutes to create your first site.

So go and do that NOW.

You’re back? Great.

3. Post your articles to your site

Now post all your articles - yes, all ten - to your new site.

Create a small sidebar with a “Hire Me to Write for You” notice. Ensure that there’s a way for people to contact you: include your email address and your cell phone number.

Congratulations. You’re now a writer - all you have to do to make money is to keep writing.

4. Post three articles to article directories

Choose three of your articles, and post them to article directories online - but create a “resource box” or “bio” first.

Your resource box is a chance for you to sell your new writing skill. It also provides a link back to your site, so people can view samples of your writing and can contact you.

You can craft your resource box in any way you wish. It can be extremely simple, as in “John Smith writes about fashion and finance, and he’s available to write for you today. Contact him at his site _____________ (the URL of your Web site.)”

5. Approach Web sites for writing jobs

Finally, approach sites to write for them. Which sites? That depends on the topics you’re comfortable writing about. Whichever topics you’ve chosen, there will be thousands of sites covering those topics.

Check the About page of likely looking sites. If they hire writers, they’ll often have Editorial contact information. Sometimes they won’t. Contact them, tell them who you are and what you want.

Before you know it, you’ll have several clients for whom you write. And you’ll get paid to write for money. It’s just as easy as I’ve described - have fun.

Discover how easy it is to make money writing with Angela Booth’s “Sell Your Writing Online NOW” Training Program. The training helps you to earn while you learn.

For free weekly writing tips, subscribe to Angela’s Fab Freelance Writing Ezine.

Technorati Tags: writing, articles, writing for the Web, make money writing, work from home, writing jobs, writing process

Writing well is a skill which few people possess. Therefore others are happy to buy your writing skills and pay you when you ghostwrite for them. In this article, we’ll look at material you can write as a ghostwriter - and how you can get writing jobs.

If you’re not sure what a ghostwriter is or does, it’s simple. You write for others, and they take the credit. Your work appears under their byline, and all the benefits and rights in your writing pass to them.

Many books on the bestseller lists are written by ghostwriters - including books by athletes and celebrities and by health professionals.

What Can You Write As a Ghostwriter?

You can write books, ebooks and reports, articles for print and for the Web, newspaper and magazine columns, speeches, and much more.

1. Books - Publishers Will Approach You to Write Books

As soon as a publisher signs a celebrity for a book, the hunt is on a for a ghostwriter. The person who’s approached for this will usually have written a book or two for the publisher first. However, if no one is available, agents are approached to see whether one of their writers might do the book.

So if you’re working with a publisher or agent, you’ll be offered ghostwriting jobs. The job will either pay at a flat rate, or you’ll be offered an advance plus royalties deal as you would with any other book.

2. Ebooks - Look for Ghosting Jobs on Forums

Ebooks have become very popular, and they’re highly valuable properties. You can find opportunities to ghost ebooks on the many out-sourcing sites, as well as on forums. Another way to get ebook ghosting jobs is to offer these services from your own site.

You’ll usually be offered a flat rate for the ebook, and I advise you to negotiate for this service. I’ve seen many writers who charge much too little for ebooks. If you write well, your ebook will make many thousands of dollars for the person who buys your services, so don’t sell them too cheaply.

Remember that as soon as you’re paid in full, all rights to the ebook pass to the buyer.

3. Articles for Print and the Web - Offer Ghosting Services on your Own Site

Writing articles for others to use under their own name is very common, both in print, and on the Web. In print, you’ll often receive the entire amount a magazine pays for the article, the person who’s hired you just wants his name on the article for promotional purposes.

Offer article ghostwriting services from your own site.

4. Columns - Approach a Celebrity and Offer them to Newspapers and Magazines

Newspapers and magazines love having celebrities “write” for them. In these kinds of deals, you’ll need to approach the celebrity’s publicist yourself. You’ll be paid at standard rates for the weekly or monthly column, the celebrity’s people negotiate his deal.

5. Speeches - Offer this Service from Your Own Site

If you enjoy writing speeches, offer this service from your site.

6. Audio-visual Presentations - Another Service to Offer from your Own Site

Audio-visual presentations, that is, writing for DVDs, film, and other presentations is a service that’s in demand. You’ll find these ghostwriting jobs on the out-sourcing sites, and you can offer them from your own site as well.

So, now you have a glimpse into the fascinating world of ghostwriting. If you enjoy writing more than seeing your byline, you’ll enjoy ghostwriting. It’s a lot of fun, and is rewarding too.

Step by step to blogging success

Blogging for Dollars is a comprehensive blogging package which helps you to make money blogging.

Pro bloggers can make serious money, whether you choose to blog for a company as a freelance blogger, or build your own entrepreneurial blog. Many bloggers make six figures annually, and blogging networks have been sold for millions of dollars.

Make money blogging today - you’re sure of success with Blogging for Dollars to guide you.

Technorati Tags: ghostwriting, writing, writing jobs, ghostwriter, freelance writing, writer, books, ebooks

Many competent writers shy away from copywriting. However, the ability to write copy for businesses is a vital skill for a high freelance writing income. Discover easy ways you can get started as a copywriter in this article.

Copywriting is writing for business; it’s persuasive writing to generate sales. Since copywriting is vital for businesses, they pay well for your words.

It’s easy to combine copywriting with other forms of freelance writing. I started writing copy when I was writing romance novels for a British publisher for example, and have always combined it with writing for magazines and writing business books.

Not only does copywriting improve your income, it also improves your other writing, and your ability to sell your writing. You’ll use the attributes of copywriting to sell your books to publishers and your articles to magazines and Web sites.

So, since copywriting can do so much for your freelance writing career, how do you get started?

Here are two of the best ways: start local, and use the Web.

1. Start local

The easiest way to get started is to start local. Contact graphics design and editorial agencies in your city and state, and tell them you’re looking for freelance writing jobs.

These agencies are always looking for copywriters, so they’ll be interested in sub-contracting work to you as it comes in. You’re likely to be more attractive to an agency because you’re actually looking for work. Pro copywriters have more work than they can handle in the current economic climate, so they turn down work offered to them by agencies.

Create some samples to show the agencies; either write ads for your new business, or rewrite some advertising. It’s an accepted practice to rewrite advertising to create your own samples before you have credits.

Although you won’t be highly paid at first, because you’re a new copywriter, you’ll find that even in the beginning, copywriting pays much more than other forms of writing.

Once you’ve landed some work with an agency, you can use your newly-acquired credits to look for copywriting gigs on your own. This is where your Web site comes in.

Want to increase your freelance income? Subscribe to Fab Freelance Writing Ezine.

2. Get a Web site for easy promotion

For a copywriter, a Web site is a godsend, simply because it means you can send people who are interested in hiring you to the site, so they can view your portfolio.

Your Web site lets your prospects classify themselves - you don’t have to send them huge packages by mail, you just direct them to your Web site, and they can see whether you’re a good fit for their needs before they contact you.

So what goes on your Web site? Basically, the various kinds of copywriting work you do, and your portfolio. Just list your services, and either let people download your portfolio in PDF form, or post the portfolio online.

Make sure that you include contact details on every page; make it easy for people to contact you. Include your cell phone number too. The easier you make it for people to contact you, the more people will do it. Please don’t forget your contact details - I can’t count the number of sites where the contact details were forgotten, or were hidden.

So there you have it - two easy ways to get started copywriting. Not only will adding copywriting to your freelance writing services increase your income, the benefits of your skills flow to all your other writing too.

Want to increase your freelance income? Subscribe to Fab Freelance Writing Ezine.

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Whether you’re new to copywriting, or are an experienced pro, you’ll LOVE Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success because it’s so easy. It’s a complete copywriting course that builds a copywriting services business for you.

Just follow step by step to launch your own successful freelance copywriting business in SEVEN days. Others have done it, and are doing it right now.

Become a copywriter and get paid to write

Did you know that most business people struggle with their writing? It’s true. If you enjoy writing and find it easy, you can write for money, for business. In short, you can become a copywriter.

Copywriting is writing for business: promotional writing. Copywriters write material like advertisements and compared to most writers, they’re VERY highly paid.

The explosion of the influence of the Web means that copywriters are flooded with offers of work. Even new copywriters find it easy to get copywriting gigs and to build their copywriting services business.

If copywriting intrigues you, join me in my Copywriting Master Class. I’ll take you from copywriting novice to pro.

“Copywriting Master Class - Ten Weeks to Copywriting Genius” gives you a comprehensive copywriting course, as it helps you to set up your copywriting services business.

Technorati Tags: copywriting, copywriting tips, learn copywriting, freelance copywriting jobs, web copywriting, copywriter