Are You Good Enough to Be a Freelance Writer?

An aspiring freelance writer wrote in to me recently asking how she could tell if she was "good enough to be a freelance writer." She was a nurse who was in the midst of a career change. The advice dispensed can be used by every wannabe or aspiring freelance writer who may have the same fears.

2 Ways to Tell if You're Good Enough to Be a Freelance Writer

1. Is your writing "good enough": All you have to do is look at article directories to see that writing ranges from very poor, to high quality pieces. If you can string two grammatically correct sentences together, in most cases, your writing is good enough.

Throw in some keen research skills and the ability to adhere to deadlines, and you can be a freelance writer. You don't have to be a genius or have some type of special writing ability. Simply the ability to write well (eg, structured, grammatically correct materials that flows and makes sense is all you need to know how to do).

As an aside, I wrote the following to the freelancer who emailed me: "The fact that you were a nurse (advanced education) tells me that you're used to analyzing material, writing papers and probably business correspondence as well. So, yeah, you're good enough."

2. Freelance Writing Experience: Don't worry about this. I advise aspiring freelance writers to target niches they know well and/or or have a lot of experience in. That way, the only things you'll have to learn are the general aspects of what a client wants, not the actual information itself.

Create Freelance Writing Samples: To get around the "I don't have any freelance writing samples" problem, simply write up 3-5, 400-600 word articles and use them. Nobody has to know that they haven't been published. Most potential clients won't ask if you've been published. They'll just want to see proof that you can write.

These "samples" will prove that.

If you determine that you're good enough to be a freelance writer, here's the first thing you need to do.

Get a Website: Publishing a simple, informational site is all you need. It doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, the simpler and more clean it is, the better. There are three pages I'd recommend that every freelance writing website should start out with:

About Me Page: List your credentials and a professional profile (not a resume). Your professional profile can list things like memberships and associations, volunteer work, special interests, etc. I advise that it not be a typical resume, because this sends a signal that you're looking for a job. A professional profile signals that you're a business looking to "partner with" a company.
As an example, see my Freelance Writing Profile.

Samples Page: This is where you would list all of your samples. If you don't have any, as previously mentioned, create a few and list them here.

Service Offering Page: This is where you'd list all of your freelance writing services, and your rates if you wish. Some like to offer rates on their site, others don't. I tend to lean towards publishing your rate. I've done it for years. By doing this, you give clients all the information they need up front to make a decision.

The next time you question if you're good enough to be a freelance writer, remember, if you can read and write, there's a freelance writing niche out there that can use your services. And yes, you are good enough to conquer it.

For more on how to start a successful freelance writing career, visit InkwellEditorial.com.

About the Author: Yuwanda Black is a freelance SEO writer and the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles. Ms. Black says, "You can work from home as a freelance writer in your PJs, getting assignments via the internet. I do it every day." Visit her SEO Writing website to learn more about the types of SEO content she offers.