The Writing Coach Blog

Getting Started: Resources for Finding Freelance Work

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by Maya Payne Smart

Starting a freelance writing business can seem daunting, even for veteran writers. You've got your resume, letter of introduction, and clips in order. You know what you'd like to write about, but you're not sure whom you'd like to write it for. Maybe you don't have any former employers to hit up for assignments — or you want to cast a much wider, more lucrative net. Where do you start? One option is the Internet, where you'll find a slew of resources to help you hit the ground running. Here are four Web sites that I use and highly recommend.

FreelanceDaily

FreelanceDaily.net is kind of like a Craigslist for freelancers. The site rounds up writing leads from various online sources, including classified ad posts, and breaks them down into categories for easy scanning. These categories include travel and food, medical health, copywriting, scriptwriting, and more. Sometimes dozens of new posts appear daily. 

Of course, much in the same way you would test-drive a car before buying one via Craigslist, you should check out potential clients before agreeing to work for them. Some of the posts on FreelanceDaily are dubious. As a freelancer, it's your responsibility to do due diligence: Ask questions, vet contracts, and clarify your terms to make sure that you can collect the fees you have agreed upon for services rendered. Always trust your gut instincts. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Protect yourself from flaky clients by declining work when necessary.

FreelanceSuccess

This members-only site costs about $99 a year to join, which is a small price to pay for the access to valuable resources you'll get in return. My favorite FreelanceSuccess feature is its in-depth weekly newsletter, which provides detailed guides to specific markets. FreelanceSuccess staffers often base their information on actual interviews with editors at the publications profiled, which tend to be those that pay at least 50 cents per word for articles. This gives freelance writers a chance to get inside editors' heads to see what they need, what kinds of writers they're looking for and what deadlines they're working with. Plus, the editors frequently discuss how writers can be most successful in pitching to them. Armed with this knowledge, you can tailor your pitch letters to meet their needs.

FreelanceSuccess also offers:

• A strong community of freelance writers
• In-depth market guides
• News about editorial staffing changes at publications
• A forum for freelancers to exchange ideas and tips
• Subscriber database that helps link editors with writers

Mediabistro

This popular site for media professionals offers all sorts of helpful tools. However, its job listings section isn't always the best place for freelancers to find work. Instead, you may consider trying out its Freelance Marketplace, which costs about $150 a year. In the marketplace, Mediabistro allows members to post profiles of themselves that include contact information, work history, links or attachments of writing samples and other details for editors who are looking for freelance writers.

If 150 bucks sounds steep, it's been worth the investment for me: Editors from publications I'd never thought to approach, including Small Business Banking News and Black MBA magazine, contacted me through its directory. For more on how to succeed with Mediabistro's Freelance Marketplace, check out "Get Found on Mediabistro's Freelance Marketplace" and "Convert Mediabistro Freelance Marketplace Profile Views to Sales."

Mediabistro also recently launched a program called Freelance Connect. This forum has a bidding system that operates sort of like Elance.com. An editor with a particular assignment in mind details it on the site, and then writers bid on the job. In general, I don't like bidding sites, which too often create a race to the bottom. If you're going to bid, present yourself as a better, stronger option rather than low-balling yourself and decreasing the value of your work.

Finally, you may also want to check out Mediabistro's Fishbowl sites, which sometimes contain news about career moves within various publications. Say you've got the perfect story about climate change and you see that a major magazine just lost its best environmental reporter. Now may be the perfect time to send a pitch letter. (Note: You can subscribe to a daily feed, so that you get all of the day's posts in one tidy e-mail.)

Writer's Market

You're probably familiar with Writer's Market, which since 1921 has published a book of opportunities for freelancers to sell their writing. Its newer Web site can be equally helpful. Writersmarket.com primarily supplies information about magazines and book publishers. The site allows you to manage your submissions with various record-keeping tools — if you don't yet have a system for tracking those sorts of things — and helps you stay abreast of the latest publishing industry news.

You can glean additional information from its Q&As with some of its publishing experts. And its pay-rate chart will give you an idea of what to charge for certain kinds of freelance gigs, particularly those that don't use a standard per-word rate.