And Sue, I like the idea of keeping no more than 30% of your income dependent upon one client. You never can tell when things might fall through.

One thing I’ve learned in terms of writing is that every editor will want something different. I write for one company that want all articles written using APA, another wants Chicago and then I’m training for a job that uses Morson’s. I keep guides on my desk so that I can keep them straight when I’m working because otherwise they all run together.

@ Maryam – That’s a whole other blog post! I find new clients through ads (such as the ones featured at this web site), freelance bidding sites, advertisements on Craigslist, through existing clients and, sometimes, even through cold calling.

@ Matt – I think the hobbyist, though, still has to be concerned about quality. No way in hell you’re going to get 40 cents a word if you don’t write well.

@ Sue – not a bad plan to shoot for, I like it!

@ J. Edward – Sure they would, but not for the reasons they think, though.

@ Phil – Depending on your specialization in freelance writing, it can go quicker, but it can also take longer.

As to the idea of not writing in a single niche, you have to be careful there. If you can be “the” writer in your niche, you’ll be able to charge a heck of a lot more than if you just write all over the board.

@ Jenny – You’re welcome.

@ Sarah – I won’t deny that there is some degree of basic aptitude involved, or that some writers can have more innate talent. But, I believe those things apply much more to fiction than they do freelance writing.

The problem with the folks you describe isn’t that they necessarily can’t become a good writer, it’s that they don’t believe they’re a bad one so they don’t strive to improve their craft.

I hear what you’re saying about good first clients. My very first writing client turned into a very long term client: I’m still writing for him today!

But I have to disagree with your opinion that “good writing is, primarily, a learned skill”. Some people never ‘get it’, regardless of how long they’ve been doing it or what they do to ‘learn’ it.

The sad thing about that is these people are told, often by family and friends, that they are great writers, which leads them to humiliate themselves in the marketplace by trying to sell their work.

I pulled out my calendar from last May to compare it to this May, and only one of the clients is the same, yet the amount of money I’ve earned is equivalent. Yet, all but one of this May’s clients were repeat clients. As my career evolves, so does my client list. The important thing is to have a good base that you can depend on in case someone drops you or the markets change or you feel the need to move on.

Excellent way to spread risk. You may also want to make sure your writing isn’t too much in a single sector (i.e., real estate). My business took some big hits when I was too focused on banking or on technology — especially after the dotcom bust.

When wannabe freelancers ask me the most important thing to know about this job, I say “have patience.” You can’t succeed without it.

Some of us write mostly for pleasure. I’ve managed to keep 95% of my writing on subjects I’d be writing about even if I wasn’t getting paid.

Hey, Matt, want to voice your opinion, have it published for tens of thousands to see, AND get paid ~40 cents a word for it?

Um, yeah!!!

I’m still trying to figure out how to put this tactfully to people who tell me they’d like to “do what I do.” They regularly begin sentences with “we was,” and genuinely don’t know it’s grammatically incorrect.

Awesome article!