Leaping into freelance writing is best described as a mix of excitement, confusion with just a dash of terror and a hint of liberation. For many freelancers, it takes a significant period of time to build up the courage required to dip your toes into the odd and exhilarating world that is freelance writing. In many cases, it is a slow and gradual climb from complete novice to bona fide expert.

Often when one dreams of becoming a freelance writer, they focus on the positives rather than the negatives. There are indeed a great number of benefits to being a ‘free agent.’ You can set your own hours, be your own boss, work from virtually any location, and gain a degree of freedom lacking in a more traditional 9 to 5 job.

Despite the positives, there are harsh truths that many writers will face when entering the freelance market.

There is a high degree of competition between writers, a scarcity of decent paying gigs for beginners, and a lack of workers rights in a market with few legal protections.

Freelance writers should enter the market with a clear understanding that it takes grit, determination, thick skin, and an unwavering belief that the short-term pain will be worth the long-term gain. Freelance writing is many things, but it is not a field where you should expect to get rich quick.

Spend some time talking to freelance writers, and you’ll quickly discover that there are four common mistakes made by many new freelance writers when they first enter the market.

Taking freelance courses

This might be a controversial opinion for some, but enrolling in a how-to freelance course offered by an established freelancer is frequently a waste of money. You should be wary of any freelance writer who refuses to give even a minimal amount of free information about their career. It could be a red flag indicating a lack of income from their own freelance work.

Most legitimate freelance writers offering courses will provide a fair amount of free information on their blogs. This opinion is not meant to deride any freelancer who offers courses, but the majority of information provided can be found for free elsewhere online.

When you’re starting out you should be investing your money in advertising your writing services and landing clients. You shouldn’t be ‘donating’ to another freelancer’s wallet.

Rather than spending money on these courses, there are numerous support groups on Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Quora that provide a platform for freelance writers to network and share their experiences. You can glean huge amounts of information from these groups without having to spend a dime. Most established freelancers are happy to mentor newbies and provide feedback on a variety of subjects.

Avoid content/bidding mills and dodgy job boards

When you’re starting with little or no work experience, it’s easy to justify taking any job you can get. For many writers this means signing-up for sites like Upwork where clients will post work and allow writers to bid. This creates an environment of undervaluing where the rate of pay is ridiculously out of alignment with the nature and scope of the work on offer. The client’s hiring decisions often have little to do with a writer’s abilities and more with how cheaply they’ll work for.

The exploitative nature of these sites come to full light when you do some basic math.

The average rate of pay accepted is often so low that a piece of writing containing 1000 words might make as little as $2!

If you’re serious about freelance writing as a way to earn a living, you need to raise your standards.

Let’s be honest, if you went to a job interview where an employer said they would only pay you $2 for several hours of work, you’d run out of there before they knew what happened. So, why should you be willing to accept such a laughably low salary when it comes to writing?

Look for freelance writing jobs on established and highly regarded sites such as Problogger, Blogging Pro, and Linkedin. Be leery of postings on any site that do not name the employer, the services they’re seeking, or they are claiming to offer a boatload of money.

Niches are great but don’t box yourself in right away

One of the most common pieces of advice offered to new freelance writers is to pick three niches and build a portfolio around them. This is great when you’ve established yourself and earned a reputation but it may close doors to opportunities when you’re just starting out.

You should create several samples that play to the topics you want write about, but be adaptable.

You need to start somewhere and some of the more popular niches can be hard to break into without a solid amount of paid writing experience behind you.

When you’re reviewing job ads and see something that you may not have identified as one of your niches but you know you can write about it, then do it. Draft a sample or two that relates to the topic in question and apply. Avoid closing any doors early in your freelance career as they may lead to unexpected opportunities.

Don’t undervalue yourself

The moment has finally arrived, a client is seriously interested in hiring you. They’ve read your work and like what they’ve seen. They’ve also gone over their needs, outlined their expectations and are onboard with what you’re willing to offer. Then comes the dreaded question, what is your rate?

This is a source of great anxiety for most new freelance writers. How do they commodify their work into dollars and cents? There is a propensity among new writers to go low in the hopes of securing the job. It’s easy to justify this decision when you feel some money is better than no money, but this may do more harm than good in the long run.

Undervaluing your time and effort is a serious mistake.

Freelance writing is not just a matter of finding work, it is also about building a personal brand.

If you set your rate too low, you’re constructing yourself as a budget brand rather than a luxury one. Clients frequently speak to other clients and if you have a reputation for low costing labor, it will become increasingly difficult to breakout of that mould and earn living wages.

While there is much debate in the freelance world about rates, most would argue charging $0.10 per word is very reasonable.

Truth be told, some potential clients will balk at such a “high” rate. Clients who are shocked by this rate have probably used content mills or student workers in the past,or are ignorant of the true costs of the writing market. You may find that it is owners of small startups versus larger companies who are more prone to being hesitant to pay out this kind of writing. The reality is, good writing is not cheap.

Let’s put it another way. If you charge 10 cents a word for a 1000 word blog post, you’d earn $100. For many writers, this would represent approximately four hours of work which equals $25 an hour. That is the hourly rate for a person making $45K if they are paid for a 35 hour work week. That is far from unreasonable.

If you quote a 10 cents per work rate and the client comes back suggesting something lower you have two options. One is to say no and outline why this is a reasonable rate and see if they come back. The other is to accept the lower rate but on the condition that should you mutually agree to continue working together beyond the first assignment, your rate will be open to re-negotiation after three months.