At a first glance, freelance writing career sounds enticing, doesn't? Well, the reality is that it's extremely hard to actually kick-off your career properly. Most people aren't able to earn more than pocket change for a good amount of their starting period. And so it isn't surprising at all that people easily drop out of freelance writing.

It hasn't bee that long since I started my freelance writing career but since I have been (oddly) successful at finding great paying clients, I thought I would share some tips, I hope this article ends up helping someone.

What I would basically recommend you to do is, build a network. Easier said than done, huh? What I did was that I found someone I already know and got them to give me a job. Now the trick is that, I never accepted the (small) pay. Instead of accepting the payment, I told them "Spread the word about me, that's my payment". Now what it does is, speaking psychologically, it puts pressure on the client to actually spread the word. It's very different if you accept the pay, in that case the client will feel like he has done his part and he will only give a hollow "Sure" to your "Spread the word" .

This is what helped me start out, this client I did work for free brought me two clients. I did a good job (according to them) and so my network naturally grew, without me actually putting in much effort! By the way, reason I recommended to go for someone you already know is that there is a further obligation on them to spread your word that way, increasing the pressure. You can go for a random client too but this psychological trick won't work as well.

Another tip I would give is that, proofread well. An error sounds really BAD when a client hires you despite you being a beginner. It can really hurt your chances of making your breakthrough in your career. My friend, for example, got a bad rep right out of the way because he messed up his first job. Reason? Laziness. So please, do put in your best. At least initially. The more effort you put in, the quickest you can start off your career for real.

The third tip I would give is that: Research well. You would usually be going for jobs that require some extensive research because those are usually the high paying ones. You will need to research well enough because a factual inconsistency can look really bad. Though in the end, this one comes down to the client. Some clients don't bother fact checking the info while some are really cautious about it. I wouldn't recommend taking the risk.

The fourth and the final tip I would give is that, keep your expectations low. Building up a freelance writing career takes time and patience. There is a chance, though arguably small, that you will make your breakthrough soon enough. But don't count on it, put in the effort and wait. Your chance will definitely come later, if it comes sooner that's great. But even if it doesn't, it's okay. That's the nature of the industry. Also, one more thing, even if you make your "breakthrough", don't expect all jobs to suddenly become as high paying! Freelancing is pretty unstable, you will earn a good amount one month and almost nothing the next. Of course, the better reputation you have, the higher chances you have for getting more high paying jobs. But oftentimes you will have to settle with a low paying job so don't get too sad about it.

That's basically it, thanks for reading, do comment if you have any other tips in your mind!