Guest post by Maria Rainer--How to Work as an Online Freelance Writer

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she’s written on online botany programs along with food science technician jobs. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, playing piano, and working with origami.

Welcome Maria and thank you for chatting with us today. This is a fantastic topic, so sit back and enjoy this post!

                        

                            How to work as an online freelance writer

If the thought of spending your days at home working as an online writer sounds like a dream come true, then believe it or not your dream can easily become a reality if you have the proper skills and requirements.

If you completed a university or college degree, whether it be in Journalism or English, you will find it incredibly easy to get hired to work as a freelance writer. If you don’t have a degree you may find yourself running an uphill battle, however this doesn’t necessarily mean that an online writing job is out of reach.

In order to prove that you have the proper talents and skills required to work as a freelance writer, it may be a good idea to look for different publications or even blogs that will be interested in publishing your writing. This way when you apply for the job you can send the employer examples of your writing. (Be sure to include the links or clippings of your articles in your resume as well).

Suite101 is one site that is known for publishing freelance articles; however, if you’re hoping to get a job in a specific writing field, (such as science, for example), it may be a good idea to scope out different science publications and blogs so you can focus on one specific topic.

Another important necessity when it comes to working as an online freelance writer is to have an Internet connection as well as a laptop or computer. Some employers may ask you to conduct interviews with professionals over the phone, however this is very rare.

                                     Where to find jobs online

One of the best ways to find online writing jobs is to look on sites like Craigslist, LinkedIn, or even international job posting sites like GumTree. The important factor to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t limit yourself by just searching for jobs in the city that you live in. The key to finding online writing jobs is to look in other cities, or even other states and countries, but make sure that the job posting states that you will be required to work online.

Once you apply for a writing job and get a response that states the employer is interested in hiring you for the job, you may be required to write a test or practice assignment so your (hopefully) future employer knows your writing style and talents.

Once you get hired, be prepared to spend a lot of time on the Internet, so be sure that your laptop is in tip top shape so you can work on your writing every day. Also, because you will have to submit your articles online, make sure you keep all of your assignments in a folder that is easily organized, or even use your e-mail account to organize all of your assignments and submissions.

                                                       Payment

Sometimes employers will pay you a flat fee per article, while others may pay you on a contract basis so you will be required to complete a certain number of articles in a specific time frame.

Most employers will pay you via Paypal, so you may be required to sign up for a Paypal account and that way your employer can e-mail you the payments. Some employers may even put you on their company payroll or even send you cheques via snail mail, however, this is not as common.