Need a little more dough but can’t face getting a part time job? Here’s your answer: if you can write, all you need to do is log in and tap, tap, tappety-tap - you’ll make some easy, extra p’s.

Freelance writing really is easy if you know what you’re doing.

Putting aside the entire standard (read: boring) freelancing need-to-knows (accounting, time management and all that jazz), here’s the knowledge (well, the bare bones at least) to get you started as a student freelance writer.

1) You’ve Got To Be Good

If you want to be a Freelance Student making money from writing, the absolute truth is you have to be a good writer. The reality is freelance writing is bloody and competitive; if you don’t cut the mustard, you won’t get the commissions.

Don’t worry: you don’t need a degree in journalism but you do need to know the basics.

Taking a part-time writing course will certainly help, but if you’re already trying to balance the books (textbooks) with work, you may not have the time. So instead, here’s a sneaky hint, you can find all you need to know here:

Writing Tips

2) Get A Niche

Writers tend to work more efficient and creatively if they specialise on something they’re actually interested in – so find out early on which aspects of writing, and the topics, you enjoy.

You’ve got a lot to choose from – for example, if you have an interest in currents affairs you could dabble in print journalism (newspapers and magazines); or if you prefer blogs you could go online and ghostwrite other people’s blogs; and if you like tinkering with Google you could opt for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). There are many more options, so do some research - you have so much choice.

Then, of course, you could go into a niche within those fields i.e. food writing, reviews or commercial copywriting et al. Or even a niche within a niche (within a niche within a niche)!

3) Be Adaptable

Yeah OK, so a bit of a contradiction from the first point, but you’ll see what I mean… Whilst you need a speciality, if you want to make money through writing as a freelance student, you should do as much as you can – if it in anyway involves putting words down on paper, do it! It’s all good experience. This way, you can work out what styles and forms you love and excel in.

4) Get A Portfolio

Your portfolio is your passport to more work. But this comes at a price: at the start of your freelancing career you may have to write for free to build your portfolio – unfortunately this is just a sad fact of starting out.

To Start Building Your Portfolio You Could:

• Make use of your free time at university – write for the uni paper – (you might even get paid. Bonus!)

•Ask the tutor about adding your assignments to a peer review journal (most lecturers are either involved with one or know a colleague who is).

• Attempt to get your assignments published in journals – find the commissioning editor’s phone number by calling the switchboard – you should find a number on their website.

Here Are Our Top Tips For A Great Portfolio:

• Every time you do a piece of writing ensure you get a by-line – if your work is ghost-written, keep emails/letters confirming the commissions in a file alongside each article as proof you are the author.

• The next thing about a portfolio is to keep it all together and online – scan in any print work, use a blog, Tumblr or even better, use your Freelance Student profile to show your work to prospective clients.

5) Getting Paid Work

This is the hard bit. Firstly, acquire an essential freelancing attribute: tenacity. Email every editor you can find: call them, ask them about commissions, login to every freelancing site you can find, trawl Gumtree daily… You get the picture - you need to be the hunter; prey constantly in sight. Work won’t just fall in your lap – you’ve got to find it and grab it!

Learn How To Pitch

Once you’ve found the contacts, what’s really important is learning how to do a good pitch, so here’s the formula:

• Pitch an idea – give a brief outline of the article then a brief summary of each paragraph. Keep it short – editors don’t have the time to read essays – use bullet points.

• Next, add your qualifications and a link to your portfolio. Simples.

Now go do your stuff!

Image by peteoshea

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