A Beginner’s Guide to Copywriting, Ghostwriting, and Freelance Work
BY ELIZABETH GILLILAND
So you’ve decided to be a writer, brave soul. Doubtless, several helpful relatives/friends have stepped in to inform you that you’ll never make any money doing so. The bad news? They’re right, sort of. The good? They’re also wrong, too. Let me explain.
If you’ve gotten into the writing gig expecting to earn oodles of cash, unfortunately, the odds are not in your favor. For every J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, there’s also EVERY OTHER WRITER YOU’VE MET who has not become a millionaire (most of them talented, driven, creative people, too). So no, while it’s not impossible to hit the jackpot as an author, it is highly improbable. If you really want to play the numbers game, you might want to invest your time instead in coming up with a winning lotto ticket or a new idea for the next big social networking website. Your chances are probably much better.
But if you’re in it for the love and not the cash, if you adore words and stories and characters, the good news is: there is a way to make money with this gig. It’s called freelance work, and it can encompass everything from copywriting, ghostwriting, and editing. Again, we’re not talking Scrooge McDuck levels of cash here, but it can be a great way to supplement your income while at the same time honing your skills.
There are probably as many ways to go about doing freelance work as there is to writing your own stuff, and I am by no means an expert on the subject. Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful in being successful in my own freelance work—but as with advice on any kind of writing, feel free to tweak, alter, and explore to find ways that best fit your individual style.
1. How to Get Started. Most states (to my knowledge) are going to require you to register as a private business and fill out a 1099 form come tax time. You can go to your state government website to find out more information on the process. At least in my home state, all I had to do was register with my social security number, come up with a name for my business, and mail a small fee. Within a month, the paperwork was sent back to me, and I was good to go.
2. How to Find Clients. The two go-to sites for freelance work are guru.com and elance.com. Both give people who are looking for freelancers an opportunity to post jobs (e.g. “Needed: Screenplay About Dancing Monkeys”). There, you can ‘bid’ on the projects you want. Each freelancer is allowed a certain allotment of free credits per month and you can purchase more if you choose. Bidding on a job will generally use up anywhere from one to three of your credits, depending on what the client has requested. In your bid, you state how much you’d be willing to do the project for (either per hour or for the project as a whole) and how long it will take for you to complete it. If the client likes your bid, they’ll follow up, and you can fine tune the details from there.
Want something a little less structured? Look for ads in craigslist, the newspaper, or any online classifieds. Elance and guru can be really competitive, so sometimes it’s nice to go through these mediums where your chances of actually getting noticed by a client are a little higher.
At the same time, keep in mind that freelance sites in many ways act as a safety net for both you and the client. They handle everything to do with the payment and making sure that everything stays above board. If you’re going to search for clients without that safety net, you’ll want to set certain protections for yourself, like a paypal or safepay account so that neither you nor the client has access to the other’s bank account; a contract that sets up the official terms of what service is being done (does their payment cover one draft or two, when should they expect the final product, and when is the latest they can pay you for that product, etc.); and an NDA contract which states that you will not sell your client’s ideas and that all rights will be turned over to them once they have paid you. (For the record, I’ve never had a problem with any of my clients on any of these matters no matter which medium I found them through, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry, and to set up a professional expectation that helps to put the client at ease, as well.)
And finally, never underestimate the word of mouth. Let people know what you’re doing. You’ll be surprised whose uncle’s nephew’s cousin twice-removed needs someone to write his life story. My first major client I found through my friend’s little brother’s teammate’s dad. Seriously. So, you never know.
3. How to Choose Your Jobs. There are a LOT of different options of what people are willing to pay you to write. In the time I’ve been doing this, I’ve done screenplays, fictional books, non-fictional books, query letters, press releases, blog posts, memoirs, articles, and more. Again, this is only my own personal philosophy, but stick as much as you can with stuff that you’re not going to hate writing. You probably aren’t going to get hired to write nothing but detailed articles about Hugh Jackman’s muscles (and if that job ever pops up, I will fight you tooth and nail for it), but you CAN find things that will be enjoyable for you to write, things that you won’t mind spending a few weeks (or months) with. I, as someone who gets bored by the mere mention of football, probably shouldn’t commit to writing an entire book about it, but maybe that’s right up your alley. At the same time, don’t be afraid to commit to a topic just because you aren’t an expert about it, so long as you’re honest with your clients about that up front. At the end of the day, many times you’ll get paid to learn about some really interesting things!
Also, make sure you know how to write what you say you can write. I know that might sound elementary, but if you have no experience writing screenplays, don’t say you know how to write a screenplay. (And for the record, knowing how to write a novel doesn’t mean you know how to write a screenplay. It’s a completely different format and style of writing.) No one’s going to benefit from you claiming to know how to do something you don’t.
4. How to Decide What to Charge. To be honest, this is probably the most difficult part of the job. If you’re bidding for projects on elance or guru, most clients will list a range of what they’re willing to pay, and you’ll be able to see a general idea of what other people are bidding. If you’re just starting out, I would suggest bidding on the lower end of the scale. If people hire you, make sure to ask for them to give you feedback on the site, which will give you more credibility for future jobs, which means you can start charging more.
Some people have set rates for what they charge per page/per project, no wiggle room. I tend to be a bit more flexible. I have a general going rate for different types of projects, but if it’s a topic I’m really interested in, or if I can tell this is someone’s absolute dream project and they’re taking on a second job to pay for someone to write it for them, I’ll take that into account. At the same time, make sure you’re being adequately compensated for the time and work that you’re putting into it. If you charge too low, you’re going to run out of steam, and it’s going to negatively impact your work, which again won’t help anyone in the end.
If all else fails, you can always google what the standard prices are for a certain type of project and see what pops up. Even if you decide to go lower or higher, it can give you a general starting point.
5. How to Manage Your Time. It may sound too good to be true—getting paid to sit on your couch and write—and to be honest, yeah, sometimes it’s awesome. However, freelance work requires a lot of self-discipline. True, you’re reporting to a client, but if you’re working on a big project for several months, you’re going to have to be the one in charge of your time, and that means you’re going to have to manage it well. Distractions can pop up in all sorts of fun places—the internet and television are my most regular offenders. Many family members and friends will think that because you don’t pull a regular nine to five, you’re not “really working,” which means of course you’re free to babysit/run errands for them/drive them to the airport, right?!
I’ve found that what works best for me is to set a schedule and to plan for breaks (lunch and even times to check the Internet), then stick to it. Find a quiet place to work where you aren’t going to be distracted. If that isn’t home, try the local library or a coffee shop. If you’re being inundated by favors that people need you to do during the day, turn off your phone while you’re working. It may seem extreme, but if you aren’t willing to treat it like a job, then it’s going to be difficult for you to make money doing it.
6. How to Stay Afloat. You probably aren’t going to want to quit your day job right from the start. Build up your client base. Try different projects and see what’s a good fit. The majority of my income now comes from freelance work, but I like to supplement with other things (including temp work, seasonal jobs, nannying gigs). Personally, I prefer to have a secondary income that has nothing to do with writing so that I don’t burn out and can give each client the attention they deserve, but again that’s my own preference.
7. How to Keep the Client Happy. For me, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the client is boss. Whatever you’re writing, it’s their baby; you’re just the doctor who’s delivering it. Just like you wouldn’t want to turn over your novel to an agent or publisher who’s going to butcher it, your client is putting their trust into your hands to help them give shape to the idea they have in their heads but don’t have the time or skill to put into words.
But what if you think you see a huge red flag in whatever they’re writing? (A plot hole, a character that doesn’t make sense, etc.) My personal rule is to mention it once—and only once—and let them decide from there. If they want to keep in the gaping plot hole, it is their gaping plot hole, and you have to respect that.
Hopefully now you feel slightly more prepared to take on the exciting world of freelance. It is more often than not a really rewarding experience to help someone in this way, so make sure you’re prepared to put in the time and effort that they’re investing in you. Good luck, and happy writing.
Editor Elizabeth Gilliland is back at The X working her word magic. Her next project, Conjectrix, the sequel to Vivatera by Candace J. Thomas, will be released in the spring, 2014.
