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In the business of freelance writing, its not enough to be good at writing. You also have to be good at finding work – and selling yourself when you do. Persuading a new client to let you write for them, rather than one of the hundreds of other writers out there, can be an art in itself. Heres how not to do it…
Dont give any details about yourself.
When youre applying for a new project, whether it be through the WritingWorld.org jobs board, or in response to a “writers wanted” ad, dont bother giving anything but the most basic of information – your name, and your price. If you absolutely must give a little bit of detail, just stick to something simple like “I can do this”. Youre a writer, for gods sake! You dont need to explain yourself! The employer will look at your message and just know that youre the right person for the job – even although everyone else who applied sent their resume and writing samples, and gave a list of reasons why theyd be perfect for the job.
Why doesnt this approach work? Well, think about it. If you were in the market for a professional service, would you choose the person who provided examples of their work, client testimonials and other relevant information, or would you pick the person who told you nothing but their price? Even if your quote is the lowest, the employer will still want to be assured that youre capable of doing the job: and trust me, employers dont like to have to coax information out of writers. Nor do they need to. In most cases theyll receive quotes from so many well-qualified candidates that they wont need to chase up the ones who didnt bother to give them a reason to employ them.
Dont bother reading the advert properly.
Just stick to one set speil which you can copy and paste onto every application or quote you send. It doesnt matter if your standard speil talks about what a fabulous copywriter you are and the employer is looking for a proofreader. Again, theyll just know that youre also a trained proofreader. Even if you dont bother to tell them.
Why doesnt it work? Well, as soon as the employer realises that you havent even read their advert properly, you can forget about that proofreading job. Employers like to think that youre paying attention to them and taking them seriously, not just firing off the same stock message to 100 people per day. Its OK to have a stock message, by the way – but the least you can do is make sure its relevant to the job youre applying for.
Skip the spellcheck
Obviously you wouldnt do it on an assignment, but when youre giving someone a quote or responding to their job advert, its perfectly acceptable to forget about spelling and grammar, right?
Wrong.
As a writer, youll be judged on everything you write. That includes quick emails, IM conversations and, of course, quotes. Poor spelling, lack of punctuation and sloppy grammar marks you out as someone who doesnt care too much about their craft – if, indeed, you have one. Make it perfect every time.
Make your quote ridiculously low
We all know how competitive freelance writing can be. Unless youre willing to work for far less than minimum wage, youll never persuade anyone to employ you. Make sure your bid is as low as you can make it without offering the employer to pay them for the privilege of writing for them, and theyre sure to give you the job! Right?< br />
Um, not necessarily. While there will always be “employers” who arent too concerned about quality and just want to find the cheapest writer around, to most employers, your low bid says one thing: that youre not very good at what you do, and certainly dont deserve decent compensation for it.
If youre willing to write for a nominal fee for a commercial employer (as opposed to a charity, for example, or a friend), the employer knows right away that you dont make a living doing this. Imagine how many $5 articles youd need to write every month to pay your mortgage! If youre willing to write for that amount, then, its clear that you must be pretty much scraping the barrel: so desperate for work that youre only one step away from working for free.
This kind of desperation doesn’t inspire confidence: you may well get yourself some work from a certain type of employer, but when someone comes along who’s willing to pay more, youll be missing out on the opportunity to get paid what you deserve.
Whats most frightening about this list is that I didnt have to make any of this up. These are all real examples of the kinds of things writers do when applying for work. And trust me: these writers never get the jobs.
Amber McNaught is a freelance writer and editor, and the owner of WritingWorld.org, an online agency for freelance writers, editors and proofreaders.
Writing World also offers a range of service such as proofreading, editing and manuscript appraisal services to new and aspiring writers.
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Article Source: EzineArticles.com
