Hey Mister! Give me a job!

"hey Mister! Give me a job!"

This was yelled out by a young man on the fence of a  NASCAR race way back in the 60's. A famous race car driver, whose name escapes me, hears the young man and decided to give him a job. That young man, again, whose name escapes me, is now famous in NASCAR.

I saw this on an episode of "The Pickers" on the history channel. It might have been pure luck that got him to where he is, but still, how he got started in NASCAR is pretty cool.

I wish it were this easy to get a job in writing. But no. if you do manage to hook a writing job, here are some things I learned while working as a freelance writer:

Write intelligently. you were hired to write? Show them what they are paying for. When writing the article, show the buyer how smart you are and that their decision to buy your services was a good one.

Edit your work. you can write fast, but is it any good? remember, re-checking your work isn't bad. in fact, it will help you find typos and other things that need to be omitted or improved. Your buyer will certainly approve of this.

Be Professional. The buyer will typically give you instructions. When something is unclear to you, don't hesitate to ask. It will save you time in case you mess up. and if they decide to get another writer, show that it's their lost, not yours.

Be Reasonable. Site owners typically get freelance writers because they charge less than professionals. Be reasonable with your prices. I charge 200 per article. But this is because I'm only starting out. Some charge up to 300. But they are really efficient. and finally;

Finish on Time. Buyers love it when you finish the work on or before the deadline.

If you decide to venture into the world of Freelance writing, heed my words. They can help you.

And while I'm waiting for a new writing job, I think I'll go hang out by a fence. maybe someone will respond to my yells of "Mister! give me a job!"

(image from Google)