Here’s How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Sick of the 9-to-5 life? Yearning for work that’s creatively fulfilling? If you’re someone who loves to write, the idea of becoming a freelance writer has probably crossed your mind.

And if you’ve ever wondered how to turn that fantasy into a reality, this post is for you.

I’ve been a freelance writer since 2013, and over the years I’ve fielded many questions from folks interested in freelancing. This is a truly mammoth topic, so what I’m sharing today is simply a brief overview of how you can get started as a freelance writer.

By the end of this article you’ll have a better understanding of the process, and hopefully a better idea of whether or not it’s for you.

1Consider: why freelance writing?

Knowing your goals for freelancing will influence how you approach it.

• Are you looking for a creative outlet or a chance to share your ideas? Consider writing posts for your favorite websites that accept submissions (e.g., Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Bustle, The Penny Hoarder). Some sites pay, many do not.
• Are you looking for a side hustle to generate some cash? Consider pursuing small or one-off projects (e.g., writing a business’s monthly newsletter or doing Facebook ads for an online program launch).
• Are you looking to fully replace your day job with freelancing as your primary source of income? Prioritize big projects and opportunities for repeat work (e.g., full website copy revamp, e-books, book ghostwriting, weekly blog posts, weekly scripts for YouTube channel).

2Find Your Niche

What are your interests, background, education, expertise? What do you like to write? Who do you want to work with? There are many types of writing and types of clients for you to pursue.

You may not truly find your niche until you stumble onto it in the wild, but in the meantime here are some ideas to get your wheels turning.

• Are you an engineer or tech geek? Technical manuals could be right up your alley.
• Passionate about travel? Write blog posts or web copy for travel sites.
• Love writing short stories? Use your storytelling chops to write case studies (customer success stories) for businesses.
• Ever written a book? The market for book ghostwriting is hot and lucrative.
• Already doing marketing at your 9-to-5? Write sales pages and create social media campaigns for entrepreneurs.
• Maybe you enjoyed writing essays in college, processing complex information and synthesizing an argument. Writing white papers could be your niche.

3Build Your Portfolio

Stressing because you don’t have a degree in writing? Not a problem! My clients never ask about my education (BA in Economics and Anthropology), they ask about my experience working on other projects.

Bottom line: Clients don’t care if you have a degree, they only care if you can do the work.

This is where your portfolio comes in. Your portfolio is your proof that you can do the work you say you can do. Here’s how to get started.

• Gather whatever pieces you already have that pertain to your desired niche (e.g., personal blog posts, articles you wrote for your current company, the brochure you created for the nonprofit you volunteer with).
• Network with family, friends, and community to get a few more projects under your belt (e.g., a social media campaign for your cousin’s ice cream shop, an e-book for your friend’s health coaching practice, a newsletter for your faith community’s food pantry).
• You can work for free (family only) or at a reduced rate (everyone else) since they are taking a chance on you (remember, you don’t have a portfolio yet).
• Starting small (five to ten projects) is fine. What’s important is quality and that you’re showcasing experience in the niche you’re interested in.
• Put your work on a website you can share with potential clients. There’s Journoportfolio (which I use) and Clippings.me (both are free for up to ten articles), or find a Squarespace or WordPress theme that’s designed to be a portfolio.

4Find Clients

Now that you have an idea of the type of writing projects you’d like to do, and a portfolio showing your ability to do that work, it’s time to find clients. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Contract with your current company. You already have a relationship with the company and understand its mission and voice. (This is how I got into freelancing.)
• Email the contacts within your business network. Let them know what type of projects you’re doing and invite them to pass your info on to others who would want to work with you too.
• Email your friends and family about what you’re doing. Promote your new business on your social media channels.
• Cold email companies that you’d like to work with. Identify a need they have (e.g., regular blog posts or newsletters) and show how you can help them.
• Pitch your article ideas to your favorite websites that accept submissions. Some sites pay for posts, many do not (worst case, you have a prestigious portfolio piece).
• Pitch for projects on a job board (ProBlogger, BloggingPro, All Freelance Writing) or content mill (Upwork, Scripted, Contently). But be warned, these opportunities tend to involve high effort and low pay. I’ve never used these sites, but I know many writers have gotten into the biz this way.
• Build relationships with creatives who provide complementary services, such as web and graphic designers. They have clients who need copywriting.
• Network with other fabulous freelance writers. They’ll pass on referrals when they can’t take a job, or when a company they’re writing for is looking for more contractors. (This is how I got connected to Grammarly : ) ).

Let us know in the comments which freelancing topics you’d like to hear more about in future posts. And if you’re already a freelancer, share one piece of advice that helped you get started!

Sneaky, Nerdy Ways to Celebrate Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day is a unique gift to both Star Wars fans and wordplay fans, giving us the opportunity to wish friend and foe alike, “May the Fourth be with you.”

Even if you live here on Earth and not in a galaxy far, far away, there are still ways to make sure that the Force is strong with you this May the Fourth. Maybe you incorporate subtle references into your day at the office, or change your speech habits. Maybe you just throw a #StarWarsDay into your preferred social media venue. And there are always lightsaber battles.

To get you on your way, here are thirty-one ways to feel the Force flowing through you this #StarWarsDay.

1 Show up to work as Darth Vader. Or, if you’re not the boss and don’t want to appear insubordinate, a stormtrooper. Those bucketheads fit right in in the workplace.

2 Don’t have a helmet handy? Try a slightly more subtle costume. For example: black vest over a white shirt, tan jacket with khakis, khakis and white v-neck, or brown bathrobe.

3 Insert a random, irreverent gif into a work email. For example:

• Cats with lightsabers
• Bears with lightsabers
• Disco-dancing Chewbacca

4 Put blue food coloring in your milk. It may not be from a Bantha, but even Jedi need their calcium.

5 Get Han Solo legos and freeze them in ice cubes for a carbonite cocktail. If you’re ready for commitment, you can even buy an ice cube tray with that scoundrel’s outline already built in. Just don’t let Boba Fett get to him first.

6 Other drink ideas: there’s the Hoth Toddy, the Qui-Gon Jinn and Tonic, the Dark and Stormy Trooper, and more. And don’t imbibe them without first getting the perfect cups.

7 Listen to John Williams’ score to boost your mood while you sit at the computer. Need a bigger boost? Listen to Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes play the Cantina song on loop for ten hours. Repeat as needed.

8 Try not to speak English for a full day. Some alternate language ideas:

• “Utinni!” (Jawaese for “Wow”)
• “Wee now kong bantha poodoo.” (Huttese for “Now you’re bantha fodder.”)
• “Huuguughghg raaaaaahhgh huuguughghg uughguughhhghghghhhgh huuguughghg huurh aarrragghuuhw.” (Shyriiwook for “That was a scintillating presentation.” Get your own Wookiee translations here.)

9 Still not satisfied with a subtle costume? Check out some of the cosplay creations from the Star Wars Celebration a few weeks back. You never know—Salacious Crumb just might be a major help in the office.

10 Everyone likes the gal or guy who brings food to work. Especially pastries. Especially sticky buns shaped like Princess Leia’s hair.

11 Work “I have a bad feeling about this” into casual conversation. Or, if things get really rough, “it’s a trap!”

12 You never know where in the galaxy you might have a secret father, sister, or other relative, so get your DNA tested with 23andMe. If you find any new relatives, make sure you reveal your relationship after having a brutal Force battle and cutting off their favorite limb.

13 Ride a tauntaun to work. Snow lizards not native to your habitat? No problem. Take a broomstick, an alpaca mask, and some ram horns, stick them all together, and you’ve got your transport. Just remember: they smell bad on the outside, but the inside is worse.

14 If someone gets on your bad side, diss them good with one of these classic Star Wars insults:

• Slimy piece of worm-ridden filth
• Nearsighted scrap pile
• Walking carpet
• Mindless philosopher
• Overweight glob of grease
• Slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler
• Fuzzball
• Scoundrel
• Goldenrod
• Scum
• Malfunctioning little twerp
• Stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder

15 If you want to get out of doing something, say “But I was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!”

16 Change all your passwords to THX1138.

17 Refer to anyone subordinate to you as “Padawan,” and call your superiors “Master,” “Lord,” or (preferably) “Grand Moff.” If you call your boss “Emperor,” just prepare for the repercussions.

18 Set the Imperial March as your ringtone.

19 You can have a lightsaber battle with any number of everyday objects. For example:

• Highlighters
• Rulers
• Pencils
• Bananas
• Rolled-up yoga mats
• Actual lightsabers. Maybe, just maybe, that’s in the realm of possibility.

20 Find (or become) a mentor. Star Wars is all about making connections with people (or aliens), learning how to forge your own path, and occasionally lifting rocks with your mind while you’re upside down. If you’re picking a mentee, just make sure you do a quick midichlorian count first.

21 Drape a brown sheet around yourself and pick up trash on the side of the road. Bonus if you can find droid bits in a sandlot.

22 Feeling unproductive? Blame it on having a bad motivator.

23 If you’re a Star Wars someplace where it’s cold, build a snow fort. Not everyone gets to celebrate Star Wars Day on Hoth.

24 Read How Star Wars Conquered the Universe. It’s a history of the franchise, an encyclopedia of the Star Wars galaxy, and a fan’s dream come true.

25 Try your hand—and your telekinesis—at “vadering.” (If you’re in the workplace, maybe make sure you get consent first).

26 Watch the fan-made version of A New Hope, a YouTube masterpiece that breaks the original movie into thirty-second chunks and features hundreds of artistic approaches to retelling the story. Between the trash-can R2-D2s, glued-on Obi-Wan beards, and fan-created animations, it’s pretty much a new art form.

27 Start (or continue) your countdown to Episode VIII. As of May 4, it’s 224 days until December 15.

28 On a similar note, watch the trailer for The Last Jedi. A few hundred times. Dissect every moment. Post your predictions on fan boards. Check your countdown: rats, it’s still 224.

29 Change your email auto-signature to MTFBWY.

30 Tough project at work? Let Yoda inspire you: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

31 May the Fourth not enough for you? In some circles, tomorrow is known as Revenge of the Fifth. It’s an opportunity to join the dark side and celebrate all the Sith Lords doing their best to exploit the power of the Force for their own gain. Just don’t be seduced by the dark side. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Plus, May 6 is just a normal day.

Star Wars Day may happen only once a year, but remember: the Fourth will be with you. Always.

“Dear Sir or Madam”—Learn When to Use It and Some Alternatives

How do you know when to use Dear Sir or Madam or something else? When writing a business letter or email, it can be a real challenge to get the salutation right—especially for someone you don’t know or an organization you’ve never worked with. In such situations, you should err on the side of formality, but even then there are good reasons to avoid Dear Sir or Madam. Luckily, there are a number of alternatives for Dear Sir or Madam that will help you remain professional.

Is Dear Sir or Madam Acceptable?

The short answer is yes but only rarely—though of course, not everyone agrees.

Here’s why:

• In today’s technologically connected world, there is (almost) no excuse for not knowing whom you are writing to.
• Dear Sir or Dear Madam may offend your recipient if you’re unsure of their gender or get it wrong.

If you want to write a better cover letter to a prospective employer or an outstanding business letter to a potential client, you want to stand out, right? Likely you want to show how you are already a great fit for the team. Knowing someone’s name, gender, and what they do is a fundamental way to show your investment.

Dear Sir/Madam Cover Letter vs. Dear Sir/Madam Email

You should avoid using Dear Sir/Madam in emails as well as in cover letters.

Cover letters are notably more formal than emails, but some of the same rules apply, especially if you are writing to someone for the first time. Regardless of format, use a formal tone, while—as stated earlier—investing time in researching whom you are writing to.

Dear Sir/Madam Alternatives

Because you should invest some time trying to find out exactly whom you are writing to, the best alternatives to the highly impersonal Dear Sir or Madam include, in order of preference:

• Dear [First Name Last Name],
• Dear Mr./Ms./Dr. [Last Name],
• Dear [First Name], or Hello, [First Name], (informal only. Good if you’ve worked together before or the environment is casual.)
• Dear [Name of group or department],
• Dear [Job Title],
• To Whom It May Concern,
• Dear Sir or Dear Madam,
• Dear Sir or Madam,

This business writing salutations flow chart will help you understand when to use Dear Sir or Madam and when to use something else.

Dear Sir/Madam vs. To Whom It May Concern

If, after diligent searching online and off, you are unable to learn the the name, role, or gender of your intended recipient, what should you do? In this (rare) situation, you should use Dear Sir or Madam and not To Whom It May Concern.

Though many people use Dear Sir or Madam interchangeably with To Whom It May Concern, there is a notable difference in meaning that employers or companies in certain formal sectors (academia, law, finance, etc.) will be sensitive to.

To Whom It May Concern implies that the information discussed in the letter can go to any relevant party within the organization.

This salutation should be used for general concerns like support requests or feedback.

Dear Sir or Madam implies that you have one specific person in mind for this letter, but do not know their name, title, or gender.

This salutation should be used for communication regarding specific projects, specific concerns, or employment.

How to Use Dear Sir or Madam Correctly

If you must use Dear Sir or Madam or a variant of it, traditionally this salutation is paired with Yours Faithfully, in the signature. Here is a template of a letter or email which uses Dear Sir or Madam correctly.

Dear Sir or Madam, (or Dear Sir, or Dear Madam,)

Letter text centered vertically on page.

Yours Faithfully,

[your signature when possible]

Your first name and last name Your designation

Dear Sir or Madam or Something Else? Take the Poll!

Which salutation do you use for cover letters and emails? How do you know which to use?

Holiday Gift Guide 2015: Get the Perfect Book for Everyone on Your List

You know what feels great? Getting your holiday shopping done and out of the way early. One way to accomplish that is by keeping your game plan simple. Need a present for Aunt Trish? Book. For your brother-in-law? Book. For a special someone who just might be the one? Two books! Read on to find Grammarly’s hand-picked recommendations for everyone on your list:

The History Buff

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, Sarah Vowell Sarah Vowell, widely adored for her ability to make nearly any moment in history at once fascinating, hilarious, and startlingly relevant to the world of today, offers yet another gem: an insightful and unconventional account of George Washington’s trusted officer and friend, that swashbuckling teenage French aristocrat, the Marquis de Lafayette.

 

 

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson Delight the WWI expert on your list with this riveting chronicle of the Lusitania disaster. Knowing that the ship sinks at the end spoils absolutely nothing about this masterfully told true story.

 

 

The Sports Nut

Superbowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game, The Editors of Sports Illustrated Between the covers of Superbowl Gold, the football fanatic in your life will find overviews of each championship, accounts of the most stirring performances, commentary from players and coaches, reviews of every halftime show, and lots of fascinating photos. It even covers the commercials!

 

 

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Daniel James Brown The Boys in the Boat is the improbable true story of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant. Also a great pick for The History Buff.

 

 

The Romantic

The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion For a sweet, unconventional romance, look no further than The Rosie Project, the story of an oddly charming, socially challenged genetics professor named Don and a spontaneous whirlwind of a woman named Rosie.

 

 

Uprooted, Naomi Novik Naomi Novik’s spellbinding tale has everything: monsters, magic, love, and at its heart, a powerful and courageous heroine. Also a great pick for The Adventurer.

 

 

 

The Adventurer

A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson Bill Bryson’s classic book about walking the Appalachian Trail is a sure bet for hikers, nature lovers, and anyone who enjoys a simultaneously fascinating and hilarious tale about the great outdoors.

 

 

Nimona, Noelle Stevenson Is your Adventurer adventurous enough to try a graphic novel? The brilliantly subversive National Book Award finalist Nimona turns the classic adventure story on its head, following a supervillain and his mysterious sidekick as they set out to prove that their kingdom’s good guys aren’t quite the heroes everybody thinks they are.

 

 

The Scientist

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, Randall Munroe In Thing Explainer, Randall Munroe, creator of the webcomic xkcd, delivers exactly what he promises: explanations about cool things. Funny, interesting, and always understandable, this book is for anyone—age 5 to 105—who has ever wondered how things work, and why. Also a great pick for The Nerd.

 

 

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe, Lisa Randall Did dark matter kill the dinosaurs? The armchair scientist on your holiday list will clearly want to know the answer, which, fortunately, can be found in this new book by the renowned particle physicist Lisa Randall.

 

 

The Nerd

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), Felicia Day Nerd icon Felicia Day’s rags-to-riches story of rising to Internet fame and embracing her weirdness along the way is sure to resonate with the nerds on your list.

 

 

 

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Trilogy: Verily, A New Hope; The Empire Striketh Back; The Jedi Doth Return, Ian Doescher Make a list of everyone you know who is a Star Wars geek or a Shakespeare lover. Then give this brilliant boxed set to all of them. Also a great pick for The Classics Lover.

 

 

 

The Classics Lover

Penguin Drop Caps The beautiful, colorful, Penguin Drop Cap series makes a lovely gift for a literature lover. Choose a book by her favorite author, or give her a set that matches her initials. Just be prepared to take the blame when she decides she has to collect them all.

 

 

100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, Edited by Lorrie Moore The centennial celebration of the Best American Short Stories series features forty of the more than two thousand stories published in previous editions, hand-selected by Lorrie Moore, and accompanied by commentary from series editor Heidi Pitlor. Together, the stories and commentary offer an extraordinary guided tour through a century of literature.

 

 

The Mogul

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, Peter Thiel Peter Thiel’s smart treatise on innovation and success makes a great gift for the entrepreneurially inclined. Zero to One presents an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places.

 

 

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance Who better to inspire the energetic innovator on your list than the legendary Elon Musk? Ashlee Vance’s insightful book, written with exclusive access to Musk himself, traces the entrepreneur’s journey from a rough upbringing to the helm of multiple world-changing companies.

 

 

The Health Enthusiast

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ, Giulia Enders With quirky charm, Gut reveals the story of the body’s most ignored and least appreciated organ. The health enthusiast on your list will thank you for this smart and useful book.

 

 

 

Natural Born Heroes, Christopher McDougall Christopher McDougall’s instant classic Born to Run changed the game for dedicated runners. In his new book, he discovers that the secrets of ancient Greek heroes are still alive and well on the island of Crete, and ready to be unleashed in the muscles and minds of casual athletes and aspiring heroes everywhere.

 

 

The Foodie

Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook This one is perfect for any pre-foodies you know. With the help of some truly, er, colorful language, Thug Kitchen proves that kale doesn’t have to be pretentious.

 

 

 

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, J. Kenji López-Alt And this one is perfect for the full-blown foodie. The Food Lab offers a grand tour of the science of cooking explored through popular American dishes, illustrated in full color. Also a great pick for The Scientist.

 

 

Have a recommendation of your own? Don’t keep it to yourself! Share it in the comment section or via our Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Nauseous vs. Nauseated: What’s the Difference?

Even though nauseous and nauseated are often used to mean feeling unwell, many purists insist that nauseous means “causing nausea” while nauseated means “feeling sick.” Casually, it is probably OK to use both words to mean feeling ill. However, in more formal situations, use each word correctly.

Find helpful usage tips, clarifying examples, and spelling tricks below.

Usage Tips

• Nauseating is a good substitute for nauseous when you’re talking about something that causes nausea.
• Nauseousness is not a word. Nausea is the correct noun form.

When to Use Nauseous

Nauseous originally meant sickening, loathsome, or inducing a feeling of disgust. In that sense, things that are nauseous might include:

• getting a whiff of a garbage dump
• two-week-old meatloaf
• certain rickety roller coasters
• particularly unattractive zombies

But nauseous is so often used to refer to experiencing those feelings that Merriam-Webster Dictionary has updated their definition of nauseous:

• feeling like you are about to vomit
• causing you to feel like you are going to vomit
• causing disgust

Here are examples of nauseous used with its original meaning:

Certain it is that minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort, and like them, are often successfully cured by remedies in themselves very nauseous and unpalatable.

—Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge

The council may prohibit and prevent the sale of every kind of unsound, nauseous, and unwholesome meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, or other articles of food.

—Digest of City Charters (Chicago)

And here’s an example of its contemporary usage, of feeling sick to one’s stomach:

The family […] would rush out to get lobster, but then the patient would take only one bite, or wouldn’t want it at all, he would smell it and feel nauseous and push it away.

—The New Yorker

The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I’m feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it’s not me, that it’s not me, that it’s not me.

—Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

When to Use Nauseated

The definition of nauseated is the same as the second, more recent definition of nauseous: feeling sickly. Or, according to the official definition, to feel nauseated means:

• to become affected with nausea
• to feel disgust

Here’s the trick: “to nauseate” is a verb meaning “to cause to feel disgust,” so turning it into a participle—that is, adding the “ed” at the end—means that something has caused you to feel that way. Times you might feel nauseated include:

• The morning after a wedding
• When you take a sip of milk that’s past the expiration date
• When you see a zombie eat brains without proper table manners

. . . and any other time your tummy gets a bit grumbly. Here are some examples of nauseated in a sentence:

Once, when she was six years old, she had fallen from a tree, flat on her stomach. […] Now, as she looked at him, she felt the same way she had felt then, breathless, stunned, nauseated.

— Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn’t get hijacked, you didn’t crash, you didn’t throw up, you weren’t late, you weren’t nauseated by the food.

— Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas

And, to cover our bases, here’s an example with “nauseating”:

I exist, that is all, and I find it nauseating.

—Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness

Nausea can be pretty existential, it turns out.

Spelling and Pronunciation Tricks

Any way you slice it, these words have got a lot of vowels. So how do you say them, and how do you remember how to pronounce them?

Nausea

Some people say NAW-zee-uh, some say NAW-zhuh, where the “zhuh” sounds like the “s” in “measure.” Here, take a listen.

There’s no surefire trick to guarantee you remember the spelling, but think about how lots of people who go sailing get seasick. That is, they get sick of being on the sea. Even though the “sea” part of the word nausea isn’t pronounced like the big body of water that might make your stomach a little choppy, it can help remind you how the second half of that word is spelled.

Nauseated

If you figure out nausea, chances are you can figure out nauseated: just add a “ted” to the end of the noun.

As for pronunciation, try to say it like this: “NAW-zee-ay-tid.” Here’s how that one sounds out loud.

Nauseous

This one’s a toughie. Some people say NAW-zee-us, but NAW-zhus is more common. Listen to it here.

As far as spelling, it’s the “eou” that causes confusion. A quick fix: think of something that makes you feel nauseous—or, if you’re more traditional, something that is nauseous. For example: eating oily urchins. Sounds pretty slimy, and probably smelly, too. But if you can fight back the nausea long enough to spell nauseous correctly, then you’re on the right track.

Now you can stop feeling nauseated by the nauseous distinction between these two confusable words. We can only hope that avoiding zombies is as easy.