Working on a freelance basis: good jobs for writers

Freelance writing can be an extremely satisfying job, especially to people who naturally feel compelled to write. If you’re one of those natural writers, you may be interested in entering the field professionally but not know how to start. Here are a few good freelance jobs to consider.

• Novels

Few people think about the writing of a novel as a job that can be assigned to a freelance writer but many recognised authors have been doing just that for years. They have talented ghostwriters complete books under their names in order to satisfy the deadlines set by their publishing contracts. This is particularly rampant in the romance novel industry where readers demand new content at astounding rates. If you have a gift for fiction, this may be your niche.

• Article Writing

Every time anything of even minor significance occurs, there is a spike in online searches that corresponds with this. People who request online content then rush to bring out articles that can meet that new demand. As a result, there is a consistent need for new articles. These span many fields such as Entertainment, Politics, Sports and Health. It helps to be well read if you want to write articles however you can compensate by being an extremely quick typist with a natural ability to research.

• Academic Writing

As an academic writer you may find yourself putting together theses, dissertations and other research for people who will submit under their own names. This may not be an acceptable situation for some people morally but it tends to be one of the better paying assignments. It often requires postgraduate qualifications in the field of study and a familiarity with some of the more popular writing formats such as MLA and APA. There is also a very clear need to avoid plagiarism as most professors run all submissions through software that detects this.

• Grant and Proposal Writing

For people with familiarity in the world of business, this type of freelancing allows you to lend your skills to new companies seeking funding. The pay is slightly higher than in fields that do not require such specialized skills but the work is also quite intense as you need a good understanding of the organization to write well on their behalf.

New avenues open up for writers every day so if you don’t see the type of freelance job you want just yet, know that its on its way.