What is Formal Writing

There are 2 types of writing that you will come across; Informal and Formal. This post is directed at understanding what entails formal writing.

Formal Writing is a done when you are unfamiliar with your audience or when you are presenting a subject matter that is serious.

Basically your writing style is depicted by who your target readers are and what subject matter you are dealing with and for which publication you are writing for.

Characteristics of a Formal Piece

Direct and to the point. There is no room for beating around the bush to put your point across. This is also known as blunt writing.

No abbreviations are used.

Facts are merely stated with supporting arguments or evidence.

Sources are quoted in order to substantiate the writing and this is expected of the writer.

No personal feelings or opinions are stated in formal writing.

Also, any address to the reader is kept utterly formal and no first names are used.

Instant Success from Freelance Writing - Dream On

I don't want to sound negative but it is highly unlikely that you will attain overnight success by freelance writing. Freelancing is a slow and steady course. The harder and smarter you work your freelancing career, the better off you will be in the long run. I have spoken to a few of my freinds who aspire to be freelancer writers and when I ask them why, the instant success factor is always one of the first five reason they give for their aspiration. Well, being optimistic is one thing and facing the reality is quite another.

How do attain success in Freelance writing?

- Build your portfolio
No matter which freelance career you choose to be in (photography, writing, training etc) you need to build credible portfolio. This will showcase your best works. These works will market your freelacing ability to your prospective clients who will then decide how best you skills suit them.

- Build Relationship
Once you get the clients, you have to ensure that your build postive working relationship with them. Repeat work is essential for freelance success. You must source for new clients continuosly. However, retaining the clients you have worked with should be the priority as the length of time you have worked with a client will matter a lot to the earning potential of your freelancing career. When your client works with you for more than a project and likes your work, you will be in better position to re-negotiate your rates as well as ask for more work including work that you may be interested in but is not your niche. This helps you to buil up bundling services that will increase your earning potential manifold.

- Get References
Your relationship with your clients must be able to help you source for more work from them as well as those people they know. Asking for references should be on your priority list as well. Do not be intimidated or shy of asking your client for references. If your work is good and your client is satisfied there will be no issues getting references.

-Build a Team
As more and more work comes in, you will find it hard to keep track as well as satisfy all of them. As such, you will have to think of expasion. The final work must go through you. However, the ground work can be delegated or outsourced. This will help you accomplish more in lesser time increasing your earning potential manifold as well.

In summary, do not live in the illusion that you will be flying high by opting for a freelancing career. If you fail to treat this as your business, your freelancing career will be finished even before you start. Have postivie attitude and reach for your goals slowly and steadily. All the best and may you have all the success.

For a Freelance Writer "A Good Idea is Worth Its Weight In Gold!"

More often than not, a new freelance writer faces the trouble of idea generation. Even seasoned writer's face this problem. In my earlier post Writers Block Solution, I outlined 6 steps you could take in order to get yourself of out the idea lapse situation. A quick run through of what you can do are as follows. For elaboration, read the full article form the link above.

1. Keep a Word Journal

2. Draw Inspiration from Within

3. Engage in Research

4. Review Past Works

5. Entertain Yourself

6. Take a Nap

I was doing my daily research online and came across this book entitled "Get Paid To Write!: The No-Nonsense Guide To Freelance Writing." When I scanned through the content's page I was very much interested to see a topic on "Ideas and How to Get Them." The chapter outlined various other methods you could use apart from the 6 mentioned in Writers Block Solution.

You can read a limited preview of the book from Google Books. The chapter is found on Page 40.

Also, if you are interested in buying the book, click on the image below.

The Biggest Mistake a Freelance Writer MUST avoid

There are many ways you can come across as an unprofessional writer to your potential long term client. What can this do to your freelance writing career? It could end your writing career there and then. I may be exaggerating here. However, it is true that some of the mistakes freelance writers make can be completely avoided if only some form of proofreading and editing was done after writing. You would have if you are serious about your work.

So, what is that one biggest mistake that a freelance writer makes that can make the freelance writer look unprofessional and lax about his work?


SPELLING MISTAKES!

This is actually quite commonsensical. You wouldn’t think otherwise as you would have been told time and again from your various English Teachers that to watch your spelling. You have been spelling words since you can remember. Now that you have made the choice of freelance writing as your hobby or your career, you have to give that advice a listening ear.

You may not have had the luxury of a spell checker in the past. Now that you do have that luxury, there is no reason for you to come up with a written piece that is full of spelling errors!

Therefore, ensure that you avoid this biggest mistake in your freelance writing career. Some client may not mind your mistake. If you happen to find them, it is good for you. Most clients who are serious about their reputation will come after you if you hand in work that consists spelling errors. Mistakes do happen and if you have done your share of proofreading and editing, you are still okay. However, if you have not taken precaution from your side, this is going to be a habit that you will find very hard to break. And that is going to cost you a lot in the long run.

Looking for freelance writing clients? Know the different types before you start work

Knowing your client for whom you are freelance writing makes a lot of difference to the way you actually write. Freelance writers work with clients with varying temperaments, expectations and pay structure. Knowing them will make your writing a lot more easier as you will know exactly what to deliver. In the coming posts, I will bring you through a few of them whom I have personally worked for. Through this you will be able to identify the different types of clients when you come across them and also know if the behavior is acceptable and how you can deal with this client. You will also know how working for such a client will benefit your freelance writing career.

The different types of freelance writing clients you will encounter are;

The heavy handed - Perfectionist type

The light handed - Lovable type

The no handed - Can't be bothered type

Click on the links to read about them. This post will be updated as and when I come across new types which cannot be classified as any of these types. If you know about any other types of clients you have worked for, do let me know so that I can include them in my list as well.

Steps to Online Freelance Writing Success

If you have the mindset that says “I freelance as a hobby” or “I freelance to make ends meet,” you will be doing that only. If you are serious about attaining success through freelancing and really hope to quit your job one day to do full-fledged freelancing you have to start treating your freelancing efforts as a real business. 


Shift Your Focus

The very first thing you need to do if you want to be a successful freelance writer is shift your focus. Take your freelance writing seriously and give it equal importance in your schedule and your life. You will see a significant rise in terms of satisfaction and earnings when this happens.

Make Time to Write

Consistent writing schedule is necessary if you want to start on a fast track to freelance writing success. Even when you are not writing for a client, you need to keep writing to build your portfolio or to just increase your research materials. If you get stuck with a writer’s block or are feeling lazy even doodling something will help keep the momentum. If you pass the day wothout writing even one sentence you are digging the grave for your freelance writign career.

Consistent apprach is very important. If you are not writing because you do not have a job from a client, become your own client. Come with your own writing assignments and start writing.

Set up a Writing Station

Many freelancer writers work from home for very good reasons. Reasons range from kids to freedom from a regular job. And not many are able to sustain the momentum they had wen they started out as a online freelance writer! Well, if you use your kitchen space or your bedroom to write you will find that you are doing much more of other things compared to actually writing. When you set up a special corner in your home for you to work on your freelance writing, you will find that you get much more done in that short span of time.

Learn to Handle Disruptions

As I mentioned before, many freelance writers work from home and unless you are staying alone you are bound to face distractions. What makes the situation worse is that your parents, spouse, siblings, kids or friends may not even acknowledge that you are working and may feel that you are free. This is a very real issue faced by many online freelance writers. The basic reason being that people are still not able to digest the fact that you can actually be working from home on your computer in your pyjamas.

To handle this you need to keep a working space intact and be sure to let the possible disrupters that you are not free when you are at your workstation.

KISS (Keep it Short and Simple)

Nothing is more dangerous to an online freelance writer than a bored audience and an irritated client. Depending on your audience keep your articles short and simple unless otherwise required. If you are writing for a general online audience, you must ensure that you keep your article sentences and paragraphs short. You can organize your article by incorporating bullet points where appropriate for an easy read. If your articles are easy to read and understand you will gain more readers as well as clients which will accelerate your freelance writing success.

Find Avenues to Showcase Your Potential

The initial step to finding freelance work is to look for it. You should register with leading freelance portals to bid on projects and land yourself some jobs and get some reviews about your quality of work submitted. This builds credibility and increases your workload as more clients feel comfortable hiring you. Freelancer.com, oDesk, Elance are few of the best portals around.

However, you need to slowly move away from this. In order to be a successful freelance writer, you need to develop yourself into someone the clients will come looking for instead of you approaching them. This is not going to happen overnight. Lots of hard work, persistence and relationship building are required in order for your freelancing career t come to such heights. Once you manage this, there is no looking back. Do note that you still need to keep an eye open for good opportunities.

Charge What You Are Worth

Face it! You are in this business to make money and you are not going to make it unless you charge your worth.Many freelancer writers are baffled when they are asked what their per-hour rate is or how much they charge per article or word. As mentioned before, you need to treat your freelance writing career as a business. Ask yourself if you would you ever go into business without knowing how much to charge for your product or service. Why should your freelance writing charges be any different?

Do not be afraid to charge what you are worth. Negotiation is always an option. However, if you under estimate your worth you are getting exploited and I will take a lot of time before your pay gets revised. If you over estimate you will lose your assignment as well as the client.

Be a Professional

Your quality, assignment turnaround time, communication must be of top notch quality. A lack in any of those departments will delay your success. Excellent service is what sets apart a good freelance writer from a best freelance writer and only the best are really successful. The best mantra here is to under promise and over deliver.
 
I have written a slightly different version of the same article which can be found here