Do You Need a Degree to be a Freelance Writer?

This is an ongoing debate. The answer is YES, and NO. Some jobs require a degree, and some don’t. Some jobs require years of experience, and some don’t. The secret is, only apply for the jobs where you meet the qualifications.

Looking at job sites, degrees range from Bachelors to PhD, and ranging from English, Journalism, Communications, Computer Science, and Scientific disciplines. The years of experience can range from as low as 2 to 5, or as high as 7 to 10 years in one of the disciplines above. You can see that you will need to read the job requirements carefully and only applying for it if you have the matching requirements.

If you are willing to work for low pay, there are many bidding sites where you can find jobs. These are not for someone that values him or herself. There are bidding sites where a percentage is held out by the site, and others that cost you money buying credits or jobs lists. None of these requires a degree.

Some people say that not having a degree means that you are not a professional freelance writer. Disagreeing, with this premise, there are statistics that many graduates of universities and colleges unable to write a complete sentence, a degree is not the be-all-end-all to prove professionalism. There is also experience, and lifelong learning to be said for in the experience equation.

Yes, a degree is nice, and furthering your education is never a bad thing. You can be a freelancer without the requirement of a piece of paper. For some jobs, a degree is a requirement; those jobs will have to be left for those that have the required degree and years of experience.

When first starting out, it may be difficult to find work. All freelancers need to learn patience and perseverance if they want to become freelancers. Nothing happens overnight. If you give up easily, freelancing is not for you.

If you think you need a degree, find courses in a local college or university, or even take courses online if you can afford them. With the economy, many colleges and universities are raising their per semester costs. You will need to judge for yourself if getting a degree is what you want or need. Don’t let anyone dictate to you that you need this or that to freelance.

A must read - Jumpstart You Publishing Dreams by W. Terry Whalin

Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams is not just for book authors, it is a manual that gives the reader information and resources about the publishing industry, editors and wring for the freelance writer. In this book, you will find information and resources about writing for magazines, information on how to approach magazine editors with queries, and what you need to do to enhance your chances of becoming a published author.

Mr. Whalin has more than twenty years of experience writing magazine articles, books, and editing in the publishing industry. He has written 60 books, and published in more the 50 magazines. Having read some other book by Mr. Whalin, this book is the nuts-and-bolts of what every writer, storyteller, and freelance writer needs to know and take to heart.

Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams is loaded with information, resources, and links for more information. After visiting many of the links, this is a book that you will revisit often, also the websites, articles, and book to peruse when more time is available. There are some special offers that Mr. Whalin has for the writer. Do yourself a favor, take advantage of these special offers, you will not regret it.

If you aspire to publication, Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams is one book that should be in your writer’s library. It is a book with a high recommendation by this reviewer.

Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams:
ISBN-10: 1935085506
ISBN-13: 978-1935085508

Available at:
http://jumpstartdreams.com/Buy-Paperback.html
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Are you on social media sites?

Social media sites are inexpensive ways to get your marketing message out into the world. Social media doesn’t mean just Facebook and site like that. These days, social media is also blogs, websites, and anywhere where people visit. Social media sites are also good for networking and learning from others willing to share. There are forums for just about any subject. Do a search, and find a forum that meets your needs and join in the conversations.

Remember that if you do join a social network site, get involved; involved means be helpful if you can, talk with people, but don’t be a nuisance. Be a part of the community and get known as being helpful, you will more likely have others willing to help you in return. Learn the subtle are of networking.

Through networking and social media, you can let people know about what you have to offer and lead them to your website. This is a free way to get your message out from a marketing standpoint. With the way things are in the economy, not everyone has the bucks to mount a massive advertising campaign. The more ways to get your business out there for little or no cost and work on your business, the better of you will be.
Social media can be good for your business if used wisely. Visit sites and look around to see if they are something for you. Visit and be active in forums and all forms of social media that could pertain to your business.

Is Social Media Useful?

Can you find work as a freelance writer through social media sites? With sites like FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter and more, you can make contacts, but finding work still isn’t easy. Finding work depends on the individual writer, their education, their experience, and how proactive the person is.

Making contacts and being helpful whenever possible, is what anyone using social media needs to do. Social media also consists of blogs as well as sites like FaceBook and others. The blog is the best way for people to find you and learn something about you. This puts a person with the name. Your blog should contain the best writing and content you can do. If your blog is about a niche subject, make it entertaining and useful to whoever reads it.

Content is still king when creating posts to your blog. This will get you read. As people read and tell others, your traffic builds and you will have greater opportunities to find work.

Being proactive and asking people, or guest posting is one way to get known. Let’s face it, if no one knows you, they will not come to you. You need to make relevant posts to your subject, and to offer people something in return for reading your post(s).

At social media sites, you need to be interactive and helpful to others on the site. Post links to articles that are helpful, or to sites that are helpful. Retweet items that have relevance to others, include hashtags on Twitter to various groups that might be interested in a link to information you find, such as #writers, #editor, and more. Be a helpful member. You don’t need to hang out all day, but when you are at some social media site, be friendly and be a part of the community.

At any social media site, be sure to create a bio so people can read about you. Post a recent picture of yourself so that people can put a face to the name. People reading a post like to know that there is a real person posting to a blog, posting links, or information to a social media site.

Will all of this help you with your business or service? Maybe, it depends on what the other people at the site are looking for. Social media is another form of advertising.

About the Book I'm Writing

After being asked how to break into freelance writing, I decided to write a book about it.

I have 11,081 words at the moment, 3 appendices,an about the author page and the Table of Contents page. I have begun chapter eight of ten chapters in the first draft. I am not sure how many I will ultimately end up with. I've already added more than I thought as it is. This is a list of job sites compiled in this book.

I work on this book in between writing, copy editing,, and work on the social network for freelance writers I created on Ning.com

Branding

What is branding in the Web 2.0 environment? First, what is the definition of branding? The definition of branding: is giving a product or service a particular image or brand identification.

In the realm of freelance writing, what you stand for is your image, and brand identification. You are your brand, and you are your brand if you are a solo-entrepreneur. Do you have a logo, a website, do you belong to social media sites, and do you have a blog, whatever you do in the Web 2.0 environment, is your business, in front of the possibility of thousands of potential customers looking at your web presence, and you ultimately. Your web presences, and your business, if you are a freelance writer, are one in the same.

This means, that you are a writer, and your business is writing. You are and your business is about writing, there is no period where writing is not the major part of what you are about as a solo-entrepreneur freelance writer. You are looking for work or if you have branded and marketed yourself efficiently, work may come to you. Anytime you are writing, webese is not acceptable. You must always write as though you were writing for a client.

If you have a website, and other sites where you visit on a regular basis, consider suing one name, and that name be what you are trying to get out to the public as a brand. Have thought about a brand?

If you are in any business, you need a brand, more so if you are a freelance writer and want to find jobs. You also need to place your URLs on as many sites as you can when on places like Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Digg, and more. Any place you visit, use your brand. Let people know what you stand for and that you are a freelance writer.

Finding Work as a Freelance Writer

Finding Work as a Freelance Writer

There are numerous places for finding work as an aspiring freelance writer:

About Freelance Writing

Craigslist

Elance

Freelance Writing

Freelance Writing Jobs

Guru

oDesk

Online Writing Jobs

Sun Oasis

Some of these sites charge a fee per month, sign-up fee, take tests, or require a percentage of the income from your gigs. You can do a search and find more. Some jobs will also require a degree in English, Journalism, Science, or Engineering.

Although you may be looking for freelance writing jobs to some people freelance writing means building web sites, link building, and more. At least you can choose your jobs when you freelance. Some sites want experts in various subjects like:

About.Com

Suite 101

The sites listed here are not recommendations. As with anything online, proceed with caution.