by Jon Dainty Sr.

Created on: March 16, 2009

Most writers who make a living at it will be contract writers. Not everyone will be, or can be, Stephen King or John Grisham, so here are some right ways to approach freelance writing.

Understand the contract. Find out for whom you are writing, and get samples if possible. The buyer's instructions will tell you what style the buyer wants and exactly how long the contract runs. This is vital information if you intend both to do a good job and to be paid for your work.

Bid intelligently. If you underbid simply to get business, the buyer may be suspicious, doubting that you can actually deliver high-quality work. When you bid, make it clear what your bid covers. Tell the buyer whether your bid is by the page, by the word, or time-based. If your bid is accepted, ensure both parties agree to the same units, style, and length of contract.

Do the work contracted. The buyer expects a certain final product for the payment offered. You are responsible to produce that work, on time and complete. Stick to the buyer's topic, without inserting any pet projects or references unrelated to the contract.

When you offer the buyer the finished work, it should have been read and re-read, edited, and buffed to a high shine. Nothing less is truly acceptable from a professional writer.

If, like many of us, you have experienced some troubles with the occasional stray apostrophe, commas that don't know where to live, and spelling that isn't your grandmother's, there is an option beyond simply going blind. Give your project to another person, whether significant other, professor, or trusted friend, and let them read it. Tell them their hard-core honesty will preserve your project in payment-worthy status, and rely on their judgment when they say something smells.

Get paid. Know before you bid, if at all possible, the track record of your buyer. If you are on your own, it's always a gamble with an unknown buyer, which makes sites like Elance and Helium so attractive. Elance offers escrow payments through the site itself, and Helium does much of the actual selling of our articles, whether as stock content or Marketplace custom-order documents.

No one wants to do a week's writing on a project, turn it in for payment, and then come up empty. Protect your payday in every way you can.

Writing is fun, expressive, and artful. It makes the world go around for us and for millions of our readers. It can also quite handily pay the mortgage. Be careful, do your best and keep on writing.

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