by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: May 13, 2009

Freelance writing is essentially the writing world's form of self-employment. Freelance writers are generally such as newspaper reporters or article writers who are not employed or retained by any one particular publication or publishing outlet and who ply their craft where and when they can in pursuit of publication and subsequent payment.

Freelance writers in times gone by often led a very uncertain existence. They were of course limited in the sense of the publications they could submit their work to by what they wrote and how many outlets there were for what could often be described as very specialised material. This could mean that their income fluctuated hugely and they could experience significant lean times.

It is probably fair to say therefore that the Internet and its burgeoning popularity is by far the best thing which has happened to freelance writers. Almost in the blink of an eye, the number of markets for freelance writing has multiplied many times. There are specialist sites to which the freelance writer can submit their work, just as there are specialist conventional publications; but much more significantly, there are a great many sites which accept writing material of all types and pay the freelance writer for submission of same.

Freelance writing has therefore become a much more stable and lucrative profession in this online world. Writing sites such as Helium and others like it will pay the best writers upfront for their articles on a wide variety of subjects and afford them the opportunity of earning ongoing royalties on same indefinitely. This means that freelance writing is no longer the wholly hit or miss profession that it could be in previous times.

Freelance writing gives the writer a great deal of freedom. They can write about what they want, when they want and in they way they want. They are - particularly in modern days - largely free of the tight deadlines which are imposed upon their staff equivalents and can consequently devote more time to polishing and perfecting each piece of work prior to submission.

Freelance writers may have a wonderfully varied and pleasurable career but the reality is that the hours which they are required to work are long and unsociable. It is not unusual for a freelance writer to work something approaching a hundred hours in a week, in order to earn their crust. This is something which those considering the profession should be aware of.

Freelance writing, however, is fun, it is rewarding in a great many ways, it is a never ending learning experience - and above all, freelance writing is freedom.

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