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prove I can write well, but what can I show them that proves I can sell that book?

For most writers, that is a track record of past published works that have performed well, and proving they know how to market and sell a book.

Unfortunately, this means that most writers will likely start with a smaller publisher, one that doesn't offer an advance, and then show, through sales, they can write content that is interesting to the target audience.

Essentially, a writer won't receive payment unless the book does well, so the publisher is more willing to take a chance on printing the book. (It costs money to print a book, after all.)

Once a writer has proven they can sell their writing, or that an audience truly exists to buy that writing, the writer can take future manuscripts to larger publishers, based on that past track record, and prove an advance is deserved. The publishing industry, as a whole, has pretty much always worked this way, even before the internet.

In book publishing, there is a 'golden number'. That number is 5,000 books sold. If, through a small publishing house, one can manage 5,000 book sold in less than a year, the big houses will take notice, and in the future, similar types of manuscripts from that same writer will likely garner advances and higher royalty contracts, allowing the author to be paid both upfront and after publication. As sales improve for each successive book, so do advances and royalties improve.

So what does publishing a novel have to do with freelance writing on the internet?

A lot!

See, freelance writing was an entirely different animal than novel publishing was, back in the days before internet technology, when freelance writers had to visit companies or publications in person or via phone, send in samples, offer queries and articles on spec.

Now, with the new freelance writing sites and publications accepting freelance writers, especially those on the internet, the entire field of writing is aligning with the way publishing houses have always worked.

While there will always be internet sites and publications that offer advances for writing, you can bet that if that writing doesn't receive positive feedback, doesn't help sell their publication, or doesn't garner a readership that is interested in reading it, that freelance writer will not be able to sell additional content to that publication.

So one way freelance writing is changing is that many publications and companies seeking content, articles and stories are now changing to

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