Newbie Calling - question please help!

sylvia_saint

Banned
Spammer
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Hi there,

Just a quick post to introduce myself to the community. I'm a young man in his twenties living in London and I'm about to make the jump into writing full time (if I can). This site looks like it has a really active and helpful community, so really looking forward to making some new contacts.

My question is: what is the best way for me to make the transition into full-time freelancing? Is it worth going on a writing course, or should I just start trawling freelance sites and sending out my CV? Any tips from your own personal experience would be greatly appreciated!

Looking forward to your replies,
[/FONT]
 

alleycat

Still around
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
72,891
Reaction score
12,242
Location
Tennessee
Welcome.

For a starter, poke around in the Freelance Writing forum. You might find an answer to some of your questions there; if not, start your own thread with your questions.
 

CACTUSWENDY

An old, sappy, and happy one.
Kind Benefactor
Requiescat In Pace
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
12,860
Reaction score
1,667
Location
Sunny Arizona
Welcome to AW. Hope you enjoy your stay with us.
How do you like your popcorn?

If you go to the bottom of the page to the ‘forum jump’ you can scroll down and find all the areas of this place. Most of the SYW areas require the password of ….vista. Good luck.
 

jvc

Fearsome Dragon Mod
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
14,639
Reaction score
4,616
Location
Hiding from a teeny tiny spider
Greetings and welcome to the watercooler :welcome:

Take a wander around the various forums, there's lots to see and lots to learn, and even some fun threads too. As Alleycat said, pop over to the Freelance forum and read some of the threads over there. If you don't find an answer then you can start your own.

Also, come along and pop on over to the Traditional Irish Pub (at the top of the Newbie forum) and say hi, there's plenty of friendly faces that you can chat with and lots of banter. There's also the Question of the Day threads at the top of the Newbie forum where you can answer random questions.

Don't forget to read the newbie guide, and if you want to know what all the buttons mean check out this thread.
 

Nickie

Not too old to learn
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
10,800
Reaction score
145
Location
Dendermonde, Belgium
Website
www.nickiefleming.com
Hi there! First of all, welcome to the Cooler. Secondly, speaking from my own experience, I wouldn't just quit a job to start a career as a freelancer. What you can do, is do less hours and try to work part-time at first. That way you still have some security and you're able to pay the bills. Only go into a full time free lance career when you earn the equal amount of what you earned before.

Nickie
 

lachlan

I've been around the block.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
113
Reaction score
6
Location
Eastern Canada
What sort of writing do you do? The different types have very different marketing methods.
 

regdog

The Scavengers
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
58,075
Reaction score
21,013
Location
She/Her

sylvia_saint

Banned
Spammer
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Thanks for all your lovely replies - I will start a new thread in the freelancing section.

As far as my own writing goes I'm looking to get into journalism, particularly comment and politics/cultural opinion, but for pleasure I mainly write poetry and some drama. Thinking of giving short prose a go though soon!

Thanks guys and speak soon.

T