How to Become a Freelance Writer

Hundreds of thousands of writing opportunities exist. The trick is to find the ones that pay. Start by writing for smaller, possibly non-paying publications. By writing articles for smaller publications, you will establish your credentials and build a portfolio. You need that portfolio for established publications to take you seriously and hire you. If you plan to write magazine and newspaper articles, don't quit your day job until you are making enough money to sustain your lifestyle. This means that you will do your writing in the early morning or in the evening or whenever you have a spare moment.

Steps

Submit a poem or story to a children's magazine if you are a young person. If you are a teenager, join your school's yearbook committee and submit articles to the school newspaper. Regard this effort as good practice for your future freelance career. If you are a college or university student, craft strong, well-written essays for class. You can also offer your services at the writing lab, and write articles for the student newspaper, literary magazine, and alumni magazine.
Become active in the writing community. Subscribe to "The Writer". Join a freelance writers' association.
Visit the reference section of your local bookstore and buy a copy of "The Writer's Market". This will give you the know-how of writing in easy-to-digest tidbits. There are numerous exercises you can do to increase your abilities as an author- submit letters to the editor of your local newspaper, write articles for your church bulletin, Create a blog, even write articles for wikiHow.
When you feel that you are capable of writing professionally, think of something you'd like to write about, then send a query letter to the city/lifestyles/sports editor of your local newspaper asking if they are interested in publishing an article on the topic. Include the first paragraph of your article and an outline of the rest. Call in two weeks, if you don't get a reply. If you feel you're ready for the real deal and an honest paycheck, find publishers you'd like to write for, then read their guidelines.
You can develop your own style but be aware of the different requirements of different publications. For eg. some newpapers prefer articles "knock-down" one-sided strong arguments, while some prefer a balanced view.
Or, you can find freelance writing jobs at websites like:
Be sure to prepare an impressive self-introductory letter and CV. If those don't look professional and impressive, it's unlikely the editors will think you're any good as a writer.
Search projects.
Place bids actively. But don't take more than you can deliver and miss deadlines!

Tips

Before submitting anything to a major publication, make sure you read their guidelines.
Update your resume every time you have an article published.
Know your grammar and punctuation.

Warnings

Maintain honest financial records. Your earnings are taxable.
Insist on an advance and part payments. 10% projects do not get paid, unless you are careful and take part payments.
Never be casual when you are working through Elance, getafreelancer, writerlance, guru etc; because it may call for negative feedback. If you get negative feedback from the buyer, it is very difficult to get work again in that platform.

Article adapted from wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Become a Freelance Writer. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.