Getting Started as a Freelancer? Here’s What You’ll Need
A lot of new writers ask me what supplies and equipment you need to get started as a freelance writer. Here’s my list for the first-timer:
A laptop. You want to live the freelancing lifestyle, working wherever you happen to be? You’ll need a laptop, preferably with wireless Internet access. I have a MacBook, which I love.
A website. I rarely get e-mails from out of the blue from editors who happened to run across my site, but having a website is a great way to showcase my offerings. I link to my site in e-mailed queries in lieu of attaching clips. A good website from a designer can cost upwards of $2,000, but you can build your own using free site building applications like Nvu or KompoZer. Both of these are complete web authoring systems for Linux desktop, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh users that let you create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML. You can also find open source (i.e., free!) web templates. For example, Open Source Web Design and The Open Design Community are collections of web designs that anyone can download free of charge. For more info, my article on building a writer’s website is in the current issue of Writer’s Digest. (It’s not online, sorry.)
A desk. When you’re not working at Borders and Starbucks and Paris cafés, you’ll need somewhere to use your computer and stow your files. The dining room table works just as well when you’re starting out, but eventually you’ll want a place dedicated exclusively to work. You can find used desks on Craigslist and through Freecycle, or check out office supply stores like Office Max and Staples. My desk is a plain table that I bought at an unfinished furniture store and painted white.
A recorder. You’ll likely need something to record your interviews. An analog recorder works fine and you can buy a doohickey from Radio Shack that hooks it up to your phone to record phone interviews. However, with an analog recorder, interview tapes will soon take over your office. That’s why I bought a digital Olympus recorder. It cost around $180 and is one of the best investments I’ve made. Now I can store interviews on my computer, and send them as attachments to my transcriptionist.
A fax machine or online faxing capabilities. I have to admit I’m a little outdated…I’ve been using the same fax machine since I started out in 1997. I rarely use it, but it is very handy for receiving contracts and sending back the signed copy. And, every once in a while, someone will want to fax you some research materials for an article. But you don’t have to find desk-space for an old-fashioned fax machine anymore…FaxZero lets you send free faxes of up to three pages with an ad on the cover page, or for $1.99 you can send a fax of up to 15 pages without an ad. Here’s a list of free and pay Internet fax services.
A printer. We use our printer less and less these days, but it’s still a necessity for printing out research notes, drafts of articles, and contracts. You can find printers at Staples, OfficeMax, and electronics stores like Best Buy. You can also get all-in-one printer/copier/scanners, though if it breaks you’re three times SOL.
A postal scale. This is another of the best investments I’ve made. Even with the almighty e-mail, writers use the mail — a lot. A postal scale will keep you from randomly pasting on tons of stamps to make sure that multi-page contract gets through to the magazine or those clips (yes, I occasionally snail mail intro packages and clips) make it to the editor.
Office supplies. The basics for me include postage stamps of different denominations, a stapler for stapling together clips, large and small envelopes, a return-address stamp (from Staples; it was about $8), paper clips (Clipiola Italian Paper Clips), small notebooks, Post-It notes, extra printer ink (because you always run out when you’re printing something important at 1 am), pens, an inbox to hold random items to process in batches, binders to keep track of income (no Quicken for me, sorry), and a hanging file for current article research.
Those are my basics for starting a freelance writing business. Do you think there’s something I’m missing — something you find crucial to any beginning freelancer? Please post it in the Comments! [lf]
If you liked that post, you might also like:
- Recording Interviews on Skype
- What Should I Put on My Website if I Have No Clips?
- Why You Shouldn’t Create Your Own Writing Samples–And What You Can Do to Get REAL Clips Instead
- Clips 101: What They Are (and Aren’t), How to Get Them, and How to Make The Most of Your Clips
- The Freelance Writer’s Bill of Rights
Sep 15, 2008 Advice, Cool products, Cool tools, Organization
I’ve found that a notebook and pen I can keep with me at all times has been an invaluable freelancing tool. I get ideas for new articles anywhere, but if I don’t write them down, I forget them by the time I get home.
Why didn’t “Trust Fund” make the list?
Great article, Linda! I’m so glad that you included a digital recorder on your list. Mine is my constant companion. I upgraded from a mini cassette recorder, which I now keep beside my bed so I can record those 3 a.m. flashes of genius without turning on the light. The digital recorder lives in my purse, along with a spare set of batteries.
I would like to add three things to your list:
1 – A good scheduling/calendar system.
2 – A good contacts/address book system.
3 – A good system for backing up your electronic data.
I use MS Outlook, mainly because I’m too cheap to go spend extra $$ for a different system. You can set up reminders, appointments and tasks. In addition to keeping a paper list of what topics should be submitted when (i.e. start thinking about December holiday stuff in May), I have reminders set up for the first and 15th of each month (i.e. On Sept. 1 & 15, Outlook reminded me that I should start putting together ideas for April articles on tax tips and spring cleaning.) I use both Outlook and a typical Rolodex for my contacts/addresses, and I always write in pencil on the cards so I can erase outdated info as necessary. I keep editor contacts as well as interviewee contact info as updated as possible by noting the month and year during which I made the note. Outlook’s contacts program has a “Notes” field that can hold a ton of info, so if there is a lot to note – more than will fit on the card – I just pencil a note reminding myself to check my Outlook contacts entry. ***Be sure you back up your electronic stuff at least weekly!!*** Thumb drives are dirt cheap now, and make this task very easy and convenient.
As for the office supplies, train yourself and everyone in your family/friends circle to grab those freebies! Pens, pencils, sticky notes, scratch pads – there is a ton of free stuff out there. Even though I dearly love shop office supply stores, getting supplies for free is even better.
I agree with Wordwych on the backup. That’s crucial. You can be crippled in a flash without it (she says, based on hard-earned experience.) I use a USB backup drive in conjunction with the Mac Leopard Time Machine. I also burn important folders onto CD-ROMs every couple weeks or so and my husband deposits them in our safe deposit box. I’m just crazy like that. And good news: memory and storage space are cheap.
Another thing I’d advise new freelancers to get is a post office box for a couple reasons. First, it keeps church and state separate. I don’t like getting business correspondence at home. Second, it forces you to get out of the house every day, or at least a couple times a week — important if you’re a hermit like I am. Third, it affords you a little more privacy. My box is actually in a nearby town where I used to live.
On that note, I’d also recommend a GrandCentral phone number for editors if you can’t afford a separate phone line for your business. You can route the number to ring anywhere, including cell phones. (Or get a cell phone specifically for business calls.) Answer your calls with, “Hello, this is Sue.” Just like a business. Don’t make your editor have to ask your kid if he can speak with his mom.
All the tips are excellent, but I especially appreciate #1 – getting a laptop. I wrote from a desktop for two years. Once I purchased my first laptop, it gave freelance writing an entirely new meaning. Finally, I wasn’t tied down to one location. I could work in the bedroom, at the dining room table, outside, library, etc.
Actually, websites don’t have to be that expensive – mine wasn’t. And some blog sites – WordPress (free I think) and Typepad (not free but not expensive) allow you to add static pages so they can work well as professional sites.
Anyway, some more suggestions…
Some tax know-how. If you’re in the UK, you need to register as self-employed. You need to decide whether to get an accountant to do everything, or keep your own accounts and get an accountant to do your return, or if you’re going to do everything yourself. Either way, some basic knowledge about what records to keep, what expenses you can claim, etc is a good idea from the start. Wait until later and you may find you’ve done it all wrong. As I discovered when I got a bill for some National Insurance I didn’t realise I owed.
Copyright know-how. I used to think if I sold an article to a newspaper, they owned it. Then I learned the difference between selling copyright and assigning a license. I don’t know how US law works exactly, but it’s worth understanding copyright so you can protect and exploit your own.
Again with the know-how: late payment legislation. Within what time does a client have to pay? When can you legally charge interest?
Union membership.
A spare computer. Take it from the person whose flat got flooded in her first week as a freelance! You don’t just need a way of backing up your data, you need a back-up computer in case the first one gets stolen/damaged/etc.
A social life. If you’re going to be sitting at home by yourself all day it is really important to arrange times when you’ll be out of the house seeing friends and family, or you can end up feeling lonely and isolated.
Business cards.
Thanks for all the comments! I agree that computer backup should have been on the list, and tax knowledge is another necessity.
When you’re starting out, you need a computer and a phone. That’s pretty much it.
After that, I would add a recorder. Web site, once you have something to put on it.
Postal scale? Nah. I haven’t mailed anything in years. Contracts are sent via email most of the time these days. A fax? Hmm — yup, got one of those a couple of years ago.
A lot of the other stuff (laptop vs. PC), desk, office supplies, printers are more about personal work style than necessary equipment.
Personally, I would put the essential equipment (for me) in this order: laptop, cellphone, web site … and now we fall way, way down to scanner, printer.
One of the best investments I made was a phone with caller ID (when you work from home it’s imperative to know if that call is from a source you’ve been desperately trying to reach – or your sister-in-law who never shuts up; if it’s an editor who doesn’t mind listening to your kid chatter, or the childless jerk who gets huffy when he hears Sesame Street in the background.)
Also – a phone headset so you don’t get that crick in your neck.
I also love my HP fax/scanner/printer/copier. It works like a dream (knock wood) and it was relatively inexpensive. I actually print quite a lot (my brain doesn’t work well unless I see something on paper) and it’s lasted me about 7 years of daily use.
I also second the nom for business cards. I have not needed them often, but the times that I did I was really glad I had them. I would have kind of felt like an unprofessional jerk without them. Also – they’re nice to give to the snotty moms at school pickup who ask for your email and think because you work from home you don’t *really* work. But that’s just me being kind of evil.
I’m a subscriber to fax.com. It costs about $10/month and process incoming and outgoing faxes through e-mail or online at their website. I’ve had it for about a year now (as I was told it was an absolute business necessity). I haven’t used it once.
Come to think of it, why do I still pay for this thing?
Thanks for including that info on faxes– I don’t have a fax but a few times a year I need to fax things out. I plan to try FaxZero next time.
I am glad she mentioned transcription. I was recently laid off from my technical writing job and really want to go from hobby writing (just my small local pubs) to a full time job. The one aspect I have always HATED about writing articles is transcribing. I hate listening to the sound of my own voice and it’s one task I always put off.
Can you offer tips on how to find a transcriptionist? And give a range at what that service costs? I think I’d be willing to do out of pocket even if my writing income doesn’t cover it – I would probably send more queries out if I didn’t dread that part of writing so much.
Anna, I highly recommend CLK Transcription (http://www.clktranscription.com/). She charges about 90 cents per audio minute (which is less expensive than other transcriptionists I have hired) and she’s very fast, often turning around transcriptions in the same day.
I think a note book is vital to be with you as well. Sometimes my laptop might run out of battery in the car when I’m stuck in the traffic jam. But a note book is necessary when I have some writing ideas just flash through my mind, just write it down in my mini note book.
“…you’ll want a place dedicated exclusively to work…”
That’s a really good point. If you are working at home, you need to set up your working area so that to minimize all the possible distractions. I started up writing at the kitchen table, because it’s big, and I can pile all my papers on it along with my laptop. Needless to say the fridge door was being opened a lot during the writing process. Or right in middle of an important thought I would suddenly switch to planning what’s for dinner. You need to set up a place, which makes you forget you are actually at home.
At what point do you begin to take tax deductions on your home office space? I have a room/home office dedicated to writing (okay – facebook too) so I wonder at what point I put “freelance writer” on my W2s and write off part of my home office and supplies. I just received my first check for my first paid assignment. I can’t hardly bring myself to cash it!
Elizabeth, I’m actually not sure! I know there are rules that distinguish between a hobby and a business, but that’s all I remember. You may want to check the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov.
Hello,
I have followed you from Erik’s very interesting discussions about DS and have found some neat information here, too.
At the risk of sounding a bit stupid–I just wanted for someone seasoned to say the answer to me–When making the website via Fetch, Kompozer, or the like is it necessary to purchase a, I guess, “spot” on the web to upload the info to? I just want to make sure it is necessary to PAY for a web address and/or publishing server using a site like GoDaddy.
Is this the same with WordPress, one must pay for the web address and/or a publishing server? In your opinion, is WP old-fashioned (are there better ways to get the job done now)?
I’m trying to upgrade my current blogspot to a website that I can have more control over.
Thanks and I enjoyed reading your writing.
I’d just like to add that there are digital tape recorders that do not require software (Sony) into which you can dictate your ideas, outlines or even a draft of an article or story. Then connect the recorder to your computer and it will produce an onscreen transcription. If you have Dragon Softly Speaking, it is enabled to transcribe from audio, too.
I recommend http://www.tripod.com for building a website. You can start off free, and upgrade to paid later if you’d like.