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29 Aug 09 Freelance Writing Checklist Part -2

Taking our discussion on freelance writing forward, I will give you some more items that you need to include in your Freelance Writing Checklist, before you jump on the bandwagon. Without wasting our precious time in stretching the introduction, let us begin with the checklist items.

Is your résumé ready?

Sounds familiar? Yeah…every job requires you to have a résumé, and freelancing is no different in this regard. You will need an up-to-date résumé throughout your freelance writing career, and particularly when you are starting out when you have no portfolio to show. Your résumé will tell your prospective client about your experience.

How good is your cover letter?

You cannot do without a cover letter ever in your freelancing write. You will need this every day and for every project you bid on. It is a thousand times more important than your résumé. You need to know that you are not alone when you apply for an online writing gig. You are competing with hundreds of freelancer who is vying for the gig. Hence, to get noticed, you need to have a very attractive cover letter properly outlining your skills and experiences.

The things written above were good enough for any freelancer, but what makes a cover letter more important to a freelance writer is the fact that through your cover letter your prospective client will get the first glimpse of your writing; hence, if it is very impressive then consider your job half-done.

Do you know how to apply?

Well, doing this is not very difficult. It is just time consuming. Before you apply for a gig, you need to find out how the employer or the freelance board through which you are applying wants your application to be.

Some boards just need one cover letter, which you post with your bid, while others may ask you to write a brief introduction while posting the bid, and the rest of the details in a private message.

There is one more difference. The difference is in the way your client will accept your samples: some will ask you to send them links to your sample, while others will be okay with your attachments, and you will also find a handful of clients who will ask you to paste a brief article in the body of a private message. It is also not uncommon to find a client who wants you to write a custom sample for him on the topic or on the subject chosen by the client himself.

Get these things ready, I will be back in the next installment with some more checklist items. Meanwhile, I will also request you to tell me what you feel about the items I have listed above.

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