There is one thing in this world that there is no getting around. Everybody thinks they can be a star, or at least wants to be, whether it’s as a singer, songwriter, actor, ball player or circus clown. It doesn’t matter how much talent we have or don’t have. We all believe there is something we can do that is of a creative nature that can make us famous. Writing is one of those things.

Take a journey to the local library or book store. There are more books about more things than you can possibly imagine. Everyone’s got an opinion on something and many of these people have put their opinions into print. Aside from opinions, people also write about facts. Think of how many biographies their are. Many of the topics overlap. There are a number of different biographies on people like John F. Kennedy, all written by different authors. So what is it that makes all of these books different? It is one thing, and it is the most important thing if you are going to be a writer.

It’s called being yourself.

There was an episode of MASH where Radar took a creative writing course. He started using all these fancy words that he had never used before. When Potter began to read the daily reports he noticed that they sounded a bit odd. When he questioned Radar, he told Potter that he was taking a creative writing course. Potter smelled the scam. Eventually, Potter had enough of the daily reports that sounded like a bad novel and told Radar to can it. When Radar asked him what he thought of his writing personally, Potter told him he didn’t think much of it. He said it sounded like he had swallowed a dictionary, that none of that sounded like him. Radar then told Potter that he was just doing what the book told him, to which Potter replied, “Son, the first thing about being a good writer is to be yourself”.

So just what is being yourself? It means to write what you feel, how you think and not what you believe you’re supposed to feel and think like. If you are thinking of writing a book and are very much interested in gardening but have no interest at all in mysteries and somebody tells you that you’ll make a lot more money writing a good mystery, it would be pointless for you to even try. Why? Because having no knowledge or interest in the material you would only be writing what you think the mystery should be written like and most likely will end up copying from other mysteries. The end result will be predictable and not very well written.

As for writing styles themselves, let’s say you do like mysteries. Don’t try to write like Agatha Christie, unless you have a similar style. Write how YOU want to write. Yes, we all want to make money and we think that if we copy a popular style that we’ll be successful. The truth is, the writing will come out as forced and the end result will not be anywhere near as good as the source you copied from.

Being yourself, while logically should come easy, is sometimes the hardest thing to do, especially if you have never written before. You don’t have a clue what’s going to come out, if it will be good or bad. That’s okay. But tapping into your inner resources you will find out what is inside of you. What is good you can use and what isn’t good you can improve upon or discard.

If the talent is there, you will find it.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Writing Tips

Do you love to write? Do you have a knack for making words come alive on a page? You may want to consider freelance writing as a way to make a good living from home.

Freelance writers write anything from newspaper columns to web content and even ebooks.

Getting Started

Before you go looking for freelance jobs, you should build up a portfolio of articles. You can write for your own website or blog, offer to write free articles for friends, or contact your local paper about writing a column for them. Work on some articles that you can use as samples of your work and build a list of references for your potential clients to contact.

Where To Find Work

The next step will be finding potential clients. You can visit some of the big freelance sites like elance and bid on projects. It is also a good idea to set up a website that showcases some of your writing, tells a little about you and your area of expertise, and of course you will have your contact information on the site. You may also want to consider adding a blog to your site. It’s an easy way to add articles, short tips and any other writings to your site on an ongoing basis.

Networking is another great way to find work. Think about friends, former colleagues, bosses and clients that would be interested in having some writing done and call them up. As you start building your own client base, ask for referrals. Do you know someone that successfully freelances now? Ask them for advice on getting started and spend some time with them. They may refer clients to you that they don’t have time for. Do the same for other freelancers if you are contacted with a project you can’t handle.

Many magazines will accept freelance work. Keep a spreadsheet with names and addresses of the editors of the various publications and pitch story ideas on a regular basis. It can be tough to get a foot in the door with magazines, but once you start getting published it will become easier and in many cases more lucrative.

Getting Paid

How much you will get paid will largely depend on the size of the project and how involved it is. Short articles on general topics that don’t require research may pay as little as $5.00 a piece while doing research for and writing an ebook may bring you several hundred dollars.

If you love writing about a variety of topics, I encourage you to give freelance writing a try. It’s a great way to do what you love and stay home with the kids at the same time. The main key to becoming a successful freelance writer is to practice writing all the time, whether you get paid for it or not. Just get out a pen and paper, or open you favorite text editor and start writing.