My Experience as a Writer - Tips to Help you Get Started!

In 2002 my husband and I moved to Germany. Instead of try to get a job, I instead decided to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a writer. I made $60 that year and frankly, I was thrilled.

I've come a long way since then. The road I took has been filled with set backs but I expected it. It wasn't easy becoming a writer but it wasn't hard either. And along the way there have been people who have helped me get to where I am.

This hub is all about paying it forward. Now it's my turn to help you! Do you want to start your writing business? Just keep reading - and of course apply what you read. :)

You'll notice that I ended each section with an assignment. In my experience, without this little assignments, things just don't get done. This is something I've learned about myself. Just in case you need these too, I decided to tack them on.

This is an essential first step. Without writing samples, other websites and publications won't know how good you are. The good news is that sites like Hubpages and Squidoo make it easy for you to showcase what you're capable of and you can make extra money in the process.

If you live in the United States, Associated Content also provides writers with a good way to create a library of content that they can then use to apply for jobs. This is exactly what I did when I first started out. I began to use my Associated Content profile link to show potential clients what I could do. I won gigs this way.

Your Assignment: Choose at least one of these sites and publish ten articles or mini pages. If you choose all three, challenge yourself to publish ten pieces of content on each of these sites.

ABefore you proceed, it helps to solidify your goals in terms of writing. I am going to list a few different things you can do. Most writers have there hands in several different pots, as I do. I blog for myself and for others, create content for clients, and get my work published. What do you want to do?

• Become a published author and write a novel.
• Win clients and make money completing projects.
• Develop a successful blog.
• Write poetry and stories.
• Submit articles to magazines.

Assignment: If you don't have a writer's journal yet, now is the time to get one. In it, take some time to picture how you picture your days as a writer. What kind of writing do you want to do? Go back through and read your entry and then figure out what it is you really want.

Instead of thinking it is just a dream, take that desire and turn it into a goal and an affirmation. If you want to become published, write something like, "I will be a published writer by the end of 2011" or if you want to make a certain amount per month, that can be your goal.

After you have the beginnings of a portfolio, your next step to make money writing is to look for work. As a disclaimer, be prepared for rejection. If you are a reasonably good writer (you don't even need to be the best) the thing that makes or breaks your success is persistence. It's a numbers game.

When I first started taking on clients, I submitted a lot of bids (1-5 bids per day for an entire month) before I won my first job. I knew I would land my first job and I was willing to wait until I did. Just keep at it, eventually you'll find the success that you want.

Here are some things that you can do:

• Queries and Submissions. Challenge yourself to make 30 queries or submissions over the course of a month.
• Freelance Bid Sites. Choose a freelance bid site and post at least 1 bid per day until you land your first assignment.
• Respond to job listings. There are plenty of websites online that list jobs for freelance writers. Challenge yourself to respond to one of these jobs each day.
• Keep writing. If you want to have some money coming in before you make these other methods successful, continue submitting at the likes of Associated Content or creating Hubs here on Hubpages.