You've dreamed of writing all your life, but time is slipping by. The time to start your dream is now. This article is filled with quick, sensible tips to get started writing locally, and move into regional or national publications.
Freelance writing has turned my dream into a reality - I am home for my children and I earn a living writing personal essays, parenting articles, short stories and (my favorite) restaurant reviews.

My restaurant reviews appear weekly in my local newspaper, I wrote a book last summer, Become a Food Writer (http://www.fabjob.com). I network with other writers on the mystery writers forum at inkspot.com, which I moderate. Recenly a website published an interview with me (http://www.http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1639/56666) about my food writing in particular.

Becoming a freelance writer requires minimal to no investment and can provide an income immediately. If you have a computer and internet connection, you are ready for business. You can create your own flyers, stationery and business cards to sell your writing skills.

Where will you sell your writing? Think about the area you live in. Is there a college nearby, or employment agencies and outplacement offices? Post flyers offering to edit and type papers, or write resumes and cover letters for job seekers. Contact your local newspaper with story ideas. Story ideas can come from your life - write a humor column, or from your friends and neighbors - design your dream pool this spring. Write about events, offer to review local theater productions, submit stories on seasonal happenings.

Network by offering to hold resume writing workshops at your library. Start a writer’s support group at the local college. Offer to be guest speaker at the local high school’s career days. Pass out business cards everywhere.

A wonderful way to build good will and to build up writing samples is to volunteer your writing talents for the local volunteer center, school district or humane society. Newspapers will grab up your articles since they cost them nothing; you will have published samples. Feel free to specify that you wish a byline, or your name, with each article.

The online community makes it possible for any writer, anywhere to work full time. Using your favorite search engine, look for sites that deal with writers, writing jobs, writers markets and submission guidelines. Write up a resume or writer’s biography listing your education, work experience and writing credits, including volunteer writing efforts. My friend, who is published all over the web shared some information with me once when I was discouraged after sending out a number of applications for writing and editing jobs. She said her informal surveys with other writers show that one response out of every twelve applications sent out is average for a beginning. The lesson? Keep plugging away, believe in yourself, and write when you can. It will happen for you.

About the Author

Author Notes: Pamela White is a home-based freelance writer focusing on food, parenting and writing topics. Her ebooks, including Making Money Mystery Shopping, and Operate Your Own Paint and Wallpapering Business are available exclusively from Bizymoms.com. “Become a Food Writer” is available at Fabjob.com. She is the marketing and promotions director of Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine.