Tools for the Freelance Writer

Ashley Hay, BSN, RN, BSN, RN

Connect

If there's a new avenue you'd like to try in your career, chances are someone is out there doing it already - and well. Find them and learn from their experience. Despite my original hesitancy to join the masses, social media has proved to be a great way to meet other freelance writers and build a strong support network. I've found LinkedIn the most helpful. It allows me to search for other writers by name or title and can give a sense of what kind of writing they like to produce. See who they are writing for. Does it interest you or relate to your nursing experience? You can never have too many leads for potential future work. LinkedIn has opportunities to join nursing and/or writing groups there also - many are closed groups and require just one click to request free membership access.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and even Pinterest are studded with connections for the new freelance writer. The trick is to keep changing your search words to find your niche: freelance health writer, health care writer, content writer, etc. Here are just a few websites I like to frequent:

Reach Out

Adding someone as a friend on LinkedIn or Facebook is a great start, but sending personalized emails can really help strengthen your network. I have been astonished by the level of assistance many other nurse writers were willing to provide to a new freelance writer. I've been given great advice on my growing business, leads for work and even online tools to keep my expenses/invoices on track. If you are serious about pursuing this area of nursing there are many experienced writers who are more than willing to share their knowledge with you. Just ask.

Job Sites

When starting out it can be difficult to even know the scope of work you are capable of.

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What exactly is ghostwriting? Copywriting? What does SEO stand for? Can I only write about the field I currently work in? How should I cite my sources?

If you have no prior writing experience, there is a fair amount of research needed at first to catch up and sort through all of the new terms used in the freelance writing world. Large Job Search websites don't typically lead to a ton of work for a brand new writer, but it can help you identify the types of jobs out there and prepare your body of future work. You can also see a variety of pay rates. Some websites I've found helpful for this are:

Competition

It can be difficult to land a steady paying gig if you've yet to publish any articles to date. Many freelancers will tell you never to work for free. I consider competitions the exception to the rule, especially for beginners. There are many sites that release upcoming writing competitions weekly or monthly and entries can range from poetry to science fiction. Use these as writing exercises or an excuse to stretch your brain a bit and try a different genre altogether.

Community

The sense of community among freelance healthcare writers is strong and after months of research I've been lucky enough to stumble upon some great online communities. The following internet sites have given me a sense of support and pride. They have allowed me to meet many others in the freelance world - at all levels of expertise.

National Nurses in Business Association - Welcome Page

If you haven't yet - sign up! They provide many invaluable resources for any nurse starting their own business and have a yearly conference packed with great information for all nurse entrepreneurs.

Healthcare Writers Network | The Social Nurse

This online community is incredible! They host many fun events like #freelancefriday where you can enjoy a happy hour drink with your fellow freelancers while discussing relevant topics, #socialsunday where you can post your published work for the week and receive valuable feedback, and host #pitchfest where you can try your hand at pitching a willing company and even win cash prizes! The founders are passionate, experienced and incredibly approachable, making this my absolute favorite site to visit regularly.

Write Better, Get Published, Be Creative | WritersDigest.com

This was where I first began my writing journey, purchasing The Writers Market Deluxe Edition 2017. It gave me many useful tips when starting out and continues to serve throughout my evolving freelance career. The website has many opportunities for online learning, lots of helpful articles related to writing tips, hosts many competitions, and has an online store with a multitude of in print resources.

What doesn't exist: onesite that will tell you how to best break into this field. You need to hunt & gather information - keeping the gems you need and disposing of what you don't. Time spent researching now will be more than worth it's weight down the line. I've learned it is okay to ask for help and that many of my fellow RNs turned writers are more than willing to assist in my career move. I still have much to learn but feel a whole lot better with a great community to support me in my progress. Get out there and write, my friends!