However, the truth is that I learn something new every year — whether it’s how much to set aside for estimated taxes, what accounting software I should be using or what percentage of my internet bill counts as a business expense.

I will give you this tip, as someone who’s been in the freelance tax-paying game for a while: the best thing you can do as a freelancer is get a CPA, and the second-best thing you can do is ask your CPA questions. Trust me on this one.

Asking the right questions can save you a lot of time and prevent you from getting stuck with an unexpected tax bill in April.

So let’s dive in. First, we’ll look at what questions to ask your accountant before tax time, then we’ll look at what estimated taxes are and how to pay estimated taxes, then we’ll look at other frequently asked questions, aka FAQs for freelancer taxes.

Ask these questions to your accountant before tax time

Here are some of the questions I wish I’d asked my CPA when I first started doing freelance taxes, as well as a few items I wouldn’t have known about unless my CPA had told me.

Remember that I’m not an accountant, so if you want real tax advice, you need to ask your own CPA these same questions:

1. Is there a preferred accounting software you’d like me to use?

When I started freelancing, I did all of my accounting on a handmade spreadsheet, assisted by a few Gmail folders labeled “tax deductions,” a box of paper receipts and my bank statements. Last year, I got a new CPA who suggested I switch to a standard accounting software. This would make her life easier, as she wouldn’t have to decipher my spreadsheets — which make perfect sense to me — and she thought it might make my life easier as well.

Turns out she was right.

If you aren’t already using a freelance accounting software, it’s worth it to try one. The Write Life recommends FreshBooks and Harvest, but you should also ask your CPA if they have a preferred accounting software.

2. What can — and can’t — I do in my home office?

I used to freelance in a studio apartment, and my CPA told me that, since I used the same small table for writing, eating, and watching TV shows on my laptop, it didn’t count as a home office.

To claim the home office deduction, he explained, I had to have a space reserved only for work.

When I moved into a larger apartment, I had enough space to reserve a corner for a home office.

If you want to claim the home office deduction, talk to your CPA about what you can and can’t do in that space to make sure it qualifies.

3. Is my laptop or phone a depreciating asset?

Your CPA may ask you about depreciating assets, which are physical items that lose value over time.

You’re allowed to deduct a portion of this asset’s cost over the life of the asset, which is the kind of statement that is complicated enough that you should really leave it to your CPA.

But you should also ask your CPA if your laptop is a depreciating asset. If you use your smartphone for business, or if you have cameras or microphones for vlogging or podcasting, ask about those too.

Any technology that you use for work and regularly replace might count as a depreciating asset, and get you one more tax deduction.  

4. What percentage of my phone and internet bills can I deduct?

If you use your home internet for business — and what freelancer doesn’t? — you are entitled to deduct a percentage of your internet bill on your taxes. Same goes for your smartphone bill.

Depending on what your CPA thinks of your home office, you may also be able to deduct some of your utilities. Ask. Don’t assume your CPA will bring it up.

5. Do I need a business license?

Sometimes paying federal and state taxes aren’t enough. Depending on your business, you may need a business license, which comes with business taxes. You may also need to pay city taxes as well.

So ask your CPA whether you need a business license. Don’t just go to your state’s licensing page, search the licenses, and assume that you’re okay because you don’t see a license option for “freelance writer.”

I pay business taxes to the State of Washington under the category “Service and Other Activities; Gambling Contests of Chance (less than $50,000 a year).” That’s why you need to ask a professional about these kinds of things.

6. What deductions should I track?

Freelancers are often entitled to more deductions than we realize, and we deserve to claim all of them. If you go to a writers’ conference, for example, you will probably be able to deduct the cost of the conference, the cost of the travel, and a percentage of your meals.

But you won’t know what you can deduct until you ask. Research materials? Postage? That time you asked another freelancer for an informational interview and paid for the coffee? What about the Lyft you took to interview a source? Or the mileage, if you drove your own car?

There are lots of potential freelance deductions out there, so it’s important to track your expenses, even the small ones, and ask your CPA which of these expenses you should deduct.

Don’t forget to ask which deductions you might overlook, or which deductions you should track for next year’s taxes, like the cost of that accounting software you just bought!

Estimated Quarterly Taxes – The What, Why, and How

We all know to file an individual tax return by April every year. 

But did you know that as a business owner, you’re expected to file estimated payments every quarter, as well? 

It’s true. Once you expect to owe the federal government at least $1,000 in taxes each year, you are expected to file quarterly taxes throughout the year. 

Why? Because the government doesn’t want to wait until April to get a cut of what you earn. It wants you to pay as you go, just like if you were an employee at a company that withheld taxes from your paycheck and paid them consistently on your behalf.

Paying quarterly estimated taxes isn’t optional; if you fail to pay up throughout the year, the government could penalize you with interest when you file your tax return for not paying enough tax.

Filing quarterly is old hat for me now, but I remember how I felt about this when I first launched my own business. I wondered how the heck new business owners were supposed to know about this! No fairy Godmother shows up at your door and says, I see you’re self-employed! Let me walk you through your tax requirements.

I was fortunate to have my accountant dad, who co-authored The Money Guide for Freelance Writers, to educate me. Here’s what he taught me.

Why you have to pay estimated quarterly taxes

Knowing you’re supposed to do something often isn’t enough for smart business owners. We want to know why we’re supposed to do it. Plus, understanding the logic behind this can make it easier to follow through.

So here’s why quarterly tax payments exist. One of the perks of working for someone else’s company is they pay taxes on behalf of the employee throughout the year. Each time that employee gets a paycheck, the company withholds Social Security, Medicare and income taxes, which means that money’s gone before the employee even opens the paycheck.

As a result, employees sometimes forget they’re paying taxes throughout the year. Even if you know those taxes come out of your paycheck, it’s not something you think much about until you file your annual tax return and figure out whether you have to pay more or receive a welcome refund.

Here’s the difference when you’re self-employed: no company pays those taxes on your behalf. It’s up to you to make the payments. And when you do so every few months, it might feel like a kick in the gut.

The reason it hurts so much is because taxes eat up a significant portion of your income. Most freelancers who encounter this for the first time think they earned decent take-home pay during the quarter, only to realize they have to pay a big chunk of those earnings to their federal and state governments.

Instead of getting frustrated with taxes, let’s focus on helping you understand when and how to pay them, so you can get back to the fun parts of running a business.

When are estimated taxes due?

This tends to be one of the biggest questions around quarterly taxes: when are estimated taxes due?

You’re required to file them on the same schedule each year. (Unless, of course, the government delays these deadlines because of a pandemic or some other widespread disaster, like it did in 2020.)

Here’s the schedule for filing estimated payments:

• By April 15: to cover earnings from Jan. 1 – March 31 (Q1)
• By June 15: to cover earnings from April 1 – May 31 (Q2)
• By Sep. 15: to cover earnings from June 1 – Aug. 31 (Q3)
• By Jan. 15: to cover earnings from Sep. 1 – Dec. 31 (Q4)

The schedule can be confusing because payments aren’t due exactly three months apart. They’re called “quarterly payments,” but, as you can see, they don’t all cover a three-month period.

Still, because of how these “quarters” are spread out, it’s OK to think of each payment as covering three months’ worth of tax, if that’s easier to wrap your head around.

In the middle of this schedule, you’ll also have another big deadline: tax day on April 15.

If you’ve filed a tax return previously that includes self-employed income and used a tax software like TurboTax, that software will likely provide you with estimated tax payment forms. It might even tell you how much to pay quarterly, basing those estimates on what you earned the previous year.

What should I do about estimated taxes if my income increases?

This is the one question I wish I had asked sooner.

The first CPA I worked with looked at my yearly income and gave me a set of estimated tax vouchers to use on the following year’s quarterly estimated taxes. I got four completed estimated tax forms, each with an amount of money that I was supposed to pay. All I had to do was write the checks and drop the estimated tax vouchers in the mail on their respective due dates (or pay online).

However, I increased my freelance income significantly from the previous year to the next. I didn’t realize that meant I was paying significantly less in estimated taxes than I should have been paying.

My CPA and I discovered that, thanks to my increased income, I owed the IRS an additional $5,443.

If your CPA gives you estimated tax vouchers, ask what you should do if your income increases.

In my case, I started putting aside a percentage of my income to go towards estimated taxes, instead of paying a fixed number on a voucher.

How to pay estimated taxes

Let’s assume this is your first year as a freelancer and you need to seek out quarterly payment forms for the first time. You can pay online; this IRS website lays out your options.

You can also pay via check after downloading this form online: Form 1040-ES. 

While I do almost all my filings online these days, I still pay estimated payments via check, because I have a system that works for me. I keep paper forms for estimated payments in a folder in my office, so once it’s time to pay, I don’t have to search around online to find the right forms and addresses for where to send them. All my paperwork is waiting right in that folder, and I can easily write a check and drop it in the mailbox. 

Worried you’ll forget to pay estimated taxes? I add reminders for all of these dates on my Google Calendar when I file my tax return each year, so I know I’ll see the reminder throughout the year.

How much estimated tax should you pay?

How much tax you pay depends on your tax bracket and a host of other factors, including how much you can claim in deductions. This can make it difficult to figure out how much estimated tax you should pay.

But here’s the good news: Estimated tax payments are simply estimates. They’re not expected to be perfect. They just have to be close enough. 

Your goal — and what the IRS requires — is to pay either 100% of the estimated tax that would be due according to your previous year’s tax return, or 90% of what you actually owe this year.

To make this simple for you, I wish I could say, “put aside 30% of your business profit each quarter to pay estimated taxes.”

But you might pay more, or you might pay less. Here are three ways to figure out how big a check to write each quarter. 

1. Ask your accountant

If you work with an accountant, you can ask them to help you figure out how much to pay in estimated tax. They’ll walk you through it so the outcome is based on your specific situation.

For most of us, this is the best way to get an accurate figure. 

2. Use last year’s tax return as a guide

Look at your tax return from last year. If you expect your income to be similar this year, figure out your effective tax rate.

Since your effective tax rate isn’t listed on your tax return, here’s a simple way to calculate it: divide the total tax you paid last year by your adjusted gross income.

Then use your effective tax rate to calculate your estimated taxes: multiply your effective tax rate by this quarter’s profit. 

This isn’t a perfect method, but it should get you close enough.

3. Rely on IRS forms

Another option is to use the worksheet on IRS Form 1040-ES to figure out how much you owe. 

Spoiler alert: this isn’t easy! Even IRS worksheets that are meant to make our lives easier tend to be incredibly complicated.

Paying estimated quarterly state and local taxes

Yes, you have to pay state income tax in addition to federal income tax. Unless you live in a state with no income tax.

State income tax varies considerably depending on where you live, starting at zero in nine states. In West Virginia, where I live, it’s about 6.5%. In California it’s more than 13%.

Whether your state collects income tax and how aggressively has a big effect on how much you need to put aside for taxes. The same goes for local taxes. If you live in California, which has high state tax, or New York City, which has high local tax, you might find yourself having to put aside 35% to 40% of your income for tax. If you live in Texas, which does not collect income tax, you might fall on the lower end of the spectrum, putting aside 25% or less of your income.

If your ears perked up when I said “no income tax,” here’s a list of nine states where that dream is reality: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee also don’t tax wages, but they do tax investment income and dividends. 

Some people who have flexibility over location move to states with no income tax to keep more money in their pocket. It adds up over time!

To figure out how to file estimated state tax where you live, simply google “[your state] estimated tax payments.” That should return forms and instructions, including an option to pay online through your state’s department of tax or revenue site; avoid third-party sites that charge you for filing. 

Instructions vary by state, but pay your state estimated taxes on the same schedule as your federal payments. Local tax deadlines are usually different than federal and state deadlines.

Strategies for covering estimated tax

Just because you only have to pay these taxes four times each year doesn’t mean you should wait until then to think about them. In fact, if you make that mistake, you might not have enough money in the bank to cover your estimated payments.

That’s why many freelancers squirrel away money for taxes each month. Some freelancers leave that money sitting in their checking account until it’s time to pay up, while others open a separate bank account to collect money that will eventually go toward taxes, to keep them from spending it.

Freelance writer Nicole Dieker, for example, wrote about how she stashes away 20% of her income each month. Why only 20%? Because at the time of writing that post, she lived in Washington State, which does not have state income tax. This is why it’s so important to know your state’s laws and work them into your financial strategy.

Financial writer Carrie Smith at one point made a regular transfer of 15% to 20% of her earnings into a separate savings account. She even nicknamed the account “Income Taxes.”

“The hard part is vowing not to touch it,” Carrie wrote on her blog. “But if you can stick with it, the next time you have to pay your tax bill, you’ll be glad you put this strategy into practice.”

Putting money aside for estimated taxes, rather than hoping you’ll have enough when it’s time to pay them, is one smart way to decrease your stress while working for yourself.

FAQs and Mistakes to Avoid

• How do I avoid being audited by the IRS as a freelancer and small business owner?

The absolute best way to avoid an IRS audit (or to survive one if you do get audited) is to be honest. If you keep good records and report your income and expenses properly, you have nothing to worry about!

Again, we highly recommend hiring a reputable CPA, who does tax returns for a living. They’ve studied tax laws, they know the forms, and they’ve taken the tests to become certified. They’ll know the ins and outs and make sure things are done right. At the very least, use good software like FreshBooks, GetHarvest, Quickbooks, or Turbo Tax.

• What are the most common tax return mistakes and red flags?

Check your tax return for these 10 IRS red flags:

1. Failure to report all income
2. Filing a loss consistently
3. Taking the wrong business deductions
4. Too-neat of numbers (rounding everything to hundreds and thousands)
5. Incorrectly using the home office deduction
6. Overstating business entertainment and meal costs
7. Independent contractor vs. employee classifications
8. Misclassifying other income if you have multiple jobs
9. Very low income, aka claiming the earned income tax credit (EITC)
10. Mathematical errors

If you’re afraid of filing your taxes because of all these potential red flags, don’t be. Only about two percent of Americans are audited each year, and most of them have committed serious tax errors or are clearly trying to claim excessive, irrelevant deductions.

As long as you keep good records, take only deductions for which you legitimately qualify, and are careful not to make a mistake, you’ll be good to go.

Conclusion

Getting a good CPA is the first step towards running your freelance business effectively.

Asking the right questions — especially around tax time — is the second one.

Do both, and you’ll probably find that your freelance taxes get easier every year.

What questions do you wish you’d asked when you started doing freelance taxes?

Pieces of this article are excerpts from The Money Guide for Freelance Writers: How to Manage (And Feel Good About) Your Finances.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

We recommend these online writing courses

When it comes to online writing courses, there are so many options to choose from! You can really drill down into the niche you’re interested in, whether that’s proofreading, fiction, memoir, freelancing, or blogging.

Take a course on how to make a living as a freelance writer. Or add to your skillset with a transcription or proofreading course. Or learn all the grammar rules you should’ve learned in school, so your writing will be squeaky clean. Or get really good at writing compelling essays so you can finally get published in your dream publication.

If you’re ready to invest in becoming a better writer, we’re prepared to help. We’ve vetted each of the online writing courses on this list. We trust each instructor and the experience they bring, and we’ve reviewed the lessons and supplemental materials to ensure they’re high quality. We feel confident that if you put time and energy into one of these courses, you’ll come out a better writer.

Here are some online writing classes we recommend (these also make great gifts for writers!).

• Online Courses on Freelance Writing
• Transcription & Proofreading
• Creative Writing Courses
• On Writing Well & Grammar
• Bonus!

Online courses on freelance writing

1 – Freelance Writers Den

Focus: Freelance writing

What you’ll learn: The “Den” isn’t billed as a freelance writing course, but it pretty much functions like one. When you join the membership site, you get access to nearly two dozen courses (they call them “bootcamps” and most are designed to be studied over the span of 4 weeks) that cover all aspects of building a freelance writing business, including how to find clients, how to make more money writing, how to market your business, and niche topics, like SEO and more. 

Membership also includes a resource library with 300+ hours of webinars and podcasts, direct job referrals, and a very active forum. With 1,200+ members and hundreds of threads, you can get answers to anything and everything related to freelance writing. It’s a great place to get support and advice from seasoned pros while also networking and possibly landing more gigs. 

Instructor: “Den Mother” Carol Tice has been working as a freelance writer for more than 15 years. In addition to earning a six-figure income from her trade, she also has a lot of experience teaching others; she launched the Den in 2011. She plays an active role in the forum, so you’ll have direct access to her there.

Schedule: Enrollment only opens a few times each year, but if you get on the waitlist, you’ll be notified when there’s an opportunity to join.

Cost: $40/month

Our full review: The Freelance Writer’s Den

2 – Come Write With Us

Focus: Freelancing

What you’ll learn: This course teaches you how to make a full-time salary as a freelance writer. It was created for people who dream of being a writer but lack confidence, knowledge or skills. Come Write With Us touches on everything from choosing a niche and launching a website to setting rates and pitching. 

Over nine modules, you’ll learn to build your writing habit, create a personal brand for your writing and approach editors and publications.

Instructors: Full-time writers Kristin Wong and Alex Webb bring their diverse experiences in writing, publishing and freelancing. Wong has written for the New York Times and published her first book, Get Money, in 2018. Webb has contributed to books published by National Geographic, the Financial Times and Skyhorse.

Schedule: This course is available on-demand, so you can enroll and take the course anytime.

Cost: $197

3 – Freelance University

Focus: Freelancing

What you’ll learn: This is way more than one course; instead, you’ll get access to 80+ courses. They’ll help you with all aspects of running a freelance writing business, and if you want to expand your skills, you can also learn about social media management, content management, web design, digital media and more.

Instructor: Freelance University was created by Craig and Kelly Cannings, a married couple who have background in freelancing and virtual assistant work. Some of the courses, including those about the business side of freelancing, are taught by Craig, while other classes are taught by instructors who specialize in those topics. They’ve helped 14,000 students through this program over the last decade.

Schedule: Enrollment opens three times each year. It’s closed now, but you can get on the waitlist so you get an alert the next time enrollment opens.

Cost: Join on a monthly basis for $59/month, or commit to 12 months of training at a significant discount: $597/year, which works out to roughly getting two months free.

Our full review: Finally! A School for Freelancers

4 – 38 Expert Tips for Writers on Medium

Focus: Writing (and making money) on Medium

What you’ll learn: Dave Schools says Medium was the best thing that ever happened to him. His course shows you how to use Medium’s Partner Program and what types of content tend to resonate on Medium. You’ll also hear stories of writers who have been successful on the platform and what worked for them. As a bonus, every purchase includes an audio version of the course, so you can learn during your commute or while you clean the kitchen after dinner.

Instructor: Dave Schools is a writer who has contributed to CNBC Make It and Smashing Magazine. He also founded a top-50 Medium publication called Entrepreneur’s Handbook and earned a six-figure income writing for the platform — so when it comes to Medium, he has walked the walk.

Schedule: This course is available on demand, so you can enroll and begin whenever you’d like.

Our full review: We haven’t written a review of this course (yet). We have, however, vetted the course and were impressed with Schools’ instruction. To get a feel for his expertise, read this (free) post on how to make money with the Medium Partner Program.

Cost: $49. Also offers upgrades for coaching or consulting.

5 – Creative Class

Focus: Freelancing

What you’ll learn: This class covers the business side of freelancing, so you can make a living from your writing. It was built for creators who need guidance on how to land and service clients, how to use value-based pricing (instead of hourly) to earn more, and how to set up systems to make running a business easier.

You’ll get access to more than a dozen video lessons, plus templates and an online forum.

Instructors: Successful freelancers Paul Jarvis and Kaleigh Moore, who together bring 25 years of freelancing experience lead Creative Class. Jarvis has a popular blog and is the author of “Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business.” 

Schedule: Readers of The Write Life can join anytime and get access to all the course materials at once. Public enrollment only opens a few times each year, so be sure to use this link to join.

Cost: $274

Special offer: $30 OFF, which brings the cost to $244. Use discount code THEWRITELIFE. 

Online writing classes: Transcription and proofreading

6 – Transcribe Anywhere

Focus: Transcription

What you’ll learn: This course teaches the ins and outs of transcription, so you can land a transcription job. Most of these positions allow you to work from home on your own schedule, so they’re a good income option for writers who want flexibility.

You’ll also learn what equipment you need to succeed, tips for increasing your transcription speed and accuracy, and how to find transcription jobs.

Instructor: Janet Shaughnessy has served clients through her transcription business for more than a decade. She teaches general, medical and legal transcription, and she’s passionate about turning typists into transcriptionists.

Cost: $597

Special offer: Try your hand at transcription with their free transcription mini-course.

Our full review: We haven’t written a full review for Transcribe Anywhere yet. However, we have vetted the course, and you can read about how one student used the course to launch a freelance transcription career in this post about transcription jobs.

7 – Proofread Anywhere

Focus: Proofreading

What you’ll learn: This course covers everything you need to make money as a proofreader. Not only will you learn the nuts and bolts of proofreading, but you’ll also walk away prepared to find freelance work in this field.

Instructor: Caitlin Pyle started proofreading academic papers while in college and turned it into her main money-maker through court transcript editing in 2012. Now she teaches others to turn their love of reading and grammar into a freelance income.

Schedule: Available on-demand, so you can start whenever you want.

Cost: $497. Before you invest, take advantage of their free 76-minute workshop to see if it’s truly a fit.

Our full review: One of our editors reviewed this course, and she said it made her want to start a proofreading business! Here’s our Proofread Anywhere review.

Creative writing courses

8 – Personal Essay Writing Course

Focus: Personal essays, creative non-fiction

What you’ll learn: This course covers both how to write a compelling personal narrative and how to pitch editors to get your essay published. It includes writing and revision prompts, practice integrating vulnerability and dialogue, and examining examples of hard-hitting essays. 

As a parting gift, students get contact information for 130+ editors who accept personal essays. We nearly fell over when we heard that! Quite frankly, this list in itself is worth the cost of the course.

Instructor: Amy Paturel is a journalist who writes widely in the health and nutrition spaces; her essays have been featured in outlets like The New York Times and Parents. She has taught this writing course for about a decade and helped many of her students land impressive bylines.

Schedule: The course is six weeks long and available on-demand, so you can enroll whenever is best for you. 

Cost: $325. Paturel also offers an upgrade for students who want a personalized critique.

Our full review: Write better personal essays

9 – Masterclass: Variety of Options

Focus: None

What you’ll learn: You can learn about how to write screenplays, youth fiction, novels, thrillers, and more.

Instructor: Varies based on course. For a list of writing courses, see this page.

Schedule: Join at any time. Go at your own pace while you have access.

Cost: $15 per month, cancel any time

Our full review: We haven’t written one yet, but it does have incredible instructors who have “been there, done that.”

Online courses on writing well and grammar

10 – Grammar Lion’s Grammar Refresher Course

Focus: Grammar

What you’ll learn: Writing well starts with good grammar, and this course will give you the foundation every writer (and editor!) needs. It covers commonly misused words, contractions and possessives, punctuation, run-on sentences and so much more.

Instructor: Editor Ellen Feld has been teaching this course for years, serving 43,000 students. Your tuition includes access to Ellen for questions as you work through the material.

Schedule: Go at your own pace during your 12 weeks of course access.

Cost: $67 

Our full review: We haven’t written one yet, but we did join the course and the Facebook group to check for quality. While this course could use a design refresh, the information included is excellent.

Bonus: A Free Book on Self-Publishing

11 – Published.: The Proven Path From Blank Page To Published Author (Ebook)

Focus: Self-Publishing

What you’ll learn: Are you tired of trying time and time again to successfully, write, market, and publish a book and not being successful? Are you looking for a map that will take you from blank page to published author as quickly as possible? In this conversational and action-oriented book, Chandler Bolt presents a simple solution to the writing, marketing, and publishing process through a tried, tested, and proven book launch formula: The SPS 90-Day Way

Cost: $23 Now Free. Download by filling this form below!

Ready to enroll in some writing courses online?

No need to commute to the closest college or give up all your weekends to take a writing class. 

These online writing courses with knowledgeable instructors provide the training you need, and in many instances, a community of students to connect with as well.

If you know of other online writing courses we should add to this list, let us know!

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

Photo via Oleksii Didok / Shutterstock 

When you first start a freelance writing business, the goal is simple: earn enough money to stay afloat while doing work you enjoy.

But as time goes on, most of us want to do better. We want to earn more for ourselves and our family.

With success, however, comes financial housekeeping. Even when you do your best to keep things simple, you’ll need to take on some financial chores to keep your business in good standing.

I call these “chores” because most freelance writers want to focus on writing, not on business. But the more you learn about how to manage your money, the easier it becomes. And the more organized you are, the more money you’ll take home.

How to organize your finances as a freelance writer

Want to stay on top of your business finances? These ideas will help you stay organized and better track your expenses, profit and progress.

Here are six money-management tips for freelance writers.

1. Separate your personal finances from your business

This is a relatively easy step to take, but too many of us don’t do it from the beginning. If you combine business and personal finances initially, it can be a difficult habit to break. 

Keep your personal money separate from money that comes in and out of your business. Why bother, you might say, when as a sole proprietor, you are the business?

Because when everything is combined, it’s difficult to see how much money comes into the business (revenue), how much goes out (expenses), and how much is left over for you (profit).

It takes a little effort to get this set up, but it’s worth your time. Here’s how to go about it:

Open a separate bank account for the business 

Rather than putting all your money into one tangled-up pile in your personal account, open a separate account for your freelance work.

Business bank accounts sometimes have different rules than personal bank accounts, so make sure you’re aware of any minimum balance requirements or other rules to avoid getting hit with unexpected fees. Consider different banks to see which offers the best set-up for what you need.

While this doesn’t work for everyone, my preference is to house my business account at the same bank as my personal account, and link the two together. That way I can log into one bank online and see both accounts, and seamlessly pay myself without fees.

Open a separate credit card for the business

Avoid using your personal card for business purchases. If possible, open a new card that offers rewards, so you benefit when you spend. If you’re into airline points, you might get the business equivalent of the personal credit card you already have, so you can collect points on one airline for both cards.

Then be diligent about putting all business expenses — and only business expenses — on that business credit card. This will make it infinitely easier to track expenses. Rather than collecting dozens of paper receipts, you can simply use your credit card statement as a log of all expenses.

Open a separate PayPal account for the business

If you use PayPal to get paid or purchase items for your business, open an account for your business, so you don’t end up using your personal one. PayPal requires a different email address associated with each account, so use your personal email for your personal account and your work email for your work account. 

Alternatively, just keep one PayPal account for business, and don’t use it for personal purchases.

2. Pay yourself regularly

Get in the habit of paying yourself on a regular basis, basically a transfer of money from your business account to your personal one. 

Keep a running list of these payments to yourself. As with some of the other tips here, this is not required for sole proprietors, but it’s a good habit to start for a few reasons:

• It helps keep your business and personal expenses separate
• It makes it easier to estimate your earnings, which could give you peace of mind
• If you ever choose to become an LLC with an S-Corp tax designation, you’ll be accustomed to paying yourself on a regular basis

Some freelancers find this practice helps with their personal budgeting, too. By paying themselves on a regular basis, they know how much they have to spend on living expenses each month. 

If possible, set this payment to yourself lower than what it could be, and adjust your lifestyle to match. Let a bit of extra money accumulate in your account over time, so if you have a month or two where you don’t earn as much as expected, you’ll still have enough to pay yourself as promised. And if your business profits more than you expect over time, increase your paycheck, and put that money toward retirement, savings, or something special.

3. Be smart about invoicing

Long gone are the days of tediously creating each invoice by hand in Microsoft Word, receiving a check in the mail, depositing it and checking it off on a spreadsheet.

Today’s invoicing tools make life as a small business owner so much easier. Even if you stick to a Google spreadsheet or Excel to track your big-picture financials, you’ll still want to rely on an automated service to invoice your clients. 

Freshbooks tends to be popular — here’s a beginner’s guide to Freshbooks — but new options are always popping up on the scene, as well.

The Write Life reviewed some of the most popular invoicing options for freelancers. Try them out and see which one works best for you!

Even the most basic invoicing programs should offer these benefits:

• An easy way to create professional-looking invoices with your company logo. Once you create one invoice, you can duplicate that invoice and make changes the following month. Using that template, it should be easy to add extra fees or services.
• Online payment options for clients. While some clients still prefer to use old-school checks, you’ll find most clients appreciate an online option that makes payments easy for them. Payments that go directly to your business PayPal, Stripe or bank account make things easier for you, too!
• Track outstanding invoices. Wonder whether your core client has paid your last invoice on time? Log into your invoice system, and you can quickly get your answer. Most systems make it easy to send reminders to clients about overdue payments, too. Just make sure you specify payment terms in your contract (for example, payment is due 15 days after receipt of invoice). 
• Time-tracking. In addition to invoicing, some invoicing software offers an easy way to track how you spend your work hours. Do this religiously, and it will provide wonderful insights into which clients eat up most of your time, where you’re earning your highest hourly rate and how many hours you’re spending on your own blog or digital products.

If you prefer to create your first few invoices by hand, here’s an invoice example to give you an idea of what to include.

4. Track expenses diligently

Whenever you buy something for your business, keep track of the expense.

Why? Because when tax time comes around, you’ll be taxed on your business profit after expenses, not on your revenue.

In other words, you’ll be taxed on how much your business has left after expenses, not how much money you bring in.

For example, if you bring in $50,000 over the year and spend $25,000 on supplies, your taxable income is only $25,000.

You need proof that you spent that money so it can qualify as a deduction. That’s where tracking expenses comes in.

I find the easiest way to track business expenses is to have one credit card for the business and put all expenses on that card. You could do the same with a debit card connected to your business account. My expenses accumulate automatically in my Quickbooks account, but if you don’t use an accounting software, you can also simply cut and paste expenses from your credit card statement and add them as line items in a Google sheet, then organize them by category.

Using a credit card might not be a good move if you have a history of overspending or not paying off credit cards. But assuming you can use it responsibly — that means paying it off every month so you don’t rack up interest — putting all your expenses on one card makes things easier.

Now, here’s a trap we don’t want to fall into. Sometimes when we see our revenue increasing, we spend more liberally. Necessary expenses are OK, of course, and it’s even OK to spend big on something you believe will help you continue to grow your revenue (like a business coach, for example).

But don’t let business expenses get out of hand just because you’re earning good revenue. Remember, no matter how much you earn, if your expenses are high, your take-home pay decreases. And you need that take-home pay to support your lifestyle.

5. Review profit and loss every month

You don’t need a fancy tracking software to do what all the big companies do on a regular basis: create your own Profit & Loss statement.

You can do this in a simple spreadsheet. Create one column to tally expenses and another to tally revenue. Then subtract your expenses from your revenue, and you’ve got your business profit.

Or ask Google for a template: here’s a free one for Google Sheets, for example.

Don’t forget, you still have to pay personal taxes out of that profit, so your take-home pay will be less than that profit number.

Review your Profit & Loss statement (P&L) on a monthly basis; a good rule of thumb is to sit down at the beginning of each month and review last month’s P&L.

This is also a good time to set aside money for your estimated quarterly taxes.

I find a monthly P&L review keeps me honest in terms of where I am, and it helps me stay focused on where I’m going. Ideally you want to see that profit number increase every month until you hit your income goals.

6. Create a monthly checklist

With all of this knowledge under your belt, it helps to have a repeatable system for all your financial tasks. That way you know what you have to do every month and don’t miss anything important.

Try creating a checklist that includes the items we’ve discussed, plus anything else you need to do for your business. Then decide when is the best time to complete those tasks, and schedule that time on your calendar for each month.

I do most of my financial tasks at the beginning of each month, reviewing everything for the previous month. Doing these tasks all at once saves time and stress.

Your checklist might include:

• Pay your business credit card or look at how much you paid if it’s set up for automatic payments
• Review invoices you sent the previous month. Did all of your clients pay on time? If not, send reminders (or let your invoicing system do that automatically)
• Send new invoices to clients for work you’ve done or work you’re about to do, depending on how you prefer to invoice
• Pay yourself
• Pay any contractors or freelancers you worked with this month
• Update your revenue and expenses in a Google Sheet, QuickBooks or wherever you track everything
• Review your P&L to see how much you’ve earned or lost before taxes
• Calculate the tax you expect to owe and put that money aside

Your goal should be to automate as many of these tasks as possible. 

Paying your business credit card bill, for example, is one that’s easy to automate with most credit cards. If you use QuickBooks, you can set up integrations with your bank and credit card that automatically records your revenue and expenses. Paying yourself can also be automated with a simple transfer from your business bank account to your personal one.

When this is all complete, take a few minutes to think about that P&L and the big picture. How does your profit compare to other months? What about revenue and expenses? If expenses were unusually high, what did you spend money on? 

And most importantly, are you on track to reach your goals?

This is an excerpt from The Money Guide for Freelance Writers: How to Manage (And Feel Good About) Your Finances.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

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One-off assignments are a good starting point, but what you really need to form a reliable income stream is writing projects that continue over time: a company that wants you to write a blog post each week or a white paper each month, for example. Work (and pay) you can count on.

So how do you impress an editor with your first few assignments, with the goal of getting more assignments or even become a regular contributor?

I have spent much of my career building writing teams, including hiring freelance writers who contribute regularly to the websites my teams have managed. But most of those teams haven’t advertised openings for regular freelance contributors.

Why? Because we pulled from writers we already worked with, contributors who wrote a great first assignment for us, then another great assignment, then another.

How to convince someone to hire you for another writing job

When I hire a regular contributor, I want to know I can count on that writer to submit high-quality content on a regular basis. I might take a risk when assigning just one post to a writer I’ve never worked with before, but to bring on a regular contributor, I have to be absolutely certain the writer will pan out.

So how do you impress an editor to the point that they want to hire you for a recurring blogging job?

Here’s how to convince someone to hire you:

1. High-quality writing

This sound obvious, but it’s surprisingly difficult to find awesome writers. With so many writers looking for freelance writing jobs or blogging jobs, you’d think editors would be up to our eyebrows in quality contenders. But in reality, every editor I know is on the hunt for people who write well.

And here’s the thing: You don’t just have to write well, you have to write in a style that suits that particular publication. An increasing number of online publications and company blogs want to share ideas in an informal, friendly voice, not one that sounds stiff and stuffy. I’ve made the mistake before of hiring writers with excellent reputations and experience… only to find out they can’t nail that informal voice.

High-quality writing for the web also means eye-catching headlines, an engaging introduction that will hook the reader and easy-to-read paragraphs with lots of white space.

If you’re able to deliver high-quality work consistently, editors will clamor to get you on their roster.

2. Meet deadlines — every time

For an editor to rely on a writer on a regular basis, she has to be absolutely certain that person will meet deadlines, every time. Simply put, deliver what you promise. This quality is far more rare than it should be, so when you do deliver what you promise (or over-deliver), you will stick out, in a good way.

When writers don’t file posts when they say they will, editors end up scrambling for content to fill that spot, and that makes the job stressful.

Editors don’t like stress. They like writers who make their job easier.

This deadline aspect is so important that I’ve declined to work with writers simply because they missed their first deadline. Sure, emergencies happen and things come up, but if you’re working with an editor for the first time, get your work done ahead of your deadline, so you deliver what you promised even if something unexpected happens.

As a bonus, if you complete a piece and file early, that will most certainly put you on that editor’s list of writers he wants to work with again.

3. Turn in work that’s ready to publish

Take time to do little things before you file that make the editor’s job easier. Your assignment should be pretty much ready to publish when it lands in her inbox.

For example, look to see how the blog is formatted. Does it use H2s for subheads? Use those to format your post. Does each story include links to other posts on that blog? Find relevant places to add those links. Is each author bio just two sentences long? Shorten your four-sentence bio before you file, so the editor doesn’t have to ask you to do it later.

Go out of your way to adhere to those little details, because it means less work for the editor. You might not know all the rules the first time you write for a blog, but if you carefully watch all changes the editor makes, you’ll be able to make those same tweaks next time before you file the post. Your editor will notice! (More on this in the next bullet.)

On several of the blogs my team has managed, for example, posts need a two-sentence excerpt that shows on the homepage. First-time contributors don’t typically add this to the top of their posts, but sometimes, when we ask a contributor to write for us again, that writer adds the excerpt without us asking for it. The writer notices a preference and delivers it. That’s always a sign of a mutually beneficial relationship.

Learn how to edit your own copy, and deliver the post so it’s completely ready for publishing, and you’ll make your editor over-the-moon happy.

4. Be open to edits, and note the editor’s preferences

Writing is only half the job — you also have to be ready to make edits per the editor’s request. Too many writers assume their first draft is the final copy. Instead, assume you’ll need to make yourself available to answer questions, clarify points and maybe even reorganize your work to the editor’s liking.

And by all means, don’t take edits personally. Don’t get too attached to your darlings. Yes, sometimes an editor will suggest a change that does not improve your work. But most of the time, editors will make your work shine, so it’s worth your time to make changes they ask for.

While an editor doesn’t expect writers to know the publication’s preferences perfectly the first time they contribute, most will watch closely to see whether the writer makes an effort to incorporate changes on subsequent posts before they file.

For example, if I use track changes to add subheads to a writer’s post, I watch the next post he files to see if he added them himself. If I ask a writer to trim a post to 500 words, I hope she’ll know to do that with the next post, without me pointing it out.

In other words, editors like to work with writers who learn quickly and are smart and thoughtful enough to incorporate feedback. This not only shows your ability, it also demonstrates that you respect my time, just like I respect yours.

Time to ask for a regular writing gig?

Once you’ve proven just how great of a writer you are and how easy you are to work with, don’t be afraid to ask your editor whether she could use your work on a regular basis. But make sure you’ve strutted your stuff first!

Don’t be that writer who asks for a regular column before they’ve even written one post. I typically expect a writer to file at least three or four times before committing… and 90 percent of the time, that writer does not turn out to be the type of contributor we’re willing to invest in. This post-by-post trial period saves me from spending money on writers who don’t turn in the quality we need, and it also helps me spend less time editing blog posts that aren’t up to par.

Once you’ve proven yourself, let the editor know you’d love to contribute more often. Some blogs want regular writers to contribute once a month, while others might look for posts from regulars twice a month or even once or twice a week. This varies according to the company, so don’t be disappointed if a once-a-month column is all the editor can offer you.

If you’ve written for the editor several times and they still don’t bite when you ask for a regular gig, it’s probably due to one of these factors:

• Your writing isn’t good enough. Keep practicing, and follow the advice above.
• The editor doesn’t have space for another regular contributor.
• The editor doesn’t have the budget to pay you regularly.

Even if you don’t score recurring work, it isn’t a waste of time to ask. Budgets and writing teams are always in flux, and if the editor truly likes your work, he’ll keep you in mind the next time an opening comes up.

Good editors have high standards. But if you check all of these boxes, you’ll put yourself in the position to land a writing gig — or two or three! — as a regular contributor.

Have any questions you’re dying to ask a blog editor? Go for it in the comments!

This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

Photo via Olena Yakobchuk / Shutterstock 

I liken this to looking for a reliable contractor when you’re not in the home-building space or a high-quality designer when you don’t work in design. Where the heck do you start?

Most business owners begin with generic job boards, but I’m here to tell you: that’s a mistake. 

While big job boards can be valuable when you’re looking to hire writers, they shouldn’t be your starting point. Not unless you enjoy sifting through hundreds of unqualified applicants to find the good ones.

Your best approach is to lean on niche job boards and communities that cater to the exact type of person you want to hire: freelance writers.

Hire writers: Where to find freelance writers

I’ve spent a good chunk of my career hiring writers, both full-time writers and freelancers. I built a database of writers, thousands of them, when I ran a content marketing agency, then hired dozens of staff writers for full-time roles when growing a media company. Now, companies lean on me as a consultant to hire writers for their in-house writing teams.

I rely heavily on my network to find the right people, but it’s also good practice to go beyond that. Finding the best people is all about knowing where to look.

In this post, I’ve compiled a collection of places to look for freelance writers, so you can create high-quality content for your blog, business or whatever you need. These are the gems not enough people know about, where people in the writing world go when they want to find reliable freelance writers for hire.

Where you should look first depends on what kind of writer you want to hire, what kind of work you need completed and whether it’s a one-time project or recurring work.

Since niche sites tend to result in higher-quality candidates, I’ve ordered this list from most niche — sites that cater specifically to freelance writers — to general. 

For communities, software, job boards and agencies I’d recommend above the others, I’ve added a ⭐.

Here’s where to find freelance writers.

Writing communities

Writing communities are one of the best places to find high-quality writers, because they’re full of writers who are actively investing in their career and looking for ways to learn and improve.

While some groups offer value to all sorts of freelance writers, others cater to writers in a specific niche. Both are worth exploring.

When you share your need for a writer in one of these communities, you’ll meet writers where they hang out, rather than expecting them to find you on a crowded general job board.

⭐ 1. Facebook groups

Niche groups on Facebook are one of the top spots to find writers who do good work — but it can be challenging to access them if you’re not a writer. Some groups don’t allow people outside their core demographic to join.

Communities that are designed as support groups for writers tend to be more effective for finding high-quality writers than groups that operate as job boards, which often include a lot of spam and therefore have low engagement.

Here are a few groups I recommend:

• The Write Life community: This is our community. Feel free to join and share opportunities! 36,000 members.
• FinCon community: If you’re looking for personal finance writers, join this group for personal finance bloggers and post about your needs. Most members run their own blog or company, and some are interested in freelance work. 7,000 members.
• Freelance Content Marketing Writer: Here’s a small but high-quality group of freelancers who specialize in content marketing. 3,000 members.
• What’s Your Plan B?: It’s for journalists who have transitioned or are thinking about transitioning out of the industry, so many are open to freelance work. 14,000 members.

These are just a few examples. In addition to looking for writing groups, search for groups that cater to your specific industry, whether that’s travel or personal finance or health, and share your need for a writer with that community.

If you find a group you think would result in high-quality candidates but you can’t get access to the group, look for ways to connect with a writer or someone in that core demographic who can post on your behalf. More on that below in the “Ask a writer” section.

⭐ 2. Freelance Writer’s Den

Carol Tice’s membership site reaches more than 1,200 freelance writers, and she shares freelance writing opportunities at no cost to the employer. She calls it the “junk-free job board.”

⭐ 3. Problogger.com

This website is known amongst bloggers as one of the best places to look for blogging jobs. It costs $70 to post on the job board.

Writer matching services and directories

4. Virtual Assistant Finder

Gina Horkey’s Virtual Assistant Finder includes freelance writers. Fill out a brief form explaining what you’re looking for, and she’ll distribute it to graduates of her freelance writing success course. It’s free for employers. I’ve used this service to hire a Pinterest VA and was impressed with the applicants.

5. The Writer Finder

Offered by a content agency that has access to nearly 2,000 writers in various niches, The Writer Finder is a service that matches writers with companies that need them. They charge $250 to match you with 3-5 writers, with a 72-hour turnaround.

6. Certified Writers

A directory of writers who have graduated from SmartBlogger.com’s Content Marketing Certification Course. Founder Jon Morrow told me his team vets each writer before adding them to the directory.

Ask a writer for recommendations

Most writers know other writers, and they’re more than willing to tap into their network for anyone who asks, especially if it means work for their fellow writers. If they don’t know anyone who fits what you’re looking for, they might even post your job in writing communities or Facebook groups that are only open to writers.

Here are a few ways to connect with writers who might be willing to share their network with you.

7. LinkedIn

Search for writers who specialize in the topic you need covered, and reach out to them via direct message in the platform, or via their email or website if they list that in their contact information. Don’t just ask if that person is interested in the job; ask if they know anyone who might be.

8. Clarity.fm 

This platform allows you to pick the brain of experts. Search for an expert in content marketing, freelance writing or editorial, and you might land on someone who has a large network of writers. My Clarity profile is a good example of this. You can buy time chunks as small as 15 minutes.

⭐ 9. Review bylines

This takes a bit more ingenuity, but it’s highly effective if you’re willing to put in the time. Find blogs or publications you respect in your industry, and look at the byline to see who wrote the articles. Some of those writers will link to their website or Twitter profile, so you can track them down via those links or Google. If they’re not interested in your gig, ask if they know someone who might be.

A professional contact of mine took this approach for their writing blog by looking at who had written for The Write Life, and emailing that writer. It worked, and that writer eventually turned into their full-time hire.

Associations for freelancers and journalists

Many industry associations have job boards, which employers tend to overlook. 

Most of the organizations we’ve listed here are for journalists, and journalism is a specific style of writing. While some journalists stick strictly to journalistic work, others put their writing and reporting skills to use for blog posts, company communications and more.

If you’re looking for a writer who can nail an informal blogging voice or craft creative copy, review the journalist’s portfolio to see if they showcase that type of work.

Aside from the first item on this list — which we’ve listed first because it reaches freelance writers specifically — we ordered these associations according to the size of their member base.

⭐ 10. Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)

You can browse their 2,600 members in their member directory, or post a job for free. The EFA also provides a list of common rates for different types of editorial work, including writing, which is helpful if you don’t know how much to pay. 

While you can likely find freelance writers through any of these association job boards, I’d recommend starting with this group because it’s the only one on this list that caters specifically to freelancers. The EFA also supports all types of freelance writers, while most of the other groups we’ve listed here focus on journalists.

11. Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)

This is one of the bigger journalists associations, with 6,000 members. Employers can post a job for $350, which includes the ability to search resumes of some of its members.

12. National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)

With 4,100 members, it’s the largest organization in the nation of journalists of color. The cost to post a job starts at $150.

13. National Association of Science Writers (NASW)

If you need content around science topics, NASW allows employers to post opportunities to its “jobs bank.” Ads for one-time freelance assignments are free; posts about ongoing work cost $175. Alternatively, you can browse their member database and reach out to writers who look like a fit for your business. The organization has more than 2,300 members.

14. National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)

With 2,000 members, this organization provides support for hispanic journalists. The cost to post a job starts at $150. 

15. American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA)

Post a job for free to ASJA’s Freelance Writer Search. Those jobs are available to their 1,500 members, who write on all sorts of topics. 

16. Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

With more than 1,500 members, this organization allows employers to post a job for $150.

17. Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ)

If you’re looking for a writer who specializes in the health field, AHCJ’s job board might be worth a try. The organization has more than 1,500 members and charges employers $100 to post an opening.

18. Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ)

For environmental topics, consider putting a call-out for writers in SEJ’s job board, which is available to their 1,500 members. The cost is $80 per job post.

19. The Association of LGBTQ Journalists (NLGJA)

This association works to foster fair coverage of LGBTQ issues and has 850 members. You have to register for the association to post on its job board.

20. Native American Journalists Association (NAJA)

This organization has 600 members, and the cost to post a job starts at $75.

21. Association of Ghostwriters

With 125 members, this is the smallest association on our list and has the highest barrier to entry, which means you’re likely to find good writers. Founder Marcia Layton Turner says she requires professional members (those who receive project leads) to have ghostwritten at least two books. Employers can post a project for free or browse the member directory.

Job boards for editorial positions, including writers

22. Journalism jobs

This is the go-to job board for journalists looking for both freelance and full-time work. The cost for a job post is $100.

23. Mediabistro

With positions covering the gamut in media, MediaBistro is used heavily by journalism and public relations professionals. The cost for a job post is $297.

Job boards for freelancers and freelancer marketplaces

These job boards connect employers to freelancers in a wide variety of fields, including writing. 

The pro of using one of these sites is they reach a lot of people who are looking for freelance work. The con is you’ll have to sift through a lot of applications, many of them from unqualified applicants, to find the right hire.

⭐ 24. FlexJobs

This is one of the leading job boards for remote and flexible employment, both freelance and full-time roles. Employers can submit up to five jobs for free, or purchase a monthly membership that includes unlimited job posts and resume searches for $225/month. 

Unlike most of the sites on this list, FlexJobs’ involvement in the project ends once you make your hire; you don’t communicate with or pay freelancers through the platform.

25. HireMyMom.com 

Smaller than the other sites in this category — which can be a good thing when it comes to a job board — this board connects employers with women who work prefer flexible work that can be done from home. The cost to post a job starts at $14.99, and once you make a hire, you move the relationship off the platform.

26. Upwork

A marketplace for freelancers, Upwork boasts a huge community of remote workers available for hire. It’s free for employers to post jobs. The company requires you to pay through its platform and retains a percentage of each freelancer’s earnings.

27. Fiverr 

Fiverr is known for helping workers provide $5 services or products, but the platform also allows anyone who needs work done to solicit proposals for larger projects. Join the platform for free to browse writer profiles, and Fiverr takes a commission based on the price of your project. 

28. CloudPeeps

Find, hire and work with freelancers through this platform. It’s free to post a job, but you can upgrade so they identify the best applicants for $150. You’re required to pay the freelancer through the platform, and monthly transaction fees start at $9/month depending on volume.  

29. PeoplePerHour

Another freelancer marketplace that connects clients to people who bill by the hour or project. It’s free to post a job; the company makes money by retaining a percentage of each freelancer’s earnings.

30. Freelancer

Another big marketplace for connecting and working with freelancers, Freelancer is free to post jobs and review proposals. The company takes a percentage of each freelancer’s earnings.

Content creation platforms and writer portfolio websites

While these platforms provide excellent opportunities to connect with writers, they’re typically better suited to creating recurring content over time than one-time projects. 

These companies generally expect you to work with their writers within their platform, although a few make it possible to search their talent network and then move projects outside their software to execute on your own.

⭐ 31. Pitchwhiz

This software helps writers organize their pitches and connect with editors. Unlike the other platforms in this list, Pitchwhiz has more features for participating writers than the editors who want to access them, and users don’t create content within the platform. Sign up as a commissioning editor, and writers will pitch you based on your needs. It’s free.

⭐ 32. Contently

This content marketing platform helps companies connect with writers. You can use it as a workflow tool, executing your content strategy within the platform, or simply use it to browse “talent,” what the company calls its writers. Subscription fees aren’t available on their website. If you’re not sure how much to pay for writing talent, Contently’s rates database is full of (anonymous) examples of rates for real projects. 

33. Scripted

Use this platform to connect with writers and then work through the content creation process with them within the site. You can browse writers by topic, and they offer a free trial. It’s $149/month to use the platform, and that does not include the cost of content. 

34. Skyword

This company offers a software that helps users hire and manage writers, as well as create content. Like several of the other platforms listed here, they specialize in content at scale. You have to become a client to access their talent network, and prices aren’t available on their website.

35. Muck Rack

It’s primarily a resource for public relations professionals who want to find the right journalists to pitch. But because journalists use it as a portfolio site, you can browse those portfolios to find writers in your niche. You have to join to access their media database. They don’t list prices on their website.

36. Zerys

This company offers both managed services and a content platform. It’s difficult to decipher from their website how much they charge. Check out their price guide tool, which helps you figure out how much to charge based on type of work, length and other factors.

37. Writers Work

The platform offers an editing software for writers, as well as training and a way to display an online portfolio. They allow employers to feature job listings for writers for free.

38. WriterAccess

The software connects clients with writers, and you pay freelancers through the platform. The cost to access writers starts at $39/month, and there’s a free 14-day trial. The company also offers managed services. 

General job boards

While niche job boards tend to convert better for high-quality candidates, it’s still worth trying the big boards if you can’t find a writer elsewhere. Here are a few where I’ve heard writers say they’ve found work.

39. Indeed

40. Craigslist

41. SimplyHired

Editorial and content agencies

If you don’t have your own editor to manage writers, you might be best off hiring an agency. 

Plenty of agencies offer turn-key solutions, handing you completed blog posts or even overseeing all content creation for you. I appreciate this model because I used to run a blog-management agency!

There are lots of editorial and content marketing agencies out there; this is just a small selection of ones I can vouch for or have heard good things about.

⭐ 42. PodReacher

This boutique content agency focuses on producing articles based on podcasts. They offer monthly packages or single articles, and you can see their prices right on their website. PodReacher is run by a good friend of mine, Jaclyn Schiff, so I can personally vouch for the quality of their work.

43. Copify

The company is based in the UK, but they have a team of American writers for U.S.-based clients. Their prices are affordable and listed on their website, so you can easily price out your needs.

44. Scribewise

Led by a former journalist, this agency offers not only content creation, but a variety of other marketing services.

45. Masthead Media

Created by magazine editors, this agency offers a wide range of services, including content creation.

46. Storyhackers

With a focus on storytelling, Storyhackers provides marketing content with an educational bent.

Creative staffing agencies

47. Staffing agencies 

Some staffing agencies work specifically with freelance writers. Carol Tice offers a list of staffing agencies that work with freelance writers near the bottom of that post.

48. Alexis Grant Media

If you’re stuck, I work with companies — typically startups — to hire writers and editors. Shoot me a note to see if I can help.

One more resource: Need guidance on how to choose the best writers and work with them efficiently? We don’t have a guide for that yet, but blogger Michael Lynch does: tips for small businesses on how to hire content writers. 

And this post offers suggestions for how much to pay writers.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

This post was also published on AlexisGrant.com.

Photo via Savanevich Viktar / Shutterstock 
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So we rounded up a few of our favorites!

We have vetted each of the items on this list, and we recommend them proudly.

Courses on sale for Black Friday

1. Proofread Anywhere

This course helps you earn money through proofreading. It’s $125 off, so the Ignite tier costs $372 instead of $497, and Ignite Plus costs $472 instead of $597.

Use promo code DEAL19. Here’s our review of Proofread Anywhere.

2. Transcribe Anywhere

This course helps writers earn money through transcription jobs. It’s $100 off, so costs $497 instead of $597.

We share the story of a woman who used this course to earn a paycheck in our review of Transcribe Anywhere. Use discount code THANKS100.

3. Grammar Course

Grammar Lion’s Grammar Refresher course is only $67 instead of $199.

It’s taught by editor Ellen Feld and serves as a fabulous grammar foundation for any writer or editor.

4. Personal Essay Writing Course

Amy Paturel’s offering 40% off her course about how to write, pitch and publish a personal essay. It also includes her list of 130+ editors who accept personal essays.

That means the course costs $135 instead of $225. Here’s our detailed review of Amy’s course.

5. Pitching 101

From Carol Tice at Make a Living Writing, this course for freelance writers is 50% off, or $47 instead of $97. 

You’ll learn how to pitch effectively, get better client leads, and get hired.

6. 30 Days to Freelance Freedom

This course from Freelance University is 50% OFF, so you’ll get it for $47 instead of $97.

You’ll learn a 10-step system for launching a profitable freelance business. 

Editing tools on sale for Black Friday

7. ProWritingAid

This grammar checker and editing software is 25% OFF a one-year license. That’s $45 for a year instead of $60.

Or you can get 30% off a two-year license ($60 instead of $90) or 50% off a lifetime membership ($105 rather than $210). Here’s our review of ProWritingAid. 

Ebooks on sale for Black Friday

8. Earn More Money as a Freelance Writer

Finally, our own ebook on how to increase your freelance income is 40% OFF. That’s $13.80 instead of $23.

Use promo code BLACKFRIDAY.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

Photo via catalina.m / Shutterstock 

How much would you pay to get your hands on names and email addresses for editors that accept personal essays at 130+ publications?

You can access essayist Amy Paturel’s database — the best one we’ve seen for the personal essay niche — for just $325. 

Why haven’t you heard about this before? Because Paturel doesn’t sell the list by itself. Instead, it’s part of her personal essay writing course.

So for that $225, you not only get the database of where to pitch, you also get Amy’s self-guided course.

How to access this personal essay database

Hundreds of students have taken Paturel’s personal essay course over the last 15 years. They’ve placed articles in lots of well-known publications, like The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Huffington Post, Marie Claire and more. Amy herself has written for The New York Times, Parents, Women’s Health and Newsweek, among others.

Suffice to say, following Amy’s advice will drastically increase your chances of publishing your personal essay, maybe even in your dream publication.

We reviewed her personal essay writing course and recognized the value of her database. She positions it as a “parting gift,” and says that while she updates the list regularly, editors frequently change at publications, so she can’t promise they’re all still up to date. 

Despite that caveat, we know just how valuable a list of contacts can be! Of course, getting published requires not only pitching the right editor, but offering a quality story that’s aligned with the publication…and that’s what Amy’s course will help you do.

So if personal essays are your thing…maybe you’ve even got a few drafted already…here’s how to sign up for Paturel’s essay course and access her list of editor contacts.

Photo via wavebreakmedia/ Shutterstock 

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

After three-and-a-half years of watching this community grow under our original site design, we decided it was time for an upgrade. Our new look is more modern, more mobile-friendly — and we hope it’s easier to find what you’re looking for.

The last three years have been a wild ride.

We’ve become one of the go-to resources for writers, growing our community to more than three million readers in 2016 and 40,000 email subscribers. Nearly 30,000 of you follow our Facebook page, and another 10,000 participate in discussions in our Facebook community group.

We now offer two ebooks: 71 Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Writer for anyone who’s new on the block, and Get Better Clients and Earn More Money from Nicole Dieker, who now earns upwards of $10,000 a month as a freelance writer.

What’s in store for 2017? We’re launching our annual 100 Best Websites for Writers list early next month, and planning to run our bundle sale — where you can download a ton of resources for writers at a ridiculously low price — in April. We’re thinking of running a writing contest and launching a course in the fall, so stay tuned!

And, of course, we’ll continue to publish helpful, relatable blog posts on a daily basis that help you earn a living as a writer. If there’s a topic you want to read about, let us know in the comments below!

Whether you’re hoping to earn more money from writing, improve your craft or simply connect with other writers, we look forward to helping you achieve your writing dreams this year!

In solidarity,
Alexis Grant
Founder of The Write Life

That’s why we love this piece from Forbes on how one author earns $450,000 a year self-publishing on Amazon.

The UK-based author, Mark Dawson, writes thrillers and crime novels, and has sold 300,000 copies of his thriller series about a British assassin named John Milton. The Forbes piece says Dawson earned six figures last year, but never quite explains the math behind the $450,000 total it says Amazon has paid to the author.

Of course, any measure of six figures is impressive when you’re just starting out in the Amazon self-publishing world, and the tactics Dawson shares in this piece offer a number of takeaways for up-and-coming authors.

Here are some practical tips for succeeding as a self-published author based on what worked for Dawson:

1. Give away your book for free

It sounds counterintuitive, but many self-published authors who manage to gain traction on Amazon give their books away through Amazon’s KDP Select program.

KDP Select allows you to offer the book for free for five days or discount it for up to seven days using what’s called a Countdown Deal. If you offer the book for free, it can rank on Amazon’s Top 100 Free list if it does well, while discounted books are included on the Top 100 Paid list. Once your book makes one of these lists, even within a subcategory, other readers are more likely to see and download it. And if your book does well on the free list, some of that clout will carry over into its sales rank once your book goes back to its regular price.

Dawson tried this strategy when he released his first self-published book, The Black Mile, and readers grabbed 50,000 copies in one weekend. He also now gives away free books in return for signing up for his email list; you can’t miss this offer at the top of his website.

Of course, giving your book away or selling it for cheap doesn’t put much money in your pocket. But this strategy can give a much-needed boost to a new release. And if you can capitalize on that success and use it to build your community so they’re excited about your next book launch, you will likely be able to sell more books the next time around.

2. Learn how to promote your books

For many writers, marketing is the most difficult part, either because they don’t have the skills to pull it off or simply don’t want to. But the truth is, if you want to make a living as a writer, you have to be more than a writer. Figuring out how to promote your books is the only way you’ll sell copies.

Dawson follows many of the best practices for growing a loyal community online: he has grown an email list so he can communicate with readers about upcoming releases, engages with his community on Facebook and offers seminars to other writers who want to self-publish as well.

His email list is 15,000 strong, Forbes reports, a figure that may sound huge to a newbie but is  relatively small compared to most successful online entrepreneurs. It goes to show you don’t need a massive list to earn a living; you simply need an engaged, loyal one.

3. Use Facebook ads to spread the word

Many successful entrepreneurs use Facebook ads to reach their target market, and it can be an effective tactic, so long as you learn how to do it effectively. The trick is to earn more than you spend, and once you do, don’t be afraid to pour money into the Facebook machine.

How do you earn money through Facebook ads? Use the Facebook ads manager to select a target audience that’s a good fit for your book, then experiment with small spends (as low as $10 or $20 each) to see which of your messages and target audiences converts.

If you spend $10 to run a campaign, and 30 people buy your book because of it, you’ve likely made money, depending on the price point of your book and how much you have to hand over to Amazon. Use the analytics in Facebook’s ad manager to track metrics closely, so you can make good decisions about how to spend.

Dawson spends $370 a day on Facebook ads, according to Forbes, and earns double that in book buys.

4. Make time for your writing

Next to marketing, this tends to be one of the biggest challenges for writers, especially those who are trying to break into a career as a writer while holding down a day job or raising a family. How do you make time for writing during a busy day?

Dawson, too, holds a day job; he works in the London film industry, according to his website. And he has a young family. His job requires something most of us would complain about: a two-hour commute to and from London each day. Guess how he uses those hours? He writes thousands of words each day, Forbes reports.

5. Don’t give up

Stories like Dawson’s seem like overnight success stories, but if you look a little closer, almost every author and entrepreneur failed before succeeding.

Dawson released a book through a traditional publisher before transitioning to self-publishing… and it flopped. And you’ve probably heard of most of these famous authors whose work was rejected before it was published.

The trick is to avoid comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle. Everyone’s a beginner at some point. Don’t be afraid of failure, for you need to push past it to do your best work.

Want more details about Dawson’s story? Read the full story on Forbes.