8 Tips on How to Be a Freelance Writer Part Time

by Chris Brantner

For some of us, quitting our full time job to be a freelance writer just isn’t an option. Maybe you’re like me and you have a family that depends on you. Or maybe you’re so loaded up on bills that you can’t risk losing your steady paycheck. But guess what?

You don’t have to freelance full time.

The fact is, many writers earn a handsome second income by only writing a few hours a day. All the while maintaining a full time job and a paycheck every other week. I’m one of those guys. Imagine making a couple of thousand dollars a month on top of your normal salary. Imagine being able to apply that money to your debt and suddenly accelerating your quest to financial freedom.

My name is Chris and I’m a successful part time writer. You can be too. Here are a few tips on how to be a freelance writer part time.

1. Write on your lunch break—The idea is to use all your extra time to build your business. That said, carry your lunch and eat at your desk. While you enjoy not spending the extra money eating out, you can make between make money by churning out an article or two.
2. Don’t discuss it with your colleagues—It’s best to keep your moonlighting to yourself. The last thing you need is to become the center of office gossip. Before you know it, your employer will hear all about it. And once your boss knows, get used to sitting under a magnifying glass. They’ll likely assume that your work will suffer due to your new endeavors.
3. Get a separate business number through Google—Obviously you can’t receive phone calls in regards to your writing business during business hours. So sign up for Google Voice’s free service and get a separate business phone number with a professional sounding voice mail message. You can forward all calls to your cell phone. Clients will leave messages and you can call back whenever you have a free minute or two.
4. Schedule a specific writing time before or after work—You need a schedule or you’ll feel like you literally work 24/7. For me, I wake up 2 hours earlier every morning and write. What can I say? I’m a morning person. For you it might be late at night. Or perhaps you’ll stop at a coffee shop or bar with wi-fi after work for an hour or two. Whatever works for you. Just stay consistent.
5. Don’t volunteer the “Part Time” part—Unfortunately, hearing that you’re a part timer might scare off some potential clients. That’s why I never volunteer the information unless it’s absolutely necessary. Sure if someone asks I will tell them. But as the saying goes, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.”
6. Never work for free—Never, ever write for free. That means sites like Examiner.com that promise you revenue share if you get a certain number of hits. It’s a rip. Accepting low pay is one thing. Accepting no pay is a completely different ball game. You’re in this to make money. So if you aren’t seeing it, what’s the point?
7. Contact SEO companies—SEO companies often farm out their article writing, press releases, and even web copy. The best part is, it’s almost always tasks you can perform at any time of day. As long as you hit the deadline. So subcontracting for SEO companies is ideal for people like you and me. The only trouble I’ve ever run into is conference calls. When doing web copy, the client often wants to speak to you. That means you have to work on their schedule. Which leads me to #8…
8. Save your days off—Every now and then a situation comes up where you absolutely have to do writing work during normal business hours. Save your vacation days and sick days for these rare occasions. If your client wants a conference call and it absolutely must happen during your normal work hours, take a morning off. Get food poisoning. Something. Just ask yourself, “how important is this client to me?”

Are you currently thriving as a part time writer while holding a full time job? If so, how do you do it?