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[quote=Anonymous]13:54 here, inspired by 13:58.

To put my comments into greater context, I own a small business in an arts-related field. I have a couple of product lines, and offer some complementary services. I also do freelancing for some publications related to that field. When I started the business, I offered the services as a way to start while I was developing the product lines. Now that the product lines are starting to move, my focus is on building those and am hoping to transition away from most of the services I offer (except for those that help promote the product line -- think teaching classes that encourage the use of my products). I wasn't able to start getting any nibbles on my freelance work until I had a name you could google and find relevant hits, because people aren't nearly as interested in learning something from Joe Schmo off the street as they are from someone with a demonstrated expertise in the area. You may not need that kind of profile to start the kind of freelancing you want to do, but it helps a lot to have some kind of background to demonstrate why a publication should buy your piece rather than one of the many other submissions they receive. So I agree with 13:58, figure out where your expertise lies and develop that. But even now, with a number of published articles, I don't look at freelancing as a revenue stream, it's a means of promotion.

I also agree with 13:59. Freelancing is a form of self-employment, and self-employment requires that you be a self-starter who's willing to do their own legwork. Once you have an idea for a piece, typically no one is going to hand you your research, your interview subjects, etc. You'll need to figure out how to find those for yourself, and figuring how to get started in freelance writing is a great introduction in how to do that.

Further, you're basically asking your prospective competition to hand you all of the tricks of the trade. What incentive do I have to help you, when it just means one more person I'm out there competing with?[/quote]

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