Over the past week or so, I’ve been posting a lot about freelance writing both here on this blog and on Instagram. Today someone on IG asked, “Exactly what is freelance writing?”

The person who asked said she thought it was a “dumb question” but it’s not AT ALL. In fact, I know people who have been writing for years who don’t fully understand what freelance writing is.

So, here’s a crash course in Freelance Writing 101.

I want to tell you why I know you could succeed as a freelance writer.

But first, I want to tell you a story.

I should be broke right now.

In May of 2019, I quit my teaching job to be a full-time freelance writer and focus on growing See Jane Write. At first, everything was going well. I was getting writing gigs and speaking gigs and even landing opportunities to get paid to travel.

Then 2020 happened. Cancer happened. The COVID-19 pandemic happened.

I recently had a chat with Laura Quick, founder of Good Grit magazine, about some freelance writing best practices. I’ve been writing for Good Grit for a couple of years now. But I wondered what advice she’d offer someone looking to write for her magazine for the first time.