Making a Living as a Freelance Writer. How do you push yourself to work faster?

Do you find that it's challenging to make a living doing freelancing?

Academic papers are not easy to write. How are you able to push yourself to work faster while still maintain quality?

practice makes perfect

I'm thinking of doing academic writing. I'm a recent college grad who needs to make extra money while abroad next year.

However, I'm worried that I won't be able to make anything.

See, stu4? She's not going to be a broad until next year.........

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, if you're really good at what you do then it's definitely a nice way to make a living. As I've stated on this forum several times before, I support my family doing this and I'm actually in the process of buying a house (the offer's in, we're just waiting for the bank to accept....short sales are a great deal, but a pain in the ass......)

If you think that writing twenty pages in a day is something you couldn't do while retaining a decent level of quality, this is the wrong business for you. Obviously, the papers I write at this speed aren't as good as they would be if I took all day to write 4 pages, but customers (at least the decent ones) realize this, and many of them are happy enough with my work to keep requesting me. I have had private customers ask me to spend more time on their work, and have told them how much extra it would cost for me to spend a full day on their eight-page research paper as compared to my standard per-page rate. They usually end up perfectly satisfied with the cheaper alternative.

I should add that if you just want a little extra cash, it's an entirely different story. be sure to look at the hours it takes you to complete a standard assignment and the amount of pay you receive, though--if you could make more singing on street corners or flipping burgers, then why not get a part-time job (obviously more difficult in other countries, but still possible...)?

Trust me when I tell you that he won't get it.

pheelyks, how many hours do you work per day? And per week? Do you work during the weekends?

And are you a fast typer? When you first started, was it difficult? After how long did it become easier for you?

probably not, but I can't resist giggling whenever anyone uses the word "abroad"


too many, way too many, and yes.


fairly, a bit, two weeks

Veronica, I don't mind answering some real questions, but this is starting to sound like a job shadowing interview conducted by a high school student. No one is going to be able to tell you if this is the right job for you, as a main source of income or just as a side gig. Start doing it and see for yourself.

Not really. If you have the ability to do this, it really beats going to a regular job.


Some are harder than others and you learn how to steer clear from the ones that could become real pains or you learn to explain to clients why certain papers have to cost more than others even with the same page count. Personally, I don't have to "push" myself at all; quite the opposite: I promise myself that I'm not taking any more papers for the day and then I see another one (or 3) that I just can't pass up and I end up re-adjusting things or skipping my workout or something to get them all done in time. I find it very hard not to take papers that are available and I'm always filling up my calendar on a daily basis. Once in a while, Pheelyks and I have handled one another's overflow too, but that doesn't happen very often and we know the quality won't suffer if we need the backup.

When you do this for a fulltime living, you generally don't work specific days or hours although I suppose one could. I'm almost always working, easily 7 days in a week or 28 days out of a month and at all times of the day and/or night. It's not the kind of job that you can support yourself with doing part time or even in pre-set workdays and 8-hour work blocks: either you do this as a side gig whenever you have time to write or you work constantly to make a living.

Your first clue about which "writers" on this forum not to trust with your work are those who say that they couldn't imagine writing a 10-pg paper in a full day. To anybody who does this well enough to give your customers good results and make a decent living, that's laughable. Pheelyks and I routinely write 4 to 8 essays in a single day totaling 20+ pages and I just wrote a 25-pg MBA paper that I started around 2:00 PM and finished around 2:00 AM, including meals and a few breaks. It's not exactly comfortable or something you want to be doing daily, but if you're a customer, you want writers with that level of skill and not writers who struggle almost as hard as you do writing a single 8-pg paper in a full day.

How are you guys able to manage the research? I imagine that that must take a lot of time.

Also, are you guys really fast typers? How fast do you type, on average?

classic. will you ever answer anyone without using a run-on? it's like you have this freight train of thoughts, and there's a wreck trying to get out of the station. how many concussions have you had? I pity the poor professors who have to sift through your dreck.


I had typing right before lunch at high school-- it made me hurry!

hey, V, what's with all the questions? are you conducting a survey?

That's not a run-on sentence. Just because one may be able to split it into multiple sentences does not mean that it is a "run-on" sentence.

You guys are really good at what you do, and I'd like to get to your level. Although I work as a freelance web content writer, I think still have serious writer's block. I'd like to overcome that.

So that's why I ask.

Veronica, you have the requisite determination and your attitude is very promising. You'll get there and I believe that you'll be very good at it.

Question - do you know all the citation styles?

Thanks for the compliment, WRT.

I'm familiar with all the styles, except Turabian.

I believe that in order to be successful at writing, one must possess the following characteristics:

- Aptitude
- Diligence
- Patience
- Perseverance
- Reliability
- Punctuality

As long as you possess these characteristics, you're always going to have a fair chance at being successful. I'm confident that I possess these characteristics, and I feel that it is because of this that I make a very good living from this kind of work. In fact, in the past few days, I've received several enquiries; many of whom contacted me after finding me on this forum.

In terms of speed, do you possess the ability to touch type? If so, this is a tremendous advantage. I'm able to touch type, and this allows me to complete good quality essays in a timely fashion - for instance, I can take on several projects at any given time. The problem with touch typing is that one can become somewhat complacent, therefore I have to spend a great deal of time proofreading my work after it has been completed.

Don't worry about not being able to make money from this game. Just work on the aforementioned characteristics and you will be an excellent writer (you've already mastered the 'aptitude' characteristic - in terms of your writing ability), I'm sure of it!

This is incorrect. The second clause (beginning with "many") is fully dependent on the first; this should be a comma, not a semi-colon. Also, this sentence states that the "enquiries" contacted you, which is of course logically incorrect--it is the customers that contacted you with enquiries. I'm sure they'll be very pleased with your work.

Continue posting blatant pieces of advertising on this forum, and I will continue correcting your mistakes (you make the same ones repeatedly, so it's pretty easy).

VeronicaM,

Please ignore pheelyks's comments regarding my grammar as this has absolutely no relevance to the topic that you initiated. Pheelyks's obsessive/compulsive behaviour regarding pedantic grammatical corrections is somewhat disturbing to me (firstly because he or she is always incorrect, and secondly because I think he or she may have some sort of psychological disturbance related to English grammar). However, I would suggest that take notice of the advice that I've given to you in relation to your desire to become a freelance writer.

Neither does your "brilliance" as a writer, but you went on about that for a lot longer than I did about your improper semi-colons.


That's just a blatant lie, and you know it. This forum isn't your marketing playground; I'm sorry if you're so desperate for customers that you fear every little comment on your abilities, but like I've said before--stop making mistakes or stop making marketing posts and I'll go away.


Obviously a skilled writer....

I beg to differ.

Evidence, my friend. If you can find a reputable source that says semi-colons can be appropriately used to separate two dependent clauses (not in a list) and that "whom" can be used as a subjective pronoun, I'll stop posting on this forum entirely. These are the most repetitive errors I have observed in your writing, and the ones you keep insisting I am wrong to correct.

CAN ONE WRITE FOR A LIVING?

can someone write for a living

999,999.....

That query has 999,999+1 answers.

I have determined that you in fact CAN write for a living.

The very thought has given me a boner.

It will give you a headache which will never go away

The motivating factor for me is the same as everyone else's. I work faster to make money faster. I am conscious of the fact that I can only earn more and faster if I produce high quality papers. The constantly assured quality of my work for specific clients ensures that they would come back to me every time for their writing needs. So I pushed myself harder and I worked faster, while maintaining the quality of my work, depending upon how much income was at stake for me. I wasn't going to push myself to work faster and harder for a mere pittance. It always had to be worth the time that I would sacrifice to be with my family or skip a few hours of sleep for. If the orders came cheap, then my motivation was lower. The company knew that and did their best to give me high priced orders to work on (which they would eventually chop income off, but that's for another essay) in order to keep me happy and working just for them.

In my opinion, the OP focused on the wrong variable in the equation: writing speed. Increasing the speed of your writing isn't something that you can (or should) consciously try to do, because it's only going to increase mistakes and decrease other aspects of the quality of your work. What you should focus on is gradually increasing the volume of your work, meaning how much good writing you can produce in a day or in a week.

When I first started doing this for a fulltime living, it was challenging to write more than 1 project in a day and the thought of writing a 10-pg project in a day or overnight was very intimidating. Within a few years, I was routinely writing 10-pg projects in a single sitting and smaller projects before and afterwards with only a short break in between.

Plenty of times, I (still) find myself working on a large project when a smaller project comes in due much earlier. So, you also have to learn how to switch gears smoothly, to suspend work on one project, write another one (or more than one) quickly, and then go right back to the first one. Especially, when I was doing most of my writing for companies instead of freelance work, I had many nights where I started out writing one project on my schedule and in between starting and finishing that project overnight, I'd taken and completed 3 or 4 shorter projects as soon as they went up on the assignment board.

You become better at all the other parts of the job besides the actual writing: such as finding the source material you need, organizing your thoughts, and figuring out how you're going to structure and outline the project. All of that's just about getting better at a process; but to the extent the speed of your actual writing is concerned, that's something that improves by itself as you write more. If you try to push it deliberately, you'll produce worse work and you'll also be more susceptible to burnout. Remember, it's not just about how much work you can produce in one week; it's how much good work you can produce week after week, 52 weeks per year, year after year. Those are two very different things.

Writing speed is useful, but it's much more important how fast can a writer process information. If you take 3 hours to read a single article, you won't make much money. Reading, comprehension and analysis skills are more relevant than writing speed.

An efficient academic writer with ample years / decades of experience will be able to churn out paper after paper within a day without having to sacrifice quality. It is almost like the writer is a printing press. He can churn out a hundred or more papers a day if required, based on various topics. These are the writers who do not need to push themselves in order to complete the work because they are already seasoned writers who are familiar with various writing topics, have several up to date resources constantly at their fingertips, and can easily estimate how long it will take to complete one paper.

Sometimes, when I want to take a few days off and I have prior work commitments, I find that wanting to rest becomes a very good motivating factor that pushes me to work faster. Writers always need time off and having a lull in between deadlines just isn't enough for me. Specially if I came from a grueling work schedule of having to complete 100 writing assignments in various fields, forms, and professions during a work week. My quality never suffers like I said because I am just so used to writing these things that I writing has become second nature to me.

The objective to maintaining quality is to NOT push yourself beyond what would be a reasonable work load for you. Every writer's capabilities are different. Some research, read, and type faster than others, while some have to take more time to absorb material. Also, the more you research and write, the better and faster you get. I know some writers who sit and read articles from the first to the last word. I'm an extremely fast reader and I can scan an average size journal article in a few minutes to get the overall jist. I go back for additional and specific info as needed.

When I first started writing (over 20 years ago), I would do a couple of 2-3 page papers a day. Now, I do several average size papers a day while also working on larger projects that generally last a week or longer. I am sure there are some others here who can do more than me, while there are some who can do less. It's really dependent on the individual and what s/he is capable of doing, as well as what s/he prefers to do.

I'm sure most seasoned writers can appreciate the applicability of "more haste, less speed" to their line of work. I find that I accomplish a lot more when I get sufficient rest. Being well rested also means that I can work fast while not compromising on quality during crunch times. There's really no need to push oneself to an unnecessary burnout that will just serve to erode all previous gains.

As with most professions, freelance writing will not work out for you if you have todrag and force yourself to accomplish work. There's just no way around it. Although I do believe that exposure to the field will help because it will enable you to get more used to turning in papers with stricter deadlines. If you want, though, to have flawless papers, then you're going to have to take your time.

I do still find that if I take up work from fields that I know, I can turn in papers faster - and with less hassle on my end. A huge chunk of this is because I can accomplish the writing tasks without needing to worry if the information I have provided are factual. This is also the reason why choosing a specialty in writing is vital, especially because it will enable you to focus on a particular topic without needing to burden yourself too much. In the long-run, this will help the longevity of your career.

I suggest that in the short-term, don't exhaust and drain yourself too much. It will only strain you and cause you to be less productivity. It is also important to work on time slots that are perfect for you. I, for one, know that I can only work during nighttime. There is no way in hell that someone can make me work during mornings - unless they want me to turn in poorly curated work.

Again, knowing what works for you as a writer is key to all of this.

This is not how it goes in this business, unfortunately. Hot seasons are precisely that, two-three months of constant red bull infused burnout frenzy that lasts for as long as there are papers to write. We get enough downtime during the summer and that sweet spot of 5-10 days in February to get some rest. Our job is not exactly fit for everybody, you need to be able to withstand the burnout phase and push through or there's really not much money to be made in this line of work.

Agreed. The main advantages of this work include not having to commute to an office or work directly with other people and being able to do your work (and sleep) whenever you want to (and without alarm clocks in your life), whether that means working all night and sleeping well into the afternoon or getting up early and using the rest of your day however you want to after completing your projects. The disadvantages include working a LOT more than 40 hours in some weeks and (often) having to change (or cancel) your non-work plans to squeeze in rush projects that are worth it, as well as having to be prepared to work at just about any time of day or night 7 days a week if you want to earn as much as possible. It's definitely not suited to someone who prefers a regular schedule: sometimes, I'll work all night and go to sleep at 9:00 AM; other times, I might get up around 5:00 AM for hockey, start working around Noon, and go to bed around 8:00 PM. Sometimes, I'm up 24 straight hours or more, followed by only 5 or 6 hours of sleep, after which I'll write a project and go right back to bed for another 8 hours to catch up on sleep. You really have to be willing to adapt your schedule to fit your deadlines and whatever other interests or obligations you have in your life. If you have kids or another job or you can't sleep during the day, it's almost impossible to do this for a living, except maybe as a part-time gig for some extra income on the side.

This. My wife hates this :)

Every year, I give myself 2 targets, a financial target and a physical target. The financial target is the money I aim to earn every year and the physical target, represents the item I have told myself I have to own that year. The physical target gives me a separate financial target for my personal whims and caprices, while the financial target goes into my 401(k). These two targets are all the motivation that i need to push myself to work harder. Nothing beats the ambition to live the good life when you need a motivation to earn well.