Career advice: How to Launch a Career In Free-Lance Writing

You've chosen a very competitive field. Begin your research by talking with other free-lance writers. It's best if you contact people who write about different subjects than you have an interest in, so they'll feel more at ease and less likely to view you as a threat. Ask each how they got their start, what it took to get published and what advice they might have for you.

Once you've spoken with at least five people doing what you want to do, offer your services to an organization by writing an article and try to get it published. If you're shy, you might try using a pen name until you feel you have the confidence to write using your own name.

You might also find a nonprofit organization and offer your skills to write its communications/public-relations materials free of charge for a period of time. This will be a lot of work at no compensation, but it may help pave the way to a career in writing.

As you pursue this goal, it will be important for you to have a fallback plan for economic survival. It isn't likely you'll be able to begin making a good living right from the start. Allow a minimum of 12 to 24 months to see if you can make a go of this career.