Know the major freelance markets and which freelance writing opportunities best support your writing style and freelance writing career goals if you want to become a successful freelancer.

Writing for Newspapers
With Internet access available nearly everywhere, it’s easy for writers to forget there’s a print market at all. Hundreds of thousands of people buy newspapers every day and with most papers being dailies, the need for content is constant. Who better than you to help provide it?

Many writers get their start writing for local newspapers, covering local stories that help them hone basic writing skills, and teach them how to better organize and structure their articles. If you like the idea of writing on a tight deadline, approach your local paper to see what their needs are.

Volunteer your services if you’re a beginner—what you’ll learn from the staff writers will make up for the lack of pay. The more published clips you can add to your portfolio, the sooner you’ll be able to bill yourself, whether it’s for the paper you started with or another publication.

Writing for Magazines
Like newspapers, magazines are another print medium that’s often overlooked by beginning freelance writers. But take a look at the magazine stand in any bookstore and you’ll find hundreds of publications, ranging from general interest to niche-specific, where you can pitch your writing.

Start by making a list of your own interests and spend an afternoon at the bookstore or library researching relevant publications—in other words, start by writing what you know. Magazine writing will challenge you to draft longer pieces than newspapers, but may also give you the opportunity to demonstrate your personal knowledge and a bit more opinion than straight newspaper reporting.

Writing for magazines encourages you to find and develop your own voice. The more pieces you write, the more in touch with that voice you’ll get, helping you distinguish yourself from other writers competing in the same market.

Writing Online
Writing for the Internet isn’t without its challenges: you’ll need to be able to deliver information in small, easily digest pieces in clear, easy-to-understand language. One click of the mouse and the reader is gone.

However, the Internet is proving to be a vast source of freelance writing opportunities. New sites appear daily and with each site launch comes the need for content. Search your favorite job posting sites for freelancing writing jobs and you’re bound to find several that interest you and meet your desired pay rate.

Ghostwriting
A lot of people think ghostwriting is limited to celebrity biographies where the writer does all the work and the star gets all the credit. In reality, ghostwriting opportunities can involve anything from writing blog posts or newsletters for small businesses that don’t have the resources to promote themselves online to penning content-based articles for Web sites designed to increase visitor traffic. You won’t get a byline, but you will gain expertise in subject areas you didn’t have before that may inspire additional article ideas you can publish under your own name.

Freelance Market Resources
If you’re still not sure which market is best for you, visit the Writer’s Market online and sign up for a free trial subscription to the site to again access to a wealth of current information about available markets as well as articles about managing the business side of freelance writing.