I get this question A LOT!
I keep giving a specific answer to that. But let me elaborate it a little bit here.
How long will you stay "new"?
You don't have to suffer from "new writer syndrome", weeks after you learned that there is something called "freelance writing".
If you're totally new, here's what you should do TODAY!
1. WRITE AN ARTICLE
If you're being trained by someone, he can suggest for you some hot topics. If not, just Google "profitable niches", choose one topic and write about it.
2. GET SOMEONE TO CHECK IT OUT
Your trainer can check it out for you and highlight your strong and weak points then give you editing instructions.
If you don't have a trainer, you can talk to any of your close friends and see if they can help you with that.
Note that some friends don't like it when you keep asking them to do stuff for free. Therefore I suggest using PenStars or an independent editor. Since you've paid for it, you're guaranteed professional feedback.
You can also consider posting your article on Dotwriter. Make sure you follow their rules e.g. your article must be unique and not posted anywhere else online.
You may even end up selling your article there and getting paid in Dotwriter! But only if it's up to standard.
However, it's the feedback that you really need so that you can move to the next step.
3. POLISH YOUR SKILLS
Keep polishing your skills so that you always write excellent copy that clients love. Implement the feedback that your trainer, your friend, editor, PenStars or the team at Dotwriter give you.
4. WRITE SOMEWHERE ONLINE
Some clients will ask you for links to your published works.
Your question: "I don't have any published works, what do I do?"
My answer: "Publish now :)"
Be it in Medium, LinkedIn or even your free WordPress blog, just publish something online. Make sure it has your name and bio and make it excellent.
Note that it's best to eventually get published in authority websites like HuffPost, Inc, Entrepreneur etc, so aim to get there someday.
But to avoid excuses, start with the easy to join ones if you have to then slowly scale up.
5. MAKE THOSE DOLLARS
The above tips should take you just a few hours to do, especially the writing, asking a friend or trainer to check, and publishing something free online with your name and bio.
No excuses.
Once you're done, you can go and apply for those jobs and earn those dollars.
You'll have your unique, awesome sample, you'll have your first link(s) to your OWN published work(s) and you'll have polished writing skills.
From that you can start looking for jobs through different writing (or freelancing) sites, pitching to clients or applying to those posted here in my job alerts or other online job boards.
I've hired completely new writers who ended up being better than most experienced writers I've worked with.
It all depends on how well you package yourself.
Everything is possible to those who believe and are willing to WORK smart.
Make Google your friend too.
Note that we were all new writers once, but some of us refused to get infected by this disease.
That, my friend, is the cure to the career-deadly NEW WRITER SYNDROME.
PS. My definition of this disease is those people who are always like "But I'm new, I can't do this or that." They say that even weeks after you've pumped them with info on what works. They never use Google, and they mostly don't want to take action since it's "hard".
By: Walter Akolo