You may be a prolific writer but that doesn’t guarantee that the right people have taken notice of you. Let them see who you are and how your writing has been received with a writing portfolio. It showcases all of your work since you decided to pick up a pen and give writing a go.

A writing portfolio is a writer’s best advertising tool. Anyone looking to make use of your skills can see at a glance what type of writing style you employ and where you have been working. A potential client can also see how hard you have been working or not working at your craft. For a writer, it feels unnatural not to write in some form. All of these forms are useful content for a writing portfolio.

Depending on your chosen writing medium, a writing portfolio can be an actual printed and bound manuscript or an online profile. If you choose a printed tangible portfolio, include all relevant writing experience in a chronological order. For new writers, include any publishing credits in high school and college even if it is the campus newspaper.

Arrange your portfolio with the actual articles snipped from newspapers or magazines. Below the articles include the publication information:

· Name of magazine or newspaper

· Date published

· Logo of the magazine

Do this for each entry. For print publications, many magazines will send a free copy or two to the writer for their own personal files. Use these to fill your writing portfolio. Make copies of your work before affixing them in the portfolio. Prospective employers can look at the master portfolio and keep the copies for future reference.

Use cardstock to mount your work. For online credits, make a clean color or black and white copy of the article for your portfolio. Include the same information at the bottom including the website address of the publication. Encase each page in a sheet protector to eliminate torn or weathered edges from constant use.

Online portfolios allow for more creativity. Many freelance writers place their portfolio on their websites. Included with the portfolio entries are testimonials from past clients about the caliber of the work. Also, you can add headings and subheadings for different categories of work like copywriting, editing, content writing, and the like.

Don’t forget to include accolades. Your work may have won an award or been used in a major business campaign. List those awards as well in both types of portfolios. Also mention your educational background in writing.

A writing portfolio, however slim, lends credibility to the writer. A client or potential employer can see your growth in writing and judge if you would work out for them. It is a handy tool to have at interviews and for promoting your freelance business online. Information from the portfolio can be used to construct your bio box and profile pages

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Working as a freelance writer can sometimes be a difficult thing to do. If you have children at home with you while you’re trying to write, they can make it even more difficult to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. These tips for staying focused on your freelance writing business may be what you need to get your focus back where it should be.

It’s so easy to procrastinate when you work out of your home no matter what your business may be. However, as a freelance writer you probably need your children to be quieter for longer periods of time. Writing can be a taxing job and having too much noise in the house can make it easier to put writing off.

You know, as a business owner, that you can’t put things off too often. Deadlines loom on the horizon and you need to answer emails from clients. You may also be trying to find additional work which can be a frustrating task.

Don’t worry about the housework. You may be saying, “What?! Don’t worry about the housework? Are you crazy?” Actually, your housework will be there when you get your client emails done. You’ll still have children running around the house undoing the cleaning you’ve done. So, don’t worry; that aspect of your job as a mom will never go away entirely. However, not taking the time to answer an email or meet a deadline could be disastrous for your business.

To re-establish the focus you need for your business try finding a mentor or friend that will keep you accountable for writing every day. Ask them to help you establish a workable routine that will suit your entire family. Perhaps you can help keep them accountable with some aspect of their business or another part of their life. Be sure that the relationship benefits both of you to make it worthwhile for each party.

Keep a large calendar where you can write down important deadlines. Hang the calendar someplace you’re going to see it and write new deadlines or family appointments on it as soon as you learn of them.

Plan to write for a minimum amount of time each day whether you have pressing deadlines or not. You want to keep in the habit of writing even if you’re not working on freelance articles for pay.

If you’re going through a slow period and don’t have actual writing to do, you may want to submit non-pay articles you’ve written to article marketing websites. You may also decide to visit websites that you know have freelance writing classified ads to look for additional work.

Set goals for yourself. How much writing for pay do you want to do each month? How much time will you spend on writing to accomplish those goals? Don’t forget to treat yourself when you’ve reached your goals, no matter how small they might be.
It’s important to remember that if you want to be a successful freelance writer you actually have to do write. These tips for staying focused on your freelance writing business could be what you’ve needed to get you back on the right writing track.

Posted under Articles and Tips