Are you brand new to the world of freelance writing? If so, this site may seem a little intimidating! Don’t worry; we were all new once. Becoming a successful freelancer is hard work, but not impossible.

First, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of my free ebook, which you can snag by signing up on the right-hand sidebar. This will help you learn about setting salary goals as a freelancer, as well as put you on my mailing list. I respect your email privacy, so you don’t have to worry about getting tons of spam from me, and I only email everyone when there’s something cool going on here or on another email-related website. I know it can be frustrating to get on a mailing list and receive ten emails a day, so I promise that won’t happen with me! You can also unsubscribe at any time and keep the free ebook!

Beyond that, I recommend starting to work your way through all of the articles in the After Graduation article bank. Pace yourself – there’s a lot of information here, and more being added every week, so don’t get information overload. You should definitely go through the articles in the “Definitions” and “Starting Out” categories if you’re new, and I personally recommend the following articles to help you start learning about freelancing:

• Why Your Journalism Professor Sucks
• Why Clients Buy Articles
• Mom, Dad…I’m Going to be a Freelancer
• The Ten Commandments for Web Content Writers
• The Truth about Academic Writing Online
• What does it Mean to be a Professional Blogger?

After you’ve gone through all of the Article Bank articles, head over to the After Graduation blog to stay up-to-date with freelancing news, learn more advanced tips about freelance writing, and connect with other freelance writers through comments. Don’t forget to also follow me on Twitter (say hi if you do and I’ll follow you back)!