How To Become A Free Lance Writer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a free lance writer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mark Lounibos

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a free lance writer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.27 an hour? That's $60,890 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a free lance writer?

Mark Lounibos

Associate Professor, English, Finlandia University

Don't panic. This is a disorienting, disruptive time for everyone. Graduates with English degrees are actually in a strong position to leverage their skills and training across a range of careers. Their facility with language, communication, and critical thinking is ideally suited to the online, remote workplace. The key is to be as prepared and open to working in that kind of setting.

ScoreFree Lance WriterUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $60,890

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 8.61%

Black or African American 6.48%

Hispanic or Latino 7.67%

Unknown 4.95%

White 71.93%

Gender

female 58.32%

male 41.68%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a free lance writer

Explore free lance writer education requirements

Most common free lance writer degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Master's

17.1 %

Associate

6.9 %

Start to develop specific free lance writer skills

Skills	Percentages
Web Content	15.62%
Press Releases	14.02%
Photography	8.32%
News Stories	7.99%
Feature Stories	7.04%

Complete relevant free lance writer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New free lance writers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a free lance writer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real free lance writer resumes.

Research free lance writer duties and responsibilities

Manage projects diligently under aggressive deadlines while maintaining editorial integrity and ensuring stories have entertainment and/or educational value.
Coordinate all copy, photography, and artwork from concept through final production.
Recommend and contract for sites and vendors; negotiating catering, rentals, entertainment, photography and other services.
Specialize in print production for corporate communications, brochure development, and fashion copywriting.

Prepare your free lance writer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your free lance writer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a free lance writer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable free lance writer resume templates

Build a professional free lance writer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your free lance writer resume.