Work for dirt. This suggestion is only for when you are first starting out. If you find that a year has gone by and you are still bringing in the same rate of pay that you brought in when you first started writing, then something isn't working right. Your writing income should steadily increase as you take on more writing jobs and get more efficient at churning out quality writing quickly. As your résumé grows, you can also command a higher rate of pay than you would if you were just starting out and didn't have any writing credits to your name. For this reason, you should not think it is unreasonable to make a low amount of money for the first few months of your writing career. Think of the lower paying jobs you take on in the beginning as a means to build up your portfolio and to practice working under a deadline. It is not uncommon for new writers to get paid just a couple of dollars for an article. You should not accept the same rate of pay, however, once you have established yourself as a reliable and talented writer.

Try writing a blog. It doesn't cost anything to start up a blog, and blogs can be a great way to show off your writing style. Set a blog up for yourself and then just start writing. Compose a short blurb every day if you can, but always check your writing for spelling and grammar errors before you publish it. Even if you are writing about informal things - your kid's daily activities, a show you watch every week, the weather - you never know when you might use it as proof that you can write often and well, so make sure it looks good. Unless you are attempting to become an outspoken political writer, steer clear of filling your blog with passionate views which may be contrary to what potential employers are looking for. Remember that the Internet is a small world, and even if you don't send a potential employer to your blog, the employer will likely stumble across it. The things write in your blog should be things which you wouldn't mind absolutely everyone reading, whether it's a potential employer, your grandmother, or your spouse. Don't let the informal format of a blog fool you into thinking it's okay to use this medium as a way to cuss out the people who bother you. These things get read, like it or not.

FINDING JOBS

You can be the best writer in the world, but if you don't find some jobs to showcase your talent then no one will ever know your genius. Besides, you want to make some money, don't you? Finding writing jobs to apply for is not too difficult, but landing the jobs is another story.

WRITING FOR THE INTERNET

The best place to look for Internet writing jobs is online. Where can you find online writing jobs? You can find writing jobs in the same places you find other jobs: employment classifieds in the newspaper, online job banks, and word of mouth from other writers. If you plan to write for the Internet, then job banks online are the best places to look.

There are plenty of other Internet writing job banks available, so find one that you like and frequent it often. When you become serious about writing professionally you may find yourself checking websites such as these on a daily basis. You may also want to check with individual websites and publications which you frequent to see if they are in need of new writers. One easy way to do this is to type "write for us" into the site's search engine and see if an online job application pops up along with the submission guidelines.