How To Become a Full Time Writer From Scratch

Become a successful freelance writer, author, or copywriter with zero experience. Learn to earn a great living while traveling and writing what you love.

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  • Curriculum
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Brief Summary

This course is your stepping stone to become a successful freelance writer! You’ll learn about different writing opportunities, how to land your first clients, and avoid common rookie mistakes. Plus, you’ll get insights from someone who’s lived this dream for years. Let's get writing!

Key Points

  • Opportunities in freelance writing, copywriting, and authorship.
  • Living anywhere while working 15-20 hours a week.
  • Understanding different pay rates for various writing jobs.
  • Client management and billing strategies.
  • Avoiding beginner mistakes and finding your niche.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify the best writing niches for your skills and interests.
  • Build a portfolio and find your first clients.
  • Understand how to charge for your work effectively.
  • Learn productivity tips for a balanced writing lifestyle.
  • Avoid common pitfalls that many new writers face.

About This Course

Learn How You Can Become a Freelance Writer, Author, or Copywriter Even If You Have ZERO Industry Knowledge

  Imagine being able to live wherever you want while earning a great living doing something you love. 

    From the beaches of the tropics to the bustling cafes of Europe, it is very possible to earn a full time income writing for 15-20 hours a week. 

  I know, I've been doing it for over 5 years. 

    In this course I'm going to introduce you to the world of writing and I'll share with you my own experiences being a full time writer. 

    Over this time I have worked as a freelance copywriter, article writer, and author. I've done everything from print advertisements to sales letters to website copy. 

  I've also published 11 of my own books which now provide a significant passive income, and I've also built a loyal audience through writing my own blog and newsletter. 

    In fact, writing has funded the last few incredible years of my life during which time I've lived all over the world... 

    Including the tropical paradise of Costa Rica, and literary destinations like Italy, Barcelona, Prague, and New York

  I was inspired to create this course after working with aspiring writers and discovering how little knowledge they often had about the industry.  

    Which, might I add, is huge. 

    Writing is essentially communication...which in a way is, well, everything. So this creates a tremendous opportunity for income, as well as a tremendous opportunity for confusion and mistakes. 

  So where is the best place to start? 

  • Is it better to write books for yourself or articles for companies?

  • If you're tight on cash, what's the best route to get started so you can support yourself?

  • What kind of clients are best to work with? 

    • Who pays the best?

    • Who is the biggest pain in the ass?

    There are all these different avenues to go down, all using essentially the same core skill: Your words. 

    The unfortunate thing, at least for those who haven't found this course, is there is a huge gap between the different opportunities. 

    Some areas pay absolute garbage while offering little in the way of stability or satisfaction... 

    Whereas other kinds of writing work can be really fun and fulfilling, while paying upwards of a $100 dollars an hour.  

    Similarly, some kind of work is great to start with and allows you to jumpstart your career at $40-60 an hour...but then you risk getting stuck there. 

    Whereas other areas are tough to get started, but once you do, the sky really is the limit in terms of income. 

    Once you join, you'll learn about each area of writing as an income opportunity. You'll learn about the kind of work you can do and the kind of clients you'd be working with. 

    From here you'll be in a much better position to evaluate writing as a potential career for you, and, if you decide it is for you, you'll be in a great position to plan out your next 6-12 months. 

    You'll have the knowledge you need from the start to bypass many of the hurdles and challenges facing new writers and save yourself from wasting time and money. 

  Once inside, here are some of the things you'll learn: 

  • You'll learn all the different kinds of work you can do as a writer, what kinds of companies you can work for, and what kind of money you can expect to earn. As I've said earlier, there is a big difference in pay rates between different kinds of work, so this part is really important.

  • You'll learn the basics of getting new clients and marketing. This course isn't focused on this area, but I'll teach you enough to get started and get your first 2-3 clients, and at least $1,000 in income so you can get a taste of what it feels like to write for a living.

  • You'll learn about client management: The different ways you can be charging and how to bill. When should you charge by the word? The page? The hour? By the project?

  • We'll take a look at ghostwriting. When is it better to write under the client's name, and when should you insist on writing under your own name?

  • You'll find out what your day to day life could, and perhaps should, look like when we go through the lifestyle aspect of writing in terms of productivity and staying focused. You'll learn the best way to set up your days to be a productive and successful writer.

  • I'll also share with you some of my own insights into what makes a successful writer. Why do some writers seem to breeze along making 6-figures while others are just barely scraping by? What is the real reason for this difference and how can you be the kind of writer that prospers?

    There's a lot more, but I think by now you have a good idea about who I am and what this course is about. 

    By the end of this course you'll have a much better understanding of what life is like as a writer, and all the opportunities available to you today to begin your career as a writer. 

    By taking this course you'll avoid making painful beginner mistakes like: 

  • Charging too little money.

  • Going through painful dry spells with no income.

  • Working in the wrong area or with the wrong kinds of clients.

  • Doing work that kills your soul, when you could be getting paid better to do interesting work you actually enjoy!

  By the end of this training you'll be well on your way to being a professional writer. You're going to understand the industry, the opportunities, and around how much you should charge prospective clients for different kinds of work. 

    You'll also know which areas are the most suited to your current situation, based on the income potential, income steadiness, and the ease in which you can get started. 

    Watch a few of the free videos, or better yet, trust your instincts and join today. 

    Remember, you're protected by a 30 day money back guarantee so if you join and decide after a few days that you really don't like me, or the content isn't for you, you can always get your money back. 

    I think you'll find this course really inspiring and encouraging. It is something I'm really passionate about and I hope that comes through in the lessons. 

    Oh, and one more thing. Once you're inside, feel free to ask lots of questions in the discussions. I'm here to help and I do my best to provide individual feedback for everyone, based on your unique situation. 

  Congratulations on taking the first step and I look forward to seeing you inside.  

    Dan Johnston 

  • Be ready to start charging for your writing work (usually between $30-$60 an hour to start)

  • Find your first paid writing clients

  • Understand the writing industry and the best ways you can earn a living writing

Course Curriculum

1 Lectures

Instructor

Profile photo of Dan Johnston
Dan Johnston

I'm Dan Johnston. I'm a full-time writer, business trainer, and coach. “That is seriously your life? You are literally living my dream. That’s insane. How can I do it?”I’ve grown to expect hearing this every time I tell someone about my fairy-tale of a life. But trust me, it wasn’t always this way.In 2010 I owned my own business and...

Review
4.9 course rating
4K ratings
ui-avatar of Mohammad Istemdad Ali
Mohammad I. A.
3.5
8 months ago

I am in the teaching industry and trying to figure out what is there for me as a writer.

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ui-avatar of Sab Shah
Sab S.
5.0
1 year ago

I literally am a scratch writer but wanna make my writing productive

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ui-avatar of Jerry standefer
Jerry S.
4.0
1 year ago

So far it is exactly what I've been needing.

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ui-avatar of Di
Di
5.0
3 years ago

I liked the course, useful, motivating. For me as for a starter is a good thing to listen to. Thank You!

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ui-avatar of Nicholas Steere
Nicholas S.
5.0
3 years ago

Was full of REALLY great and personal advice, I walked in as a complete beginner with a mere interest in writing,
and I felt he not only gave the outline of general things to know and some keys and secrets you might not easily find on YouTube, but I personal mindsets and things to look for. I walked out feeling more comfortable knowing how to pursue this new career I'm jumping into of freelance writing!

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ui-avatar of Barbara Gare
Barbara G.
5.0
4 years ago

He shares his experience and is easy to listen to

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ui-avatar of Lola Iora
Lola I.
2.5
4 years ago

I did get a few tips from this course but most of it feels pretty empty. A lot of basic obvious stuff like if you want to make money you need to find the right client... Yeah right? But how ? Quite disappointed.

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ui-avatar of Luan Bosch
Luan B.
5.0
4 years ago

This is great would totally recommend this course for anyone who's interested in this type of stuff. The only downside is that he's recording his audio level is just a little low or maybe it's just my computer but even at full volume couldn't really hear him but I just used a headset that I had and all was 100%. Would fully recommend this.

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ui-avatar of Kamilla Hall
Kamilla H.
4.0
5 years ago

This was a great beginner's course on freelance writing and some tips on how you can write for companies as well as for yourself. I like how the instructor, Dan, included information on potential income you can make as a copywriter, as well as the best and worst paid projects as well as level of difficulty of each type of project. He also provides helpful suggestions on how much to charge for different types of projects. This was really helpful. There was also a section on how to get clients, although I wish this would have more in-depth. This course doesn't go in-depth in any one specific area, but it provides a great overview of freelance writing and answers typical questions someone might have when attempting to decide if this might be a career for them.

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ui-avatar of Al Combs
Al C.
5.0
5 years ago

It's been great so far. Very thorough and easy to understand. Very much worth the investment.

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