ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR THE FREELANCE HEALTH WRITER (Part 1)

You want to climb up the ladder in freelance health writing but you don’t know where to start from. Or you may know where to start, perhaps you saw an advert for a writing job and you want to jump "write" in, No! pump your brakes and learn a little about the best resources for freelance health writers. There are diverse online resources for freelance health writers. Resources for research, learning to write better, finding good jobs. Knowing the 101 of essential resources for the health freelance writer is necessary so the journey can be worthwhile and you avoid too many detours.

This is the first in the series and I'll start with 3 things here

PRESENTATION

As a health freelance writer, you have to present yourself professionally and in an appealing manner. Health freelance is a field that has a lot of competition so a first glance at you may determine whether a client stays on you or immediately looks elsewhere. The competition is intense and you only do well if you know your onions.

1. LinkedIn: Go to your LinkedIn profile; make one if you have none and update it. Make sure to include your skills and present some work you have done in a concise manner. Trust me, some job boards may want to see what you have here. A lot of jobs are gotten online these days; it has been predicted that by 2020, 50% of the US work force would freelance on the web and LinkedIn is a good tool to assess online job seekers.
2. Quora: Quora is a resource you could use to present yourself credibly. People would ask questions and you get the opportunity to contribute intelligibly on this network. While it is not a place clients look for writers but many contributors on Quora are involved in the online estate, consciously or subconsciously they are on a search for people they can work with.
3. Your Curriculum Vitae: Update your CV, you’ll probably get no job without working keenly at creating a good CV.

GET SUPPORT

It is beneficial to find writer groups, established personalities you can draw inspiration from, websites you can learn from

1. LinkedIn Writer Groups: there are diverse writer groups on LinkedIn. You can get to listen to other writers and learn from their experiences
2. Facebook Writer Groups
3. Media Bistro
4. Freelance Writers Den by Carol Tice
5. Creative Revolt: I put this up as every freelance writer can get very good inspiration from the resources here. Jorden Roper the owner of the blog is also a very dynamic personality who would set every freelance writer on their feet.
6. Health Writers Hub: this is arguably the leading freelance writing resource specifically tailored for health writers.
7. Best Fiverr Writer: “Wink” Health writing is one that must be done with utmost skill, knowledge and ardour. Best Fiverr Writer is a resource for making the best out of every health writer.

GET YOUR SAMPLES

You want to write for a company but they want to see what you’ve done before that has been published. Do not fret as there are companies that are open to some excerpts you may have. Just ignore the meagre money you may be paid:

1. Try the alternative press: research on alternative press. Some of them may be open to accepting news writers. Just contact them and tell them your idea if they’ll like a write-up
2. Ask Friends and Family: someone you know is about starting a business, ask to write up something for the website or blog
3. Write for Non-profits: such organizations are always open to writers and who knows, your writing may be key to improving their business and it turns to a good paid work.