Recently I have been spotlighting new freelance writers with guest posts in this very spot. Today say hello to Molly G., a freelance writer who stumbled into the freelance writing business very much like I did and is now searching for a little direction. Read on for freelance writing speculation with a Boston accent:

How I Wedged My Pinky Toe Firmly in the Freelance Writing Door

So one day I start a blog because I want to play along with a book meme.  But creating a blog is a lot more involved than I had anticipated.  I have to come up with a name, a theme, a design, and even teach myself HTML.  Several months later, I read that I am also supposed to come up with a niche.

I’ve never had a niche.  Not in my real life in the real world.  Not ever at all.  I understand the rationale behind the idea.  Find something you do really well and promote it.  Others will flock to you for the knowledge.  How cool to be the blog version of Al Pacino – the go to guy for a certain role – but what if you don’t do one thing really well?  And even if you did – what if you promote it and no one comes?

I keep posting nicheless – trying to please everybody – or at least to offend no one.  People start following along.  Some like the book posts.  Others stick around for the musical interludes.  I start a movie meme and pimp it out to a referral site.  I feed my need for self aggrandization with weekly photo contests.  But I get my kicks off of the sports posts.

No one cares about the sports posts.  My followers fall under demographics I don’t fit but for some reason they keep signing up.  I learn that posting about what I want allows my passion to come out through my words, and people find it sincere and entertaining.  I also learn that posting has stirred up the writing bug.  I ramble longer and delve deeper.  This is fun.

Through the memes I come across a link to a travel site.  I like the place.  I know that I could live there.  But I don’t know who to ask about a job.  I leave a comment for the post author.  I make a random guess from the “Who We Are” list and send an e-mail.  I don’t hear back from anyone.  Sabattical.

Months later I randomly end up back at the same travel site again.  But this time I dig deeper and stumble upon the right contact.

“If you want to write for us e-mail here,” it says.  So I do.  I want to write about the places I go and I can do it for you.

“Show us some samples,” they say.  I don’t have any but here’s a link to my blog.

“OK. You can write for us.”

What?  Really?  That’s it?  Just ask and I get a job?  Very cool.  Freelancing is wicked easy.

I agree to a stable consulting contract with fair pay, excellent support and good exposure.  I learn how to work with SEO, improve my writing, and put myself out there.  I have found someone willing to pay for my words.  Someone pays me to write. Which it turns out is all that I have ever really wanted.

Now how do I convince anyone else to believe in me?  I send e-mails to help wanted postings.  I don’t get responses.  It seems I got incredibly lucky with my first writing job. Freelancing is wicked hard.  I don’t do formal interviews very well.  I like to pull up a chair and chat about things instead.  I guess I’ll go back to virtually knocking on random sites of interest to me.  After all, if I don’t ask, how else will they know about me?

Molly G. lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts and created The Bumbles Blog in October, 2008. There she shares her virtual home in the blogosphere where any and all are welcome to stop by for some comic relief, book discussions, movie games, travel stories, musical thoughts, and glimpses of what she sees through the lens of her camera.  When she isn’t blogging with her husband, Andy, she is working hard in the real world for a Financial Planner, along with providing travel posts to the UpTake Attractions Blog.  Most importantly, she makes time to create memories with family and friends - and watch baseball.