The 5 Best Writing Job Boards for Freelance Writers
Every time a 5-figure client payment hits my business bank account, I feel like I’m living in a dream. Actually, scratch that — I am living in a dream. I’m living in the dream I had for myself as a little girl, or even just Amy of ten years ago.
I’m writing to you from a big wide desk that looks out onto the San Francisco skyline. Morning sun drips in, and I can see the Sutro Tower in the hills in the golden rays of sunrise. I’ve been spending my morning responding to client emails (lots of joy from one client who loved my developmental editing notes on their book!) and responding to book influencers who have just started reading my newest novel, The Ash Trials (which was just requested by over 1,000 people in the first day of a Goodreads Giveaway I’m hosting as part of the book’s launch!)
I’m living the dream because all of my income comes from my freelancing work. It didn’t happen overnight, but I’ve been able to carve out a joyful career as a freelance writer and novelist because of my work ethic and strategy.
One of the main strategies I’ve always employed as a freelance writer was going absolutely feral on the writing job boards when I was getting started. I said “yes” to every job I could just so I could build a portfolio — even if a writing job was outside my niche or if I wasn’t sure how I would accomplish it!
By saying yes and trying out different freelance niches, I became a versatile and adaptable writer. I jumped niches as it suited me, kept things interesting, and have made well into the seven-figures in my career. I went from $17/hour to $750/hour, and I’m comfortably booked and busy — but not too busy! — these days.
How Do I Find Jobs as a Freelance Writer?
When newer writers come to me for advice, the first question they often ask is this one: how can I find jobs as a freelance writer? Or: where are all the freelancing writing jobs?
As an expert freelance writer, most of my clients find me. But as a new freelance writer, you’re not established enough to have that happen. So, you have to put in the hustle and go to where all the clients are.
In short? You should become a permanent lurker of freelance writing job boards, applying to everything that fits your interest.
The 5 Best Writing Job Boards for Freelance Writers
Looking for writing jobs? Here are my top 5 favorite writing job boards for freelance writers:
From the Desk of Amy Suto: Make Writing Your Job. I’m a bit biased, but I do think my newsletter is the best writing job board for freelance writing opportunities. I built it specifically with you in mind! Each week, I send out emails with round-ups of freelance writing jobs and creative opportunities for writers. I try and curate higher-paying writing jobs that also sound fascinating in some way. I also send out special “Featured Jobs” which are jobs that are often just posted to my job (so: lower competition) where clients are looking to hire freelance memoir ghostwriters, freelance book editors, freelance proofreaders, and more. Some of the notable recent featured jobs have been a $50,000 memoir ghostwriting project and a freelance proofreading job for a romantasy novel. Because it takes a lot of effort to curate this writing job board, it is only available to paid subscribers (at $8/month or $80/year.) You can subscribe here.
Upwork. Some people say that Upwork is oversaturated, but I made over $300,000 on the platform as a freelance writer and still think it’s a solid place to find freelance writing jobs. While I’m not as active on the platform anymore (most of my clients find me directly through this website these days!) I do think it’s still a solid place to find freelance writing jobs. However, you will be spending quite a bit of money on the platform, as you’ll not only have to pay the $20/month fee to get Upwork Premium, but you’ll also have to pay to refresh your “Connects” which are tokens that allow you to apply for jobs. There are a lot of spammy and low-paying jobs on the platform, so you’ll have to spend your time in addition to your money in order to find your way through a lot of the sludge. It’s very easy to spend hundreds of dollars per month applying for jobs only to hear crickets if you’re a new freelancer without a strong portfolio. So, proceed with caution on this platform. But it can be lucrative if you’re in the right niche and position yourself and your material well.
Fiverr. If your freelance writing fits into a very neat box (“I can write you a suite of branding copy!”) then Fiverr might be a good place for you to post some of your services. However, I’ve found that Fiverr can be a bit of a race to the bottom. I think Fiverr is a better platform for visual designers and animators — not necessarily writers. But it depends on your niche, as very specialized writers might be able to make a go of it here.
Freelancing Females. I really dig the Freelancing Females newsletter, and they have a job board and a directory, too. They have some cool stuff on their site, but I will say the jobs are very light, and often I see full-time, contract, or part-time jobs here — so, not exclusively freelancing opportunities. The freelance writing jobs are also sparse, as they cater to all freelancers (not just freelance writers.) So this might be a better place to go if you’re looking for content about freelancing, not necessarily your go-to for freelance writing jobs.
LinkedIn. There are lots of great writing opportunities posted on LinkedIn each day for writers — and I often include the best ones in my twice-weekly job board round-ups! LinkedIn can be a great place to find freelance writing jobs, but it can also be a huge distraction — it is another social media platform, after all. You can set alerts for freelance jobs that pop up here, but I do find that most of the freelance opportunities are posted in the main feed (not as jobs on their job platform!)
How to Use These Writing Job Boards to Get Better Freelance Writing Jobs
Earlier this year, a subscriber of my writing job board emailed me, saying:
Subscriber: “I’m a screenwriter who just wrote a movie with [famous person] in it! I applied to one job on your job board, and like, actual question: will I ever hear back because I’m so overqualified for it?”
She went on to send more complaints my way, but I responded politely:
Me: “Hey, [Subscriber]! Congrats on writing a movie with [famous person.] That’s a huge accomplishment. To answer your question, when it comes to who clients decide to hire, that’s their decision, not mine. From my personal experience as a freelance writer, there are a number of factors that come into play in the hiring process. Sometimes a client is looking for a specific type of writing style or voice, sometimes they’re looking for impressive credentials, or sometimes they’re looking for a writer with similar life experience to them and their story if it’s a memoir project. My recommendation would be to keep applying to writing jobs and keep on honing your portfolio. It sounds like you’re an experienced writer, so you may just want to continue to put yourself out there so others can see that, too.”
That advice holds true: it doesn’t matter if you think you’re “overqualified” for a writing job. You have no idea what a client is looking for when they’re hiring a freelance writer, so the best you can do is put yourself out there with confidence and a polished portfolio, and see what happens.
What I didn’t put in my email, however, is that clients want to work with friendly, kind writers. Not writers who approach a project with a “holier-than-thou” or “I’m so overqualified” kind of attitude. Confidence is important, yes, but freelance writing is still a customer service job. Your client is the customer, and the customer is (almost) always right. They just may not be always right for you.
I cover more of this kind of strategy in my book Six-Figure Freelance Writer: A Holistic Guide on Finding Freedom in Freelancing, which is available for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. I recommend checking it out if you need help honing your portfolio or want some help learning how to negotiate with clients.
✍️ Find High-Paying Writing Jobs on My Job Board
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