22 Apr 2010, Posted by christie in Blogging Bytes, 21 Comments

The 10 Essential Tools for the Freelancer’s Toolkit

This is a guest post by Tom Walker.  You can find out more about Tom at the bottom of the post.

Working as a freelance writer can be an amazing experience. It’s an opportunity to work at your own pace, set your own schedule, and choose your own clients. Unfortunately, these wonderful freedoms can become a horrendous nightmare for a freelance writer working without the proper tools. The guide below will provide the 10 tools that every writer needs in order to succeed in the world of freelance work.

1. Basecamp (Project Management) – Managing your projects is an absolutely essential part of freelance writing. If you can’t meet deadlines and balance workloads, than you won’t last long in the freelance writing world. Base Camp can provide you with project managing tools that will help keep you on track.
2. Harvest (Time Tracking) – It’s important that, as a freelance writer, you can track the time you spend on projects. This will help you log the hours that your clients need to pay you for. Get Harvest will help you maintain an accurate time log that will keep your invoice error free.
3. Freshbooks (Invoicing) – All freelance writers need to have the ability to invoice. Fresh Books will allow you to easily create an accurate and tidy invoice sheet. If you can’t invoice properly, than you can’t get paid properly. This is an absolutely essential tool for the freelance writer.
4. Skype (Communication) – It’s important that freelance writers are able to communicate clearly and efficiently with their clients. Skype is an excellent tool to keep you connected. Instant messaging is free on Skype and the user interface is attractive and full of customizable options. Phone calls can be made for a small fee.
5. Open Office (Office Suite) – The word processor is the bread and butter of a freelance writer’s toolbox. When so much of your time will be spent in front of a blank word document, it’s important that the program is efficient and attractive. Open Office is excellent word processing software and best of all, it’s absolutely free!
6. GIMP (Image Editing) – Sometimes the images for your project just aren’t exactly what you need. An important tool for the freelance writer is image editing software. Gimp is an excellent photo editor that will allow you to create the exact image that your project needs.
7. Dropbox (Storage) – Freelance writers need to be able to submit their work online. This is where the Dropbox comes in handy. The Dropbox will allow you to submit your work online and it will allow your clients to easily access and download your work. There are many benefits to the Dropbox. One of the most important benefits is that the file limit is much larger than most email providers. Using the Dropbox will prevent files from being declared undeliverable, something that happens all too frequently with email providers.
8. 30 Boxes (Calendaring) – As a freelance writer, you need to be able to manage your schedule. The website 30 Boxes provides calendar software that will allow you to budget your time and keep track of your projects. Freelance writers can pick up a lot of work with many different due dates. An excellent calendar system can help streamline the scheduling process and help you avoid missing any important deadlines.
9. Phonebooth (Virtual Phone System) – When online communication is not enough, it’s important that you have the ability to contact your clients over the phone. Phonebooth is an online phone service that will help coordinate your phone calls and open the line of communication between you and your client.
10. WordPress (Website) – A website can be an important tool for any freelance writer. The website allows you to display your portfolio online and display your contact information. The ability of clients to access your work experience and samples of your writing with one simple web address can be very appealing. Additionally, you may pick up clients who stumble upon your website. It also gives past clients an easy way to suggest your services to their friends, partners or acquaintances.

Tom Walker is a full time blogger who works for an online ecommerce store specialising in HP supplies as the lead editor and contributor on their design blog where he posts about advertising and design.