Check out home working club online. They have a lot of great advice about working at home and Freelance work. Here is their guide to getting started in online writing - https://www.homeworkingclub.com/online-writing-jobs-for-beginners/

Dear Kristen, First off, I admire that you want to write above all, considering that everyone usually goes into the IT field. If you're computer literate, you could possibly land a job as a Technical Writer if you can word your resume toward that area. I just retired from the Federal Government as a Technical Writer-Editor and it was a fun, and lucrative career. It does pay very well after you get some experience and keep a professional portfolio of your work. Some people start out working under contract, but they can turn into full-time jobs after about six (6) months. I encourage you to look into it. It may sound far off, but that's really not so. Mostly, you just need to love writing and don't be afraid to apply everywhere. Good luck & God Bless, Don Lombardi

Hi Kristen, I share your love of writing.. I have my work laptop and my for fun typewriter ready to go depending on what mood strikes on my desk at home!

In terms of getting started you'll really want to start building your portfolio as that will be the first thing a recruiter will ask to see from you. Don't worry if you don't have a professional portfolio, as you are transitioning it wouldn't be expected, but examples of your writing will still be very important. There are some free to publish sites like Medium.com or Wordpress.com are great for this and they easily link to your social media accounts.

On that note, definitely keep in mind that as an aspiring writer your social media accounts are likely to be checked out so make sure those are ready for a potential hiring manager to see!

I'm not sure what type of writing you are ideally looking to take on, but I can only imagine some of the stories/insights you have from your career as a special needs teacher...readers and publishers are always looking for an angle that is compelling and unique... I am confident you've seen/experienced some things that most people couldn't imagine but that they'd be fascinated to learn about!

Hi Kristen! Working as a freelance writer can be a great gig! But, it can be a bit difficult to get the ball rolling. I have done it on the side for a few years on and off... it DOES take some patience and dedication. But, don't let that scare you! :)

Here are some suggestions I have:

• Build a simple portfolio website. You can use Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, etc.
• Sign up for some freelance sites such as Fiverr or Upwork. Also, check out the "gigs" section of Craigslist!
• At first, take any job you can. The most important thing you can do to ensure future success as a freelance writer is to have a) work samples and b) client testimonials! When you first start out, you'll probably have to take some crappy paying gigs to start building up your clientele. But remember, the more experience you have, the more $$ you can charge!!

Feel free to message me if you wanna chat more!

Hey Kristen! Welcome to Jobcase, there's a lot of great resources that we are working on to help people like you make similar transitions to remote freelancer jobs. Have you checked out our #careerdiscovery page yet?