I didn’t talk much about specializing in the interview, but that’s another thing that helped me move forward. It’s a lot easier to target specific clients than general ones.

1. You need to start by attacking what has you afraid to charge more, and

2. There’s a difference between free or cheap work for a credible source (like the nonprofit example I gave in my last comment) and simply writing for cheap clients, at least as far as portfolio pieces and being able to raise rates later is concerned.

But this has nothing to do with print publications. I’m talking solely Web content here. I have a lot of experience writing for Web publishers, and I can tell you that not one reasonably high-paying client I’ve worked with would take you seriously if you showed them penny-per-word writing. Why? Because that writing nearly always is sub-par by their standards, because clients on that penny-per-word end are looking for something much different than higher-paying clients. Even if that lower-paying client was extremely happy with your work, and you gave them exactly what they asked for, someone paying even just a few cents more per word often expects something entirely different.

I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions to the rule, but those are few and far between – and no writer serious about “moving up” should ever expect to be one of those exceptions. Exceptions would be things like writing for a large and respected network (which often pay pitiful rates) or doing free projects for a large, known, and respectable nonprofit agency. Writing for your average buyer of cheap Web content does not carry that benefit.

Re-read LaToya’s third response here, and you’ll see that she anything but says that’s a good way to start. In fact, she says if she knew what she knows now, she would have handled things quite differently. And the point is that with this information increasingly available to new writers, they have no excuse anymore to think that’s a good way to get started – others have gone before them and essentially hold their hand through the process, explaining how to market themselves, how to specialize, and how to network so they never waste months or years at an unsustainable rate. Absolutely no one should be working for less than they can “afford” to charge, which is what these rates often amount to. Assuming it’s just a natural stepping stone actually only demonstrates one thing – that the writer hasn’t bothered thoroughly researching the freelance writing field or properly planning their own career before simply jumping in and hoping for the best.

While having a big portfolio seems like huge success but most of the time clients don’t judge by portfolio. In the end, it is about the work attitude and communication. At least, that is what I experienced.

Now, if you’re going from $.02 per word to $.05 per word, you might be able to pull it off. But I hope no one is accepting garbage gigs solely for portfolio pieces. If they are, they’re going about it all wrong.