I've Been a Full-time Freelance Writer for 20 Years, Ask Me Anything

Oh yes, I got several questions to ask. But one at a time. Do you have to have the story line in mind before you write or let it developed as you write? I found to have one in mind first is easier but sometimes the story seems develop itself as I write, sometimes it just dies.

How do you handle being in a writing slump? My example is that ive been unable to write for almoat a year now. I wouldnt call it a block since i can still come up with ideas and such while brainstorming, but its hard to get back into the writing mood and even forcing myself to write isnt working. Lately it just feels hard to concentrate on writing.

Very. Keep your day job, start small, and work your way up. It takes years before you can freelance full-time. One trick to speed ahead is that once you have enough freelance publications, try to switch your day job to a writing job. I went from teaching at a community college to writing for a paid travel blog on the strength of my many articles in travel magazines and two guidebooks I'd done. The blog was full time, but I continued to write fiction on the side to build that up.

Thank you, thats very fair advice

Back online after a writing retreat in Essaouira on the Moroccan coast. Feel free to ask more questions!

I meant in general. There are a lot of copywriting jobs, creating ad and catalog copy. That's probably the safest bet, although entirely uninteresting to me. There are also nonfiction book projects and magazines. Blogging is harder than it used to be because it has faded somewhat in popularity thanks to competition from podcasts. I used to work full time for a travel blog called Gadling but it folded several years ago along with many other blogs when the bottom fell out of the advertising revenue. Advertisers just weren't getting enough value for money.
Currently I make 100% of my income from fiction, both my own and ghostwriting. It takes time to build up a reputation and connections. You can do it, though!
Thanks for buying my book!
Does that answer your question?

You've fallen for the rewrite trap, where a piece is never perfect and therefore never done. Some writer, I can't remember who, once said, "perfect is the enemy of good."
Often the rewrite trap is the result of fear. Fear of embarrassing oneself in public with a bad book. Trust me, if you out a bad book out in the world, so few people will buy it, the public won't notice.
Put it out there, under a pen name if you're nervous, and move on.

You can't submit to a publisher. Most large publishers require you to have an agent first. So, first you must submit to an agent and have them accept you as a client.

There are small publishers that don't require an agent but at that point you might as well self-publish, IMO.

Sorry for being so late on this. I was on a research trip in Egypt for a month and came back to a heap of deadlines.
If you're writing fiction, you can make a lot more money and reach a lot more readers publishing indie. It takes time, however. You have to have a good book, a good blurb, a professional cover, and you need to put out several books before you get any serious traction.
I didn't start making a living writing fiction until I went indie.