How to Be a Freelance Writer in Toronto

Susan Varano offers some fantastic tips for freelancer writers living in Toronto and the rest of Canada.

How to Be a Freelance Writer in Toronto
By Susan Varano

Ah – the freelance life. Being your own boss, leaving you with a ton of free time to explore the great city that is Toronto. Unless you find the work is a bit thin on the ground and you seem to never leave your apartment. Well, you can work to change that. Here are our three tips for living the freelance dream in Toronto.

1. Find a Café with Great Wi-fi

You might be working for yourself at your own pace, but you don’t want to become a shut in. Give yourself a change of scenery a couple of times a week and head to a café with great food and a decent wi-fi connection in order to gain inspiration.

Our favourite Toronto wi-fi caves are:

  • Dark Horse Espresso Bar is a comfortable space with the most delicious chocolate cookies.
  • R Squared is a café that’s had a recent rebirth.  It’s now one of the top wi-fi locations and serves a great variety of coffees selected by it’s Iranian emigree owners.
  • Green Coffee rounds out our three picks.  Founded in 1994, the coffee house specializes in fair trade coffees and educating its customers about the supply chains it uses.

2. Approach Marketing and Advertising Firms

Sure, your goal is to finish your debut novel and live lavishly from the advance of the sequel (except that rarely happens in this decade, you can but try). In the mean time, use your background in creative writing or journalism to net yourself some lucrative work writing commercial copy for marketing or advertising firms. You can find Toronto’s best ad and marketing agencies by searching on the internet. You could find yourself writing adverts for detergent or copy for Toronto hotels.

3. Get Connected via Social Media

Start a social media profile and connect with Torontonians who can help your career. Keep your posts relevant, but don’t just share news with your followers. Make yourself a real hub of discussion and information. Follow popular journalists based in Toronto, bloggers you admire and other people you want to notice you. A pro tip is to post on the weekends – this is the time that most people are active on Twitter and other social networks.

The freelance life isn’t easy, but Toronto is a great city in which to be a freelance writer. The market is big enough to find work, but not so huge that you have competitors beating you to every opportunity. The point of living in a city is to network, so make sure that you’re getting out and about and making your freelance portfolio as good as it can be.

??? Have you done any freelance writing in Toronto or other Canadian cities? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Author Bio
Susan Varano is a freelance content writer who specializes in travel and finance. Her passions in life include exercise, fashion photography, art and of course, her 2 pet cats.
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Theo

I had such high hopes for freelancing but I can’t seem to make much at it. Thanks for the encouragement.

Jillian

I don’t think I’ll ever make enough to freelance full time but I enjoy it. It’s a hobby that I’d like to make a living at but if I don’t I’ll still keep on writing. Thanks!

Sarina

I’m moving to Ontario this summer so your guide was well-timed!

Terry

The great thing about the internet is you can be a freelance writer anywhere in the world. Someday I’d like to spend a month each city, checking out the coffee houses and writing anywhere I happen to be sitting.

Stephani

I’m just learning about freelancing and I appreciate the topic.

Elaine

I do very well freelancing and actually make more money than I did when I struggled with books and print articles. I love the short projects and working with so many different people.

I can’t write in coffee houses because it zaps my concentration, but I do love going to them when I’m researching online or whatever.