There’s no guaranteed, step-by-step process that will land you the freelance writing career of your dreams. Ask 10 different writers, and you’ll get 10 different How-I-made-it stories — or, more accurately, How-I’m-Making-It-Up-As-I-go-along stories.

The actual mechanics of how to get started freelance writing are pretty simple, though not easy: Have good ideas, be good at explicating them clearly, and spend lots of time and energy on the Sisyphean footwork of finding publications that will pay you to publish them. (And convincing them to do so.)

Here is the best advice for how to start freelance writing by the affordable ghostwriters:

- Seek out education or training.

If you don’t have the money or time to get a degree from a university, look for an online writing course. They’re typically more affordable than formal degrees, and you can work your way through them from home (and in the evenings or on weekends if you’ve got a day job).

- Consider starting with a staff job.

Finding an editorial position — or any job, really — is easier said than done.

But websites and publications do hire writers, and getting a full-time position will give you two amazing, irreplaceable benefits: an instant stack of clips and a world of hands-on education you just can’t get any other way.