As founder and being a full-time freelance writer for many years, I believe I qualify to give you 8 tips for a freelance writer. I am going to think of you as a beginner and give you some beginner tips.
In order to be successful, you will need to find your clients. I first started by going to freelancer.com. This site has many people who are in need of writers. Each week, I also put an ad on there for new writers. I also accept beginners. The pay I have is cheap right now, but when customers start to roll, the pay is going to be great.