Blog

 RSS Feed

» Listings for 2009

  1. Whenever I tell people what I do for a living, they always ask the same two questions: “What kind of things do you write?” and “How do you get into freelance writing?”  I firmly believe that to be a good freelance writer, you have to undergo a kind of apprenticeship; there are no quick fixes to achieve overnight success, and writing is a skill which has to be learned and honed over time as your experience grows.

     

    If you still want to get into writing articles for magazines, newspapers or online publications, whether as a hobby, to supplement your income or as a full-time career, these 10 steps are essential to getting published. 

     

    1.      Write about what you know

     

    It’s an old saying, but it’s absolutely true.  If you’re a beginner writer, it’s best to start by writing about subjects you already know.  Think about your hobbies and interests, your life experiences, your occupation – all of these can be the basis for interesting articles.  Try listing out all the things you know about, you’ll be surprised how many there are!

     

    2.      Complete an article writing course

     

    Even if you think you can write, it’s well worth completing an article writing or freelance journalism course, especially if you’re serious about wanting to write articles for publication – it’s how I started!  You can get tips about finding angles, tailoring your writing and perfecting your pitches, as well as an independent point of view.  Try Writers’ News or Writers Bureau  (I tutor for Writers’ News).

     

    3.      Research the market

     

    Go into any newsagent and you’ll find hundreds of magazines and newspapers, and those are just the ones for consumers.  But make no mistake - every single publication is different, targeted at a specific readership.  That’s why it’s vital that you study and read at least three issues of a publication that you’re interested in writing for.  This will help you to understand the kinds of articles which are published and the formats in which they are written.

     

    4.      Identify the angle

     

    When flicking through your chosen publication, you’ll notice from the contents page that it’s divided up into sections.  In order to get an article accepted for publication, you need to come up with an idea which would be right for one of the sections.  You also need to identify the angle of your article.  For instance, I write for quite a few family history publications and I’ve been doing some research about nurses for my new book Tracing Your Medical Ancestors.  I could approach an editor with an idea about the history of nursing, but the angle has to be very specific e.g. the first district nurses, the training of nurses in Scotland, or the First World War from a VAD nurse’s perspective.

     

    5.      Know your audience

     

    It’s important that you always have the reader in mind when you’re coming up with ideas for articles, and when you’re actually writing them.  Put yourself in their shoes: think about what they would be interested in and what they’d like to know, not your own personal preferences!

     

    6.      Make the perfect pitch

     

    Writing a pitch email or letter to an editor is an art in itself, and it takes practice.  The purpose of the pitch is to suggest your idea and angle, why it would be right for this particular publication, and why you, and not another writer, are the perfect person to write it.  If you’re a beginner writer, it’s likely that if the editor is interested in your idea, he or she will ask you to write it on spec with no guarantee of publication.  This is standard practice and means the editor is not taking a risk on commissioning your work.

     

    7.      Build up your cuttings

     

    In the beginning, it’s worth trying to build up your cuttings of published work in local newspapers, parish magazines, online sites etc.  You may get little or no payment for these, but being able to offer cuttings to an editor is invaluable when pitching new ideas.  The editor takes less of a risk if he or she can see that you can write well.

     

    8.      Be professional

     

    If you’re writing for publication at any level, it’s vital that you’re professional about it.  Write the article you’ve been asked to write, keeping to the specified number of words.  Stick to the deadline you’ve been given and never let it slip.  Finally, always check your work meticulously for spelling and grammatical errors.

     

    9.      Recycle your ideas

     

    When you start writing articles regularly, you’ll usually find that you have to do quite a lot of research for each one.  Make sure you keep a file of your research, because it’s perfectly possible to re-use it and write another article on the same subject, but with a different angle.  Recycling your ideas is a great way to increase your number of published articles, whether the subject’s health, dogs or learning Japanese!

     

    10. Become an expert

     

    It’s well worth developing a specialism if you want to progress further with your article writing.  Although I write about lots of different subjects, I suppose I am most known for writing about Victorian social history.  If you become known as someone with a considerable amount of knowledge and expertise in a particular subject, other opportunities may arise, such as giving illustrated talks, writing a regular column for a magazine or having a non-fiction book published.

     

    I hope this blog has inspired you to get writing – let me know how you get on!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. There are lots of things I love about freelancing: the ability to choose my own hours and work on projects I’m actually interested in, being my own boss with no-one else telling me what to do, the two minute commute from upstairs to my office next to the kitchen, being able to start work in my jim-jams if I want to...  (I don’t, but you get the picture).  Above all, it’s a more relaxed way of working than the tedious 9 to 5.

     

    As with most things though, there’s a downside (or several).  There are no paid holidays or sick pay.  If I’ve booked a holiday, I know I’ll be working right up until the last minute to get ahead with my work (but I know this also applies to friends who are employed in small businesses).  If I’m ill, I have to catch up very quickly or miss out on work.  I also know that very few people these days have a secure job, but as a freelancer, I have to cope with this insecurity on a daily basis.  This leads to a problem shared by many freelancers: I very rarely turn down work unless I physically can’t do it within the deadline, as I never know when the next commission will appear. 

     

    In the current economic climate, magazines and newspapers are closing or scaling down their overheads, and as a result, staff writers are being made redundant left, right and centre.  They then turn freelance themselves, so there are more freelance writers than ever competing for less available work.  One of the magazines I was writing for regularly has closed (although it had already been reduced to a four times a year publication).  Another, to which I was contributing monthly features, now only wants them every two months. 

     

    This all plays havoc with my cashflow, but worst of all is having to chase payments when they are overdue.  Most of the publications or clients I write for are very prompt payers, but occasionally invoices are paid late when, for instance, they are not passed on to the accounts department in time for the monthly payment run.  Many still pay by cheque, instead of bank transfer, so the length of time the post is taking to reach me at the moment has also caused problems (thank you Royal Mail…).

     

    One thing’s for sure, being a freelancer will never make you popular with your bank manager!  Having said all this, the positives of freelancing definitely outweigh the negatives and if you’re looking for a better quality of life, you can’t beat it as a way to make a living.
     
    Bookmark and Share