So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?
BY SHARON HURLEY HALL
Making it as a freelance is
not easy, especially if you haven’t been published before.
However, with a bit of persistence you can be successful. Here
are a few tips to get you started.
At a minimum, you should
know how to structure a news story or feature article.
With news, you'll need to include the who, what, where, why,
when and how of the story. With features, you'll need to flesh
the story out a bit and tell it in an interesting way - and in
the way that's most appropriate for the readers you're trying
to reach. After all, you'd write very different stories for
the New York Times and the Surfing Times,
wouldn't you?
Freelancing is not an excuse
to have lots of snack breaks or sit in the garden. Treat it
like a job. Set some time aside each day to look at
newspapers and magazines, look at job sites and, most
importantly, do some writing. Keep copies of your
articles, of correspondence (whether email or snail mail) and
of all relevant bills so you can claim any tax relief or
expenses due to you.
Make sure you have the
right equipment: telephone and mobile phone; PC or laptop;
a dictaphone or other recorder; a printer and a scanner.
Ideas are your bread and
butter: keep having them. Have you got any interests,
hobbies or obsessions? Has anything unusual happened to your
friends or members of your family? These are all good starting
points for articles. Look for work in new magazines that don't
have established links with freelancers. They are more likely
to give new writers a chance.
So how do you get an editor to
give you a try? Read the magazine or paper to see what
kinds of articles they publish and suggest material that you
think might be appropriate. Look in the archives to make sure
your idea hasn't been published before and then send a query
to the editor (by email or snail mail depending on his or her
preference). Do a bit of legwork (by phone) and find out the
editor's name so you can address your query to the right
person.
Your query should lead the
editor into your story. My advice is to write the lead
and then say how you would develop the story. Remember to
include any information about specialist sources you may have
access to or areas of expertise. This will help to convince
the editor that you are serious. However, don't give away so
much of your material that the editor can commission someone
else to do it. Think of the extras you can provide -
sending photos and material for sidebars will make the
editor's life easier.
Once you've got that
commission, be professional and deliver on time. If you
let an editor down once, you won't be hired again.
Finally, if you want to get
paid on time, find out who's responsible for paying you
(it may be an accounting department rather than the editor) so
you can send your invoice in as soon as the work is delivered.
Try to get the details of the commission in writing. If the
editor won't send you a letter, then you send one confirming
the agreement you've made. That way, you'll have some comeback
if there's a query later.
If you do all this, there's a
good chance that an editor will give you a try. A final word
of advice, though; if your article is good enough to go in the
magazine, it's good enough for an editor to pay you. Don't
work for nothing unless it's absolutely unavoidable.
Good luck!
haron Hurley Hall is a
freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor. Sharon worked in
publishing for 18 years, writing articles and editing and
designing books and magazines. She has also lectured on
journalism. For more information or to contact Sharon, visit
her site.
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