For the past few months I've been more seriously researching how to establish a presence and earn money as a freelance writer/editor. There is a lot of exaggerated and useless information available in the form of web sites. Here's a brief list of how to get started on this path--from someone who finally figured out where to begin in a low-cost and efficient way. (This assumes that as writer you have proven your successful writing ability through verifiable work experience with businesses &/or non-profit organizations, and you also have some publication credits. Depending on who you want to target as a freelancer, publication may not be necessary.)
1. Join a writer's forum or group. If you live in the Northwest, join www.seattlewritergrrls.org. It's not limited just to women, although that's how it started. Mainly, this is an online email discussion group for learning about issues related to writing jobs, events, and networking opportunities. There are over 1,000 members, so many potential employers are there, along with other great bits of advice. Post any valid writing-related question, and you'll get thoughtful and helpful replies from professionals who've been-there-done-that. It's a great mentoring venue. Be sure to read and understand the discussion/membership guidelines. There is also a Portland Writergrrls chapter, made up of freelance journalists. I've also started a Spokane Writergrrls chapter that's just getting going--with 10 members so far. If you live in the Spokane/CdA area, join at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpokaneWritergrrls/
2. Check out www.mediabistro.com - there's a fee to join and get full access, but you can also get a free subscription to view some areas.
3. Check out the web sites of reputable freelance writers, which are used to promote their services. www.dawnweinberger.com is a very good one (she's the founder of Portland Writergrrls). You can google search for more, but also those who participate in online forums usually include their site address.
4. Do further research through books, classes, workshops, etc. Dawn's website suggests some books. Amazon has a plethora to choose from, but only one really good one is needed. I haven't decided which one I'll purchase yet. I trust Dawn's recommendations.
5. Create a small collection of writing samples to share with editors/publishers either when applying for a job or after you send them your resume and/or query letter. Perhaps even create a blog portfolio to link to online examples of your work or post samples. I always wonder about plagarism is this way, so I scanned published pages of my articles and created picture files that were then uploaded. Some writers pay for web hosting. I'm not even close to this stage yet.
6. Research your local business scene and publications which may provide freelance writing opportunities. Check out the Chamber of Commerce members, weekly and monthly magazines/publications, etc.
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An amusing, even quirky, short story: My God, Is It Raining Hard ... strange and surreal. Worth a short coffee break.
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How many boxes of books do you own? Using small liquor-store boxes, I'd estimate that I have about 10-15. Octavio Butler had 300! She was an African-American science fiction writer who recently passed away. I'm sorry I never heard of her before, but now I want to read Kindred.
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1 comment:
Happy days. Good advice to freelancers, indeed. One must work to get work, you know? Being active in the community is very important. (Immediate writer/editor communities and tracking larger networks, such as at Media Bistro.)
I think it's helpful to work a bit for a magazine publisher--guaranteed pell-mell learning--especially to gain a stronger sense of the business end of it, for editors are often thinking of that.
At any rate, fine blog. I'm glad I found it. Please keep writing.
-cK
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