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    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer?: Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond
    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer?: Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond
    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer?: Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer?: Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond

    By Deborah Durbin

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    About this ebook

    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer - Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond does exactly what it says in the title - it shows the reader how to write for the newspaper and magazine industry and how to make it in the world of freelance writing. Deborah Durbin is a qualified journalist and has over 15 year's experience working in print media for national magazines and newspapers as a freelance journalist and features writer. She has written for most of the women's national magazines and several national newspapers. She has also been a columnist for two national magazines and has written for specialist titles such as Writing Magazine and Writers' Forum and has 11 books published.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Hunt Publishing
    Release dateMar 11, 2013
    ISBN9781780994932
    So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer?: Writing for Magazines, Newspapers and Beyond

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      Book preview

      So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer? - Deborah Durbin

      book.

      The Advantages and Disadvantages of Freelance Writing

      Working as a freelance writer is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had– and I’ve had a fair few; from temping in offices to stuffing teddy bears to be sold in Harrods! But as with anything in life, it’s not fun and games all of the time. Sometimes it’s lonely, particularly if you are a naturally sociable person and are used to bouncing ideas off other people. And then there are the rejections that you have to accept come as part of the job and the occasional annoyance that an editor has liked your idea so much that he/ she has chosen to give it to a staff-writer to write instead of commission you (yes, this really does happen; not often, but sometimes). Below is a list of the pros and cons of becoming a freelance writer, just so you know what you’re letting yourself in for.

      Advantages

      You get to work when you want

      This is the best bit of the job for me because I have a family that takes priority in my life, so any job that can work around that is a godsend, if you ask me. The majority of freelance writers work from the comfort of their own home (which is both a blessing and a curse at times – see the disadvantages section) and this means that you can usually juggle work around family commitments, even if it means writing up an article when the children are fed, bathed and in bed. So long as you submit your copy on time, no one is any the wiser that you were writing it up in the middle of the night, in your pyjamas.

      The money is good

      Obviously, when you start out as a freelance writer you cannot demand the same fee as an established professional (see why writing for free is good) but once you have established yourself as a good and efficient writer, you will be in demand. Many publications now prefer to call on a bank of good freelance writers rather than take on additional staff-writers, to whom they have to pay a salary.

      You get to learn something new every day

      To succeed in this industry a good freelancer needs to be adaptable to whatever he/she writes about. If you only write about the same subject, your potential for work will dry up pretty quickly. If you can learn to write to order, not only do you learn about different subjects, but you also multiply your chances of getting work. In addition, it’s a great feeling when you research a subject you had no prior knowledge about and end up with a commission for it. I have written about so many subjects I initially knew nothing about, from cellular memory to Chinese face-reading and I never tire of it – not to mention you’ll always have something to talk about at a party!

      You meet some very interesting people

      One great aspect of being a freelance writer is that you get to meet some fabulous characters through interviews and very often they become lifelong friends. I once helped an elderly gentleman to get his memoirs down on paper and 10 years on, we are still in touch with each other. Again, I interviewed a lady who has saved the lives of 15 other people in her lifetime after taking a first-aid course and we are still in touch today. Everyone knows something that another person doesn’t and it amazes me how many lovely people have come into my life on the basis of a story I’ve been writing.

      Anything related to your work is a tax expense

      So your notebooks, laptop, PC, pens, any stamps you buy, a percentage of your utility bills, printers and cartridges, phone calls for interview purposes, among other things are all expenses and you will be surprised at how many things you buy on a weekly basis that count as such. You should always keep a record (and receipts if possible) of everything you purchase for the purpose of writing.

      No two days are the same

      As a freelancer no two days are the same: one day you might be writing a press-release for a book, the next you might be interviewing a celebrity, or reporting on a court case or researching pension plans for a commissioned article or writing a novel, or interviewing someone about their ghostly encounters. The diversity of freelance writing means that you lead a very interesting life and in turn you don’t get bored of doing the same thing, over and over again.

      Disadvantages

      It can get lonely

      When you are a freelance writer you are very much on your own and unless you are in touch with other freelance writers, it can get very lonely, particularly when you’ve secured a new commission and have no one to celebrate it with, or you’ve had a rejection letter telling you that an editor doesn’t want your work. Writing is a very isolated occupation and not something that you can really do as part of a team, so you have to have a lot of faith in yourself and your abilities.

      Rejection is part of the job

      This is something that many new freelancers find very difficult to grasp and is often the main reason that makes them change their mind about wanting to be a freelance writer. You need to know right from the start that rejection is part and parcel of being a writer and learn early on that it’s not personal. There are many reasons why an editor doesn’t accept a piece of work (see the section on how to handle rejection) and you just have to accept this if you want to succeed. When you are first starting out, you will get more rejections than acceptances, but perseverance is the key and the more experience you get, the more likely you are to get a commission. Even the most proficient freelancer gets rejected on a weekly basis.

      Procrastination

      This is one of the most common problems of being a freelance writer and you will be surprised at how appealing the idea of washing the car is at times when you really should be chasing work! In fact, it has taken me three days to start writing this book! The problem with putting things off is that you end up getting nothing productive done. If you are going to work as a freelancer, you are responsible for securing your own work. It’s a whole different ball-game to working for someone else. If you don’t secure regular commissions, you don’t get paid. Simple as that. There’s truth in the saying that in order to succeed in anything you have to put in the time. You can’t dig a hole just by having a shovel in your hand. You have to actually dig! Likewise, you won’t become a freelance writer just by having a keyboard in front of you. At some point you will have to sit down and type!

      You are responsible for getting work

      Until it is established that you are a good freelancer to work with, it is up to you whether you get any work or not. It’s up to you to make sure you commit at least one day a week to pitch to editors, make enquires and keep up to date with editorial changes. Work doesn’t come flooding in just because you have a letterhead and a business card. Some weeks you will pitch several ideas and not even get a reply from anyone, let alone a commission. It happens, but if your aim is to be in the position where editors contact you, you have to start somewhere and put the hours in.

      Now that we have covered some advantages and disadvantages of life as a freelance writer, we will look more closely at what it means to be a freelance writer…

      What You Need to Be a Freelance Writer

      To be honest with you, you can write anywhere: you don’t necessarily have to have the latest Mac and an office the size of a penthouse. If you have a pencil and a notebook, you can work from your kitchen table, if you so wish, but in this day and age, when editors expect their writers to

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