How to Make a Living Writing Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Online Sources: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Successful Freelance Writer

How to Make a Living Writing Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Online Sources

Everything You Need to know to Become a Successful Freelance Writer in 30 Days

Wendy Vincent

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How to Make a Living Writing Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Online Sources: Everything You Need to know to Become a Successful Freelance Writer in 30 Days

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vincent, Wendy M., 1975-

How to make a living writing articles for newspapers, magazines, and online sources : everything you need to know to become a successful freelance writer in 30 days / by Wendy Vincent.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60138-567-3 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-60138-567-6 (alk. paper)

1. Authorship--Vocational guidance. 2. Freelance journalism--Vocational guidance. 3. Feature writing--Vocational guidance. I. Title.

PN151.V56 2012

808.02023--dc23

2012030165

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A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bear’s memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

– Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

•  Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.

•  Support local and no-kill animal shelters.

•  Plant a tree to honor someone you love.

•  Be a developer — put up some birdhouses.

•  Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.

•  Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.

•  Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.

•  Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.

•  Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.

•  If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.

•  Support your local farmers market.

•  Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my fellow writers who continue to inspire me through their own dedication, perseverance, and pure love of the written word. I would also like to thank everyone who helped contribute to this book and those who continue to strive towards their own dreams of becoming writers.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

Chapter 2: Ready, Set….Write

Chapter 3: Story Ideas

Chapter 4: Setting up Shop

Chapter 5: How to Market Yourself

Chapter 6: A Day in the Life

Chapter 7: Making a Living Writing

Chapter 8: Supplemental Writing Income Sources

Chapter 9: Money, Money, Money

Chapter 10: The Business of Writing

Conclusion

Appendix

Glossary of Writing Terms

Bibliography

Author Biography

Introduction

Most writers end up where they do by a series of accidents. The trick is to choose the right accidents.

— David Bouchier, NY Times columnist, award-winning essayist for NPR, and author of several books

I fell into writing almost by accident. I originally set out to be a news anchor. You know, one of those bobbleheads that looks perfectly coiffed while they read the news off the teleprompter from behind the desk. Perhaps, I even would conduct sit-down interviews with the likes of presidents, dignitaries, and the rich and famous from the comfort of their living room sofas. I even could have been a foreign correspondent who traveled the world and did exposés on starving children. While looking into the camera, a tear would roll down my cheek, and I would ask for you, the viewer sitting at home, to help save these destitute children.

What originally drew me to that profession was twofold: being able to travel as part of my work and uncovering people’s true stories. As luck would have it, my life took a few different turns and twists, and I ended up as a writer. Better yet? I get to do just that. I have the freedom to travel around for my job, and I get to uncover great stories. I don’t even have to change out of my pajamas to go to work in the morning, the coffee pot has become my favorite home appliance, and I get paid to do something I love. Not many people can say that.

People often ask me how I became a writer and what advice I would offer to others to help them get started. The road for me was not as direct as setting out to become a writer. There are no clear-cut turns on the road to becoming a successful freelance writer. In my case, I pursued a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in international languages and cultures. My goal back then was still to become a newsperson. What going to college did provide me with were the basic skills of writing, as I had to write numerous college papers as a communications major. One of the first steps to being a successful writer is to know how to write. Grammar, spelling, and being familiar with some basic writing styles will go a long way in getting hired. In Chapter 2, I will help you get started with the basics so you can begin your process. Writers write, and good writers know how to write.

After college, I worked in video for a while: first, at a production company, then at an international videoconferencing company. Both jobs allotted me the opportunity to learn how to be a successful project manager, a skill that comes in handy when you are juggling several clients as a writer. In reading this book, you will become familiar with the operations end of becoming a freelance writer from how to organize your workspace to contracts and invoicing. In essence, you will learn how to become a successful project manager — another key step in making a living as a writer.

I later worked in the corporate world of public relations and marketing where I learned the importance of how to market oneself. In the world of corporate communications, I was able to flex my writing skills while effectively selling a product. This book will provide you with some ideas and tools to be able to promote your writing skills effectively. From developing a portfolio to creating a Web page, you will learn how to sell yourself as a writer to continue getting writing jobs.

After I discovered the corporate world of 9 to 5 was not for me, I later returned to school and got my master’s degree in liberal studies. My non-definitive master’s degree is what actually led me to my first freelance job as a writer. Because the degree was general, I could choose any thesis topic to my liking, as long as I got it approved through the department head. I did my final master’s thesis on the trobairitz, female troubadours from 12th and 13th century Occitania France. (As a side note, I have always loved medieval studies.) My work on this project led me to wonder if there was another outlet for all of the research I had just done. As a result, I hit the Internet and began searching for someone who might be interested in my work.

What I discovered was Renaissance Magazine. I read their instructions on sending in a query and followed it to the letter. Soon after, I got a response: They were willing to buy an article on my trobairitz. My writing career blossomed from there. For the past decade, I have been writing magazine articles, book reviews, online stories, résumés, travel articles, news stories, fliers, brochures, corporate materials, and a variety of other projects. I also currently am working on finishing my fourth book with three more in the works. In addition, I am an editor for an online news source, which has put me at the other end of the writing business — I am responsible for hiring freelancers and helping them perfect their craft. I have learned a lot about how to find writing jobs, getting jobs, and maintaining clients. And, I know first-hand what editors look for when contracting with a freelancer.

Keeping up with the business of writing is also about understanding the current trends. The world of writing has changed in the last decade. At one time, for example, sending in SASEs (self-addressed stamped envelopes) along with your query letters was mandatory. Nowadays, most clients prefer to communicate electronically and no longer ask for a SASE. A handful of others, however, still require you to communicate through snail mail. Understanding how to find clients specific guidelines and follow them to the letter is a key part to being a successful freelance writer.

Jobs no longer are found in black and white in the classifieds section of a print newspaper, but in the colorful world of cyberspace. The modern writer is savvy enough to be up to date on email communication and understands the importance of having a website and a blog. Even the newsroom has gone mobile. Journalists no longer are sitting in an office lineup of other journalists. Instead, they are working out of their houses, cars, or in coffee shops, where they wirelessly upload news stories to online news sites and use their smart phones to tweet from the sidelines of a soccer game.

Throughout this book, I will take you on a journey into the world of freelance writing. I hope to encourage you to pursue your dreams of being a writer while learning how to draw on your own personal past experiences to get there. There is no formal training to become a writer. Writers come from a variety of backgrounds. What we all share is a passion for what we do and a basic knowledge of the business. Learning some basic skills, writing everyday, getting organized, negotiating the current trends of the business, and learning how to market yourself will be the keys to your writing success.

This book will take you through the process of getting started on your successful freelance writing career. I hope it will become an invaluable resource on your writer’s desk, and to that end, I have included a goal-setting worksheet, listing of writer resources and organizations, and a glossary of writing terms at the end of the book as a quick reference guide.

Enjoy the journey, and happy writing!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn’t require any.

— Russell Baker, American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer

Writing for a living is an amazing career. As a writer, you get to make your own hours, be your own boss, and flex your creative muscles, and you can work from anywhere. You can work around your family and still hold down a traditional day job while getting started. It lets you inspire, motive, educate, and maybe even change the world with a few carefully crafted sentences. Seeing your name in print or in a byline online can be as thrilling as bungee jumping from a bridge. Writing, however, is a much safer endeavor than free falling from a bridge. There are no special degrees, no particular career path choices, and no certifications required to become a freelance writer. If you have a computer, or access to one, dedication, and a passion for the craft, you have everything necessary to get started.

A freelance writer can be:

•  An overworked corporate manager who is climbing the walls of his or her cubicle and just wants to work from home doing something more personally fulfilling than clocking hours in an office setting

•  A stay-at-home mom who left the corporate world to stay home with her children but would like to get back to work in a creative way that would earn some extra income while having the flexibility to work around her family

•  An accidental freelancer who was laid-off from a job due to a downturn in the economy and wants the security of being his or her own boss

•  A person who wants to make some extra income while continuing to work at their current job

•  Someone who is housebound due to an illness and is looking for a way to earn an income

The freelance model brings a new definition to the idea of work. People are beginning to question the meaning of work in our lives. There seems to be a far-reaching awakening to the downsides of the traditional model of the 9-to-5 or shift-work-scheduled day. Is the corporate world worth the daily struggle and hours spent away from our families? Could we survive on less income but enjoy a better quality of life? Is it worth it to pay for day care for children when we could work fewer hours and spend more time with the kids? Many professionals have grown tired of long commutes, 50-plus-hour workweeks, and carefully rationed vacation and sick time. Employees are weary of going to work each day wondering if they will be the next people downsized as major corporations continue to cut costs.

From a business standpoint, companies are able to save money by hiring freelancers. They can pay for jobs on a per contract basis and do not have to pay a full salary or the added costs of benefits. Hiring freelancers also gives companies the flexibility to hire people with specific talents on an as-needed basis. Overall, the world of freelancing quickly is becoming the place where business is conducted.

With all the positives of being a freelance writer, you also have some important details to consider. Freelance writing is not for the faint of heart. Rejections are a part of the process, and every writer will be rejected multiple times throughout his or her career. Writing is not as simple as being creative. Sometimes the words will not flow when you want them to. Also, freelance writing is a business. As such, it requires work.