Start A freelance writing Career

Do you enjoy writing? Or typing on forums like this? If so then maybe you should start a business as a Frelance Writer.

Facts and Figures:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002), there are 319,000 writers and editors in the United States. Of those:
one-third are self employed
139,000 are general authors and writers
50,000 are technical writers
130,000 are editors
Surely these numbers are at least slightly higher, as there are many people who do this part time, or have careers that overlap.

Money
For print and magazine writing, the going rate is usually between $.50 and $1.00 per word. This usually equates to somewhere between $36,000 and $48,000 per year when you include research and rewriting. Often you can command a higher salary if you have experience in a specific area such as computers, medicine, business or science. Technical writers tend to earn a little more, averaging $50,580 per year, while general writers average around $42,790 per year.

Start Up Costs
Start up costs are generally very low. All you really need is a computer, phone, some business cards and an internet connection. A laptop computer can be very useful, because you can take it with you to do research.

Hours
As a freelance writer, hours are very flexible, and you can write whenever you feel inspired, unless of course, you have a deadline approaching. Many writers work more than 40 hours per week, but the time is usually spead throughout the day, rather than working 8 hours in a row. Many people start out writing on their spare time. It is pretty easy to start this business while you continue to work your job.

Training/Education
Many freelance writers have a degree in Journalism, English or Creative Writing. Generally, a good education helps you to have good writing skills, but more important is experience. It is much easier to get contracted for jobs if you already have published works.

One way to get established is to do an internship for a magazine, newspaper or website. Do some free writing, get published, and then use this as a reference. Another place you might check is the smaller local newspaper. Often these smaller publications have space to fill and are more than happy to publish interesting stories.

Lastly, you might want to take a writing class at the university to fine tune your writing skills before you start submitting to more important publications.

Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the outlook for writers is good, and growth is expected to remain steady for the next several years. One are of growth will certainly be the internet, as websites start having an increased demand for content.

Websites
www.nwu.org
www.iabc.org
www.writersdigest.com
www.writersmarket.com

The Write Stuff - Pitch Perfect

Want to try working as a freelance writer? You won’t get anywhere without a perfect pitch letter! Journalist and Write Editor Hailey Baldwin explains the science behind the writer’s deadliest weapon.

The pitch letter (also called a ‘query’ or a ‘proposal’) is the freelance writer’s equivalent of a job application. In simple terms, the pitch is a letter sent to an editor explaining the story you’d like to write and why you’re qualified to write it. Professional freelancers have to be pretty good at writing pitch letters – most of the time, your letter is the only chance you’ll get to sell your story to an editor!

The pitch letter has four basic components:

The lead

• Some details about the story idea
• Your plan for the structure of the article
• A little about you, the writer
• THE LEAD

Think about the lead for your pitch letter in the same way you’d think about the lead for an article. (It’s no surprise that a lot of freelancers use the original lead from their pitch in the finished product!) Your lead should grab the reader’s attention, give them a little information about what’s to come, and also leave them wanting more. Would you be interested in any of these stories?

Like many women her age, 24-year-old beautician and “self-confessed shopaholic” Jeanna Scott knew that she was in debt – but she never guessed her overspending could land her in prison. Now serving a six-month sentence in a NSW women’s correctional facility, Jeanna is just one of a growing group of young women who are falling hard into the credit trap – and destroying their lives in the process.

Every high school has one. Every girl knows one. Almost all of us have been guilty of labeling one. The ‘slut’ is one of those girls we don’t want to be – but does she really deserve the label? And if you’re ‘the slut,’ how do you get over the label and get on with your life?
The battle to save the Amazon was one of the hottest issues of the 1980s, but when the TV cameras moved away, most of us assumed the problem had been solved. Fresh from a six-month journey into Brazil’s troubled Para state, environmentalist Jose Santos argues that the crisis has never been worse – and today lives, as well as trees, are on the line.

As I lay in my hospital bed waiting for the operation that represented my only chance at survival, I found it hard to believe what was happening. Just one month earlier, I’d celebrated my 23rd birthday with my family and friends, completely unaware that a rare and incredibly deadly form of cancer was already spreading throughout my body.

Interested?

Good. A lead should be short, snappy and above all interesting. Don’t let your story get weighed down with detailed statistics and arguments just yet.

YOUR STORY IN MORE DETAIL

Next, write a paragraph explaining your idea in a little more detail. What part of the publication would your story fit into? Why is the story relevant or interesting to readers? Do you have any (short) facts or figures which demonstrate this? What angle is the story taking on the issue? If it’s a personal story, what happened next? If you have a catchy name for your article, consider including it here. Continuing our examples from above:

I’d like to write an article for “Your Money, Your Life” explaining why so many young women find their credit card debt spiralling out of control. With the average 24-year-old now owing more than $9,000 on credit, experts like financial adviser Shauna Harrison warn that the threat of bankruptcy is more real than most women imagine. According to Leora Tanembaum, author of ‘Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation,’ “slut-bashers” are everywhere, and it’s not just celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears who are their targets. More and more high school and college girls are feeling the sting of the label, and most of them aren’t promiscuous at all. While those doing the labeling might consider it harmless fun, for the girls who are stuck with the name there can be huge emotional consequences that last long after graduation.
As part of an independent film crew documenting the environmental destruction caused by illegal loggers, Santos discovered that the criminal groups would stop at nothing in their attempts to clear the forest. He spoke to indigenous refugees who had witnessed violent raids on their traditional lands, men who had been forced into slavery in the illegal logging camps, and families who had seen their relatives attacked and killed for daring to oppose the bandits. Now visiting Australia for the widely-anticipated premiere of his film, Santos is speaking out for the first time about the humanitarian disaster in-the-making he witnessed in Brazil
.

Three years after that operation – my ninth in just twenty days – I’m alive and well. My battle with late-stage ovarian cancer is finally over, and I’m about to marry my fiancé John, a doctor I met during my illness. Now I’d like to share my story of beating cancer with your readers in an article entitled “How I Survived Cancer – And Found True Love.” If it’s clear what your story is about, you can move on!

THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR STORY

Next, explain how you are going to approach actually writing your article. Is it an interview, an essay, a profile piece or something completely different? Who are you going to interview and quote? Do you have any experts, “real-life” people or books to feature in the story? How many words is it likely to be? Is there anything extra you are planning to include – like a pull box or sidebar, a quick quiz, or a stand-alone interview? Can you supply photographs? Let’s take our examples again:

The article will feature Jeanna’s real-life story as well as quotes from Shauna Harrison and TV finance guru John Hands explaining this alarming new trend. The story will also include a sidebar with Shauna’s “Top Ten Tips for Avoiding the Debt Trap,” with the total running to around 800 words.
I’d like to offer you a 1,000 word article about the phenomenon of ‘slut bashing.’ The story would include: real life anecdotes from girls who’ve been labeled ‘sluts’; expert advice from Leora Tanembaum and Rachel Oakes-Ash, author of ‘Anything She Can Do I Can Do Better,' and tips for ending the slut-bashing and getting on with life. I recently interviewed Jose Santos about his trip to

Brazil, his remarkable life, and the crisis he feels is looming for the Amazon’s people. I’d like to offer you the interview and an accompanying profile piece for the Sunday section. The finished piece would run to around 2,000 words, and Jose Santos has agreed to the use of stills and promotional pictures from his film.

Presented as a diary documenting my journey from diagnosis to complete recovery, my story would run to around 1,200 words. I am also willing to offer photographs of me during my illness, the initial x-rays showing the spread of my cancer, and photographs from my upcoming wedding.

ABOUT YOU, THE WRITER

Now you’ve explained your story idea and what you can offer the editor, it’s important that you explain who you are and why you’re qualified to write the story. If you’ve been published before, mention the most relevant publications your work has featured in. If you’re including “clips” (read about this below) then explain them here. My “about me” paragraph for an Australian women’s magazine article normally looks a little like this:

I’m a freelance writer who has been published in many magazines and newspapers in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., including Australian Cosmopolitan, Cleo, Yen and the Sydney Morning Herald among many others. I’m attaching two of my recent clips for your consideration – the first, “Schoolyard Survivor,” was published in U.S. Cosmopolitan magazine, while “Beat the Back-To-Work Blues” featured in July’s issue of Better Health.

“Clips” are copies of published (or unpublished) work you’ve written before – preferably in a style similar to the story you’re proposing. Include them to demonstrate your skills as a writer. If you’re pitching via email (as most freelancers do these days) don’t add your clips as large attachments – editors hate inbox-clogging pitches! Simply write:

I’m happy to send you some examples of my published work or more information about this story idea on request.

Now write your ending – a simple “thank you for considering my article idea and I look forward to hearing from you soon” is fine. You’re done!

FINISHING UP

Now that you’ve written your pitch, make sure you’ve included your contact details, spelled the editor’s name correctly, and checked your letter for mistakes or typing errors thoroughly. If you’re sure it’s pitch perfect, it’s time to hit send!

STILL NOT SURE?

Don’t have anything published yet and want to know how to sound professional? Worried you’ll make a major etiquette mistake in your pitch and not realize? Don’t know how to work out what kind of stories to pitch, or who to send your pitch to? Read More..