Secrets About Freelance Writing They Don’t Want You To Know
July 5th, 2007 by Me
Freelance writing can be a fun, exciting career for people, but it can also be intimidating. It is not as hard as it seems. If anything, it is just a matter of being two steps in front of everyone else in the slush pile. The first step to getting published is to find your market. Find a magazine you are familiar with and read the guidelines, read the magazine and as many issues as you can. Are they lacking a particular idea in that subject matter? Has there been an article written that didn’t quite cover everything you thought it should? Write down your ideas. After that, follow the directions on the submission guidelines.
Freelance writers must follow the directions. Most editors send back rejections for a simple reason, the writer didn’t follow directions. If the instructions say that you should not send email, why would you send an email submission? You could beat probably 80% of the rest of the slush pile by being focused on following instructions to a T.
Check previous issues for duplicates of your article ideas. No idea is really ever new and more than likely, your idea has already been used at one point. Make sure whatever idea you are submitting hasn’t been published recently. It cuts out having to reject your idea, even if it’s a good one.
Make sure your writing style matches the magazine and match your query to that same style. One of the biggest mistakes is to not actually have read the magazine before hand. This is why the majority of magazine editors request you at least read a couple issues, which they will happily send to you. It may be extra work but eventually you will get an idea of what sort of freelance writer they are looking for. Can’t afford to purchase subscriptions to all of those magazines? Borrow magazines from your neighbors when they are done with them or you can go to the library. Your library is your friend!
Grammar and spelling are important for any successful freelance writing career. Most editors claim that the majority of query letters rejected come from grammar mistakes. I’m notorious for spelling and grammar mistakes myself, so I know how much of a pain that can be. If you can’t write a perfect query letter, how can editors expect you to write the full article? You must give your all in every query and submission you send in. Okay, you don’t have to be perfect all the time, but an honest mistake they can over look. Repeated mistakes, maybe not.
Clips are not so important, though they do help a freelance writer. An editor wants a freelance writer to provide a good, fresh idea and a quality style to your writing in your initial query letter. If your idea is good and your query letter is well written, an editor can tell if you will qualify for the assignment quickly and will more than likely offer you an assignment. Your clips might be impressive, but that doesn’t always make a sale.
Write articles for smaller publications. Not for no or low pay (which I used to suggest) but for publications who are hungry for writers and will pay a smaller fee, but will give you a nice clip if you think you need them. This is a little trick most any new writer can do. If you want to share you work with someone else for free, don’t feel bad about it, as long as you gain a clip. I’m not saying do this all the time, but it can help boost your resume a bit if you need it. You don’t have to though. You can get started doing very nice paying gigs if you study the markets.
With all honesty, you don’t have to be the best writer to be published! However, you do have to be able to follow directions and come up with an idea that isn’t currently being used. Use rejection slips as a reason to submit again with a better idea. If you need additional help, try checking out websites of professional writers who offer advice on their website.
