Freelancing

[freem]

I've always been interested in writing as a child and a part of me has always wanted to be a journalist. Nevertheless, I ended up with a health science degree instead, having taken many arts courses on the side (wanted to do another major in English but my program was too demanding).

Anyway, I've been wanting to revisit that dream and do some writing on the side. I've always been told that I'm a good writer (who knows if it's actually true) and spent a brief period of time contributing articles to the campus newspaper.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever done any freelancing and could tell me about it? I am thinking of taking some additional writing courses at a community college to re-stimulate that side of me but I basically know nothing about freelancing or have "writing experience", other than stuff I write for myself. I just enjoy writing and think it might be cool to get paid for it.

[wordsmith]

Right now, if the Canadian print journalism industry is in anything like the economic state it's in here, you're probably more likely to get gigs freelancing than anything full-time with a particular publication. I'd consider online, as well as print, too, since that's where it's going, but be aware that there are a lot who write for free online that mess it up for people who want to be paid freelancers. There's at least one other poster on here who freelances, maybe they'll weigh in.

[PenforPrez]

Having experience is more important in writing than most other fields. Words is right; freelancing (especially on the Web) is getting to be the way to go. A lot of magazines and newspapers are laying off full-time staff right now; Newsweek just announced they're going to do more op-ed material.

If you want to improve your writing skills, a class is not a bad idea, but you really need some sort of actual experience, which you have some with the campus newspaper. You might want to find a job with a writing-intensive aspect and work up. The core of my job, for example, is online customer service, which involves constant writing. You learn to challenge yourself to say something more effectively, and it really builds your practical writing skills. That's something you can market down the road.

It really helps if you find a company that needs a fluent English communicator, and you'd be surprised how common that is. My company is owned and operated by a Korean family who are not native English speakers. They were desperate for somebody who had above-par English skills, and most companies of that sort are like that, at least in my experience.

I've been tapped to write all sorts of prose. I've redone official company business letters, I wrote a clear English message for a sign the president of the company is putting in his yard, and I've worked with the president on his English. It's a lot of fun, and there's always a new challenge with that.

Just my thoughts. :) I don't know nearly as much as Words does on the subject.

Paul

[matt123]

Hi,

I have never done it.



I'm wondering if anyone has ever done any freelancing and could tell me about it? I am thinking of taking some additional writing courses at a community college to re-stimulate that side of me but I basically know nothing about freelancing or have "writing experience", other than stuff I write for myself. I just enjoy writing and think it might be cool to get paid for it.

However, if you are looking for such kind of freelancing projects so I would suggest to check out few freelancing sites.

[freem]

However, if you are looking for such kind of freelancing projects so I would suggest to check out few freelancing sites.

Any you know of or would recommend?

[wordsmith]

Be very careful for scams when searching the web for freelance opportunities.

[gemma-dahl]

I'm wondering if anyone has ever done any freelancing and could tell me about it? I am thinking of taking some additional writing courses at a community college to re-stimulate that side of me but I basically know nothing about freelancing or have "writing experience", other than stuff I write for myself. I just enjoy writing and think it might be cool to get paid for it.

Yes, I'm self-employed as a writer, and some of my favorite subjects are science and tech writing. Here are my observations:

1. Start writing before you think of going back to school. Scout craigslist for low-paying gigs just to get some bylines. Pitch stories to your community newspapers. Not the big daily; it's broke - the smaller weekly or alt-weekly. Remember: a pitch must be an executable story idea with a specific angle, and you need to have an idea of the sources you'll contact before you even pitch the editor.

That's how I started out in freelancing; community journalism and online job boards. Some of the job boards I can unfortunately not recommend, as they're a bit too expensive for the ROI. (BTW, I was also an editor for the campus newspaper, so I had no clips myself. The paper had an odd structure, and you could be an editor without writing if you passed the test and interview.) I worked for my alma mater as a reporter as well; that was my first staff writing job, and I later worked at a weekly paper. However, it was the freelancing that led me to go into business for myself.

2. If you go back to school, don't waste your money on writing courses. That's best learned by doing, and there are enough books/sites for the beginner that a classroom won't help. Community college marketing and business courses are where it's at. Make a personal website, while you're at it, and get super-comfy with online media. Print is dead. Print is good to get clips, but unless you're super-connected and experienced, this is the wrong economy to angle for a staff life science writer at a major metro daily.

3. Once you land more moneymaking jobs, invent and adhere to a system to track your invoices, taxes, and appointments. You're going to be spending a lot of time pitching yourself, and overdue invoices, incorrect taxes, and panic over scheduling are three problems you don't need.

4. Once you start making money, avoid craigslist; any job bidding site like Elance; almost all startups, especially those that claim to do SEO copywriting, and anyone who continues to badger you to lower your rate. (I just recently ended frustrating negotiations with a lawyer who wanted a ghostwriter for his "Tech and law 2.0" blog because he wanted me to work for peanuts AND I'd have no clips to show for it.)

Oh, yeah. Turn down most ghostwriting jobs once you're established, come to think of it; and say "no" loud and clear to anyone who wants you to re-write his college term paper for pay.

5. Never post on mediabistro.com, unless you enjoy abuse from angry industry veterans. PM me instead. I'll tell you that it really isn't all doom and gloom.

Good luck to you!

[freem]

This is all very good advice, thank you!

Any hints or sites you think you could direct me to on pitching stories to newspapers? I've been thinking of approaching my small community newspaper for awhile but don't know how to start.