You’re writing a novel—maybe your first, maybe your fifth—and dreaming of the day an agent will fall in love with your work. And the day an editor at a publishing house will fall even harder for it. The dream continues with throngs of readers swooning over your characters, clamoring for more. It’s too late to get on Oprah, unless she starts a show dedicated to new writers, so in this dream you ‘settle’ for some other talk show.

It’s a good dream. Maybe even a possible one. Meanwhile, you think to yourself, “with all this writing I’m doing, wouldn’t it be nice if some of it actually made some green?” Because while dreams nourish your soul, they don’t necessarily feed the rest of your family.

Now that thought—it’s not a dream. It’s a realistic and doable goal. It’s called freelance writing. And it’s something you should look into. Why not right now?

Do your research

While you’re at the library, look for books on freelance writing. A few I recommend are…

• The Renegade Writer, by Linda Formichelli
• Get a Freelance Life, by Margit Feury
• Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, Jenna Glatzer

Once you get home with your heavy bag of magazines, it’s time to do some research by visiting the magazines’ websites. You’re looking for writers’ or submission guidelines. Most sites have the information, though it’s not always easy to spot. Google it – “writers guidelines Oregon Coast Magazine,” etc. If you can’t find things that way, email the editor with a polite request for the guidelines. Yes, this is acceptable.

I don’t suggest relying on books that offer writer’s guidelines. You can research possible periodicals that way, but it’s best to go straight to the source for the most recent guidelines. Plus, you’ll find out if that magazine is even open to queries at the time.

You may wonder why you shouldn’t check to see if a magazine is open to submissions before checking out copies. You can do that, but I find that limits you somewhat. Even when I find out a magazine isn’t open to freelance writers, I still get tons of ideas for articles by reading the issues.

Review Magazines

Just as you ‘read novels like a writer’ to learn what works (and what doesn’t), you should read periodicals to see what is more apt to sell.  My approach was to read several back issues for content first—types of articles, ongoing departments, topics covered.

I then reread the issues for style—are the articles in first person? Do any sentences start with ‘and’? Is the writing humorous or sarcastic, straightforward or ‘artsy,’ high-brow or accessible? Yes, magazines have editors. But if you’re assigned a piece, or asked to send one for consideration, you want to minimize the work the editor has to do on your submission.

Generate ideas

There are many ways to get ideas for possible articles. First, notice the magazines you checked out or receive by subscription. Clearly they cover things of interest to you, things you may know about or wish you did. Write those down—things you like, what you do/who you are.

For example, my general list looks like this:

• Parenting/Motherhood
• Gardening
• Cooking and Baking
• Writing
• Environmental Issues
• Travel, specifically the Pacific Northwest
• Online Education

From there, I get specific:

• Raising boys, the pre-teen years
• Organic gardening, vegetable beds, year-round gardening, growing herbs, gardening with children, best varieties for small spaces
• Family activities-visiting u-pick orchards, day-trips, coastal vacations, off the beaten path
• Cooking with kids, cooking for people with allergies, holiday baking, cookie swap, dessert swap, healthy lunches for kids, low-cost meals, meal planning

Brainstorm everything you could possibly write about and things you may not know about, but are interested to discover. Brainstorm every couple of weeks if possible. And if you read your local newspaper(s), you’ll find a ton of possible topics.

Now, back to making those dreams come true!

Connect with Cat by checking out her blog, Just Write Cat, or by following her on Twitter @justwritecat.

3 Responses to “Guest Blogger: So you want to be a freelance writer? Part II”

1. Freelance Writing Guest Post, II « Just Write Cat
   November 22nd, 2010 @ 1:43 pm

   [...] second post on freelance writing is up at Inky Fresh Press!  Please check it out [...]

2. Kim Kircher
   November 22nd, 2010 @ 2:35 pm

   Thanks Cat for this great How-To. I especially appreciate your list of books. I’m headed to the bookstore now…

3. bridgid
   November 22nd, 2010 @ 4:03 pm

   Such a great post, Cat! Thanks again.

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