Making it as a freelance is not
easy, especially if you haven't been published before. However, with a bit of
persistence you can be successful. Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Ideally, you should know how to structure a
news story or feature article. With news, you'll need to include the
who, what, where, why, when and how of the story. With features, you'll need to
flesh the story out a bit and tell it in an interesting way that's appropriate
for the readers you're trying to reach. After all, you'd write very different
stories for the New York Times and the Surfing Times, wouldn't you?
2. Freelancing is not an excuse to have lots
of snack breaks. Treat it like a job. Set some time aside each day to
look at newspapers and magazines, look at job sites and, most importantly, do
some writing. Keep copies of your articles, of correspondence (whether email or
snail mail) and of all relevant bills so you can claim any tax relief or
expenses due to you. Make sure you have the right equipment: telephone and
mobile phone; PC or laptop; a dictaphone or other recorder; a printer and a
scanner.
3. Ideas are your bread and
butter: keep having them. Have you got any interests, hobbies or
obsessions? Has anything unusual happened to your friends or members of your
family? These are all good starting points for articles.
4.
So how do you get an editor to give you a try?
Look for work in new magazines that don't have established links with
freelancers. They are more likely to give new writers a chance. Read the
magazine or paper to see what kinds of articles they publish and suggest
material that you think might be appropriate. Look in the archives to make sure
your idea hasn't been published before and then send a query to the editor (by
email or snail mail depending on his or her preference). Do a bit of legwork
(by phone) and find out the editor's name so you can address your query to the
right person.
5. Your query should lead
the editor into your story. My advice is to write the lead and then say
how you would develop the story. Remember to include any information about
specialist sources you may have access to or areas of expertise. This will help
to convince the editor that you are serious. However, don't give away so much
of your material that the editor can commission someone else to do it. Think of
the extras you can provide - sending photos and material for sidebars will make
the editor's life easier. Once you've got that commission, be professional and
deliver on time. If you let an editor down once, you won't be hired again.
Finally, if you want to get paid on time, find out who's responsible for
paying you (it may be an accounting department rather than the editor) so you
can send your invoice in as soon as the work is delivered. Try to get the
details of the commission in writing. If the editor won't send you a letter,
then you send one confirming the agreement you've made. That way, you'll have
some comeback if there's a query later.
If you do all this, there's a
good chance that an editor will give you a try. A final word of advice, though;
if your article is good enough to go in the magazine, it's good enough for an
editor to pay you. Don't work for nothing unless it's absolutely unavoidable.
Good luck!
ABOUT THE AUTHORSharon Hurley Hall
is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor. Sharon worked in publishing for
18 years, writing articles and editing and designing books and magazines. She
has also lectured on journalism. For more information or to contact Sharon,
visit
doublehdesign.com 
