If you have a flair for writing, a passion for traveling to different places, a knack to hunt for newsworthy items and a gift of story-telling in a matter-of-fact way, there is one career option that has been created on Earth only for you: freelance journalism. However, becoming a freelance journalist may not be as romantic as many people think it to be.

You have to be extremely tenacious and hard working in order to be successful. There may be many months even years before your earn a good income from your freelance articles. If you think you have these qualities in you, only then consider taking up this career. Below, I have given a few tips on how to become a successful freelance journalist.

Get a B.A. degree

A Bachelor's (or even better a Master's) degree in literature, languages, communication, media or journalism will help a lot with your journalism career. There have been great journalists with completely different educational backgrounds and were still very successful. However, these degrees will give you an initial edge over others.

Be very well-read

A freelance journalist has to be well-read and there is simply no escape from it. Devour as many newspapers and magazines as you can possibly digest each day and keep your eyes and ears open for news. If you love to read, all the better for you! Spend fortunes on books, both classics and contemporary ones and trust me this will improve your writing style considerably.

Take up low-paying jobs

You should not be selective about the jobs you take up. Submit freelance articles to local papers and magazines where the pay will probably be pathetic, but you will at least be read what really counts in the initial stages. To make extra money you can take up other home-based online jobs for writers to earn extra money. This will also ensure that you are in practice of writing. In fact, before starting your career as a journalist, you can try part time jobs for writers online and offline which will give you an excellent training on writing interesting, eye-catching and unique articles on specific topics.

Build a Portfolio

As soon as your freelance writings begin to get published, start building up a portfolio. It is advisable to include your best works in it. Show it to newspaper editors whom you apply for jobs so that they have a clear idea of your writing style.

Networking

Networking is really important in freelance journalism. You should make friendship with other journalists on online forums or on places you visit to gather news. You can even request a senior journalist to mentor you if you can build a good rapport with him/her.