You just need to know one Editors like to see different prospective on a topic.. You don’t want to accidently send the same pitch to an editor twice.. Go for repeat business Once you’ve
Trang 2Tips for New Freelance Writers Laura K Marshall
Copyright 2013 Laura K Marshall / The Starving Writer/ Wooden Tulip Press
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Trang 3Being a freelance writer isn’t one of the easiest ways to make a living but it’s one of the most rewarding Your job is writing about things you love and are passionate about You get to learn new things and share them with others How awesome is that?
These tips are not in any order of importance I use these tips when I am submitting pitches
or works on spec I can tell the difference when I don’t follow my own good advice These tips work for me
1.Research your topic before pitching to an editor.
Researching your topic shows the editor that you’re prepared Having your experts lined up
or already interviewed helps a great deal as well
It also helps when you get the article assigned You already have your draft notes and possibly several paragraphs
2.Write about several different topics that interest you
What are your passions? What things do you want to learn about? Figuring this out, then pitching articles based on your interests will multiply your chances of getting more articles in print
Your passion for the topic will come through in your pitch When your passion comes through in your writing editors will notice Which can make the difference in you getting an assignment or not
3.You don’t have to be an expert to write a good article on a subject You just need to know one
Editors like to see different prospective on a topic That’s one of the reasons why you also want to include an expert that isn’t you to reference in the article This is especially important in longer feature articles
Knowing who your expert is before you send in your pitch is extremely helpful You can add that fact into your pitch to the editor It goes back to the tip about doing your research first The editor will know you mean business with your research done and an expert already lined up for the article
See tip #16 on where to find an expert if you don’t know one
Trang 44.Look everywhere for magazines, newspapers and websites to pitch your article
Most new writers only think of the main market guides but there are a lot of sources out there Use your market guides, writers association, study the magazine rack at the local book store, and internet searches
The internet is an amazing tool You can find pretty much everything and anything there You’ll want to use many different sources for your research Using only one will be limiting There is a list of resources and job leads at the end of the book
5 Read the writers guidelines
The writer’s guidelines will tell you what the editor is looking for Not all magazines or newspapers publish their guidelines In that case submit a standard pitch One of the worst things you can do is ignore published writers guidelines
Magazines don’t always make it easy for you to find their guidelines When on their website search for writers guidelines, submissions, work for us and on their contact us page The
publications want to make sure your willing to dig a little deeper and do some research
6.Be flexible and work with suggestions the editor has made
Every publication has their own voice and flavor Sometimes an editor will ask you to change something to match the voice and flavor of the publication They can also ask for any number of things like expanding on a certain point, adding a side bar, or adding another expert Remember the editor is paying you for your article As long as the editor isn’t asking you to
do something illegal or ethically wrong, give them what they want
7.Send out simultaneous submissions
Editors realize freelancer’s pitch their idea’s to many editors This encourages them to jump
on your idea quickly when it comes across their desk
Make sure you have a tracking sheet or excel spreadsheet to track all your submissions You don’t want to accidently send the same pitch to an editor twice On my spreadsheet I have the publication, editor’s name, date I submitted and response
8 Go for repeat business
Once you’ve successfully sold an article to an editor pitch another idea to them once you’ve completed your assignment This works in both your best interests You don’t need to drum up new business and the editor already trusts you and your work
Trang 59.Resell your work again and again
The bread and butter of freelance writers income is the reselling of their work Recycling your articles in different countries or regions increases your income and saves you time
Remember after your work has been in a newspaper or magazine, the rights revert back to you, in most cases, and you’re free to resell it
10 Pitch multiple story angles
You probably have a lot of excess material from researching your article Spin the concept into two or three other articles You can do this all in one pitch to an editor They may not like your main pitch but may fall in love with one of your spin article ideas
11.Don’t be afraid to send a hurricane of pitch e-mails and letters
Sending a ton of pitches all at once helps your chances of getting a few accepted You have
to assume that some of the editors won’t respond, some will reject it and then one or two will like the pitch You don’t want to limit your possibilities of getting an assignment by only sending out a few pitches
12.Don’t be afraid to pitch any magazine, newspaper or website
No magazine, newspaper or website is so big and prestigious that a new writer shouldn’t pitch them Those publications have no idea how many articles you’ve written Just write your pitch and submit These publications need good articles just as much as any other one So pitch a way
13.Don’t be discouraged when you receive a rejection letter
Rejection is a part of this business You can’t let it get you down Also not hearing from an editor can be hard, but we’ll address that in tip # 18 Getting rejections makes the acceptance letters that much better
One way to turn a rejection into a positive is now you’re free to submit another pitch to that editor Just because they rejected one idea doesn’t mean they’ll reject all your ideas You just need to find what topic “speaks” to that editor
14.Set goals for your article writing output
Be realistic when setting a goal If you know you can write an article every other day don’t set your goal at one a day You’re only setting yourself up for failure and you want to set
yourself up for success
Setting goals is important not only as a full time freelancer but for those with full time “day jobs” You’re now trying to work a second job essentially which can put strain on anyone So be realistic on what you can do while still maintaining your sanity and health It can be done I
Trang 6worked a sixty hour a week day job while raising a family and writing You can do it to You just need to be realistic in the amount of time you’ll have to write and submit
15.Treat your freelance job as a business
Be professional in all your interactions Get business cards with all your contact information Set up a blog and or website Present yourself as a writer/ author/ reporter/ journalist Don’t be shy about it This is what you do, be proud
16.Join HARO, Help a Reporter On-line
Each day, thousands of journalists (that’s you) across the globe are on deadline for stories they need to write, right now This service matches journalists with experts You submit what type of expert you are looking for and post An e-mail goes out daily to help facilitate bringing these reporters and experts together
HARO is a free service that emails you a summary of what reporters are working on and what types of experts they want to interview To subscribe to this free service visit
www.helpareporter.com
17 Submit your pitches by e-mail or submission manager
Most publications want you to submit your pitch by e-mail This saves them in having to physically process a paper submission This helps you by saving the cost of paper, envelops and stamps With e-mail you usually get a faster response from an editor If they have a question they can simply respond to your e-mail instead of calling or writing a letter back Editors don’t work 9-5 They usually work fairly crazy hours when it comes to reading pitches so e-mail makes it easier on them
Many publications have also moved to a submission manager program These work just like e-mail submissions but you enter all your information into fields These managers help keep an editor’s in box free of pitches This is helpful as a writer because with e-mail a message can get accidently deleted Also with these programs multiple editors at a publication have access to the submitted pitches
Remember, above all, to follow the publications writer’s guidelines on pitch submission
18 Follow up on your pitches
Once you’ve sent out your hurricane of pitches it becomes a waiting game to see who
responds In most writers guidelines they state how long a response may take to get, or that no response means they’re not interested I always follow up with an e-mail to the editor I submitted
to The e-mail is short and sweet The title of your work, your name and when submitted State you are following up and ask if they need any other information from you A lot of the time you get a response sometimes you don’t You don’t want to miss an opportunity because you didn’t follow up on a submission
Trang 719 Write articles on speculation (spec)
When you write an article on spec you are submitting a complete article to an editor They haven’t assigned it to you, you’ve just written it This works well with smaller pieces (500- 1500 words) for regional magazines, but national publications also take them They often need
material if an assigned piece doesn’t work and they need to fill a spot Sometimes they just don’t know what they want in a space Having a ready-made article available helps out the editor What are the benefits to writing on spec? You usually get paid, your article is published and you have a clip, the editor may ask you to submit a pitch for a longer piece or ask for more spec work from you Spec articles are a great way to get into magazines, newspapers and websites
20 Give some articles away for free
If you’re trying to make a living as a freelancer this may sound crazy but it works to get paid assignments These free articles act as marketing material for you You get a byline from the publication and a clip In turn you then can post that publication on your website as a place you’ve published No one has to know you didn’t get paid for it All they know is your articles appeared in that publication
I hope these twenty tips have helped you get started on your road to becoming a successful freelance writer You may not be able to replace your “day job” income when you first start out but if you’re persistent and use these tips you’re on your way to freelance success
Congratulations and good luck
Other resources
NAIWE – National Association of Independent Writers and Editors - www.naiwe.com Professional association for writers and editors
Association of Alternative News media - www.altweeklies.com A diverse group of
alternative news organizations
Custom Content Council – www.customcontentcouncil.com
Websites with Job Boards or Lists
www.sunoasis.com
www.freelanceswitch.com
www.mediabistro.com has free and paid levels
www.thewritersmarket.com
www.woodenhorse.com low cost
www.journalismjobs.com
www.tradepub.com
www.simplyhired.com keywords freelance writers wanted
www.proficientwriters.com
www.freelancewritersneeded.com
www.freelancewriting.com
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Trang 8About Laura K Marshall Laura is the author of several books on writing, as well as multiple short stories and the Amazing but True series Originally from Southern California, Laura has lived most of her life
on the West Coast Her love for imagination and make believe has fueled her passion for writing Laura currently lives in Milwaukie, OR with her husband, two boys, two cats and a dog
Connect with Laura K Marshall, AKA The Starving Writer
Blog http://www.thestarvingwriterblog.wordpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/thestarvingwriterblog
E-mail thestarvingwriter@comcast.net
Smashwords Author Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LauraKMarshall
Wooden Tulip Press - 4230 SE King Rd #99 - Milwaukie - OR – 97222