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My article Politics in Literature: 2008 Presidential Memoirs has been awarded an Editor’s Choice Award on Suite101. Read it and chime in if you’d like.
The prospect of becoming a freelance writer is both exciting and a little bit scary. Let’s face it: the freelance writing community is a big ocean full of bigger fish (a.k.a. experienced writers) and you as a newbie have to somehow manage to take a deep breath, jump in and hope you don’t immediately sink or become a larger fish’s dinner. The mere thought is enough to make any newbie cower in fear of the unknown.
As someone who has spent a majority of time dangling my toes in the edge of that proverbial ocean, I can wholeheartedly say that the experience is well worth it. However, I have also spent a fair share of time in the freelance ocean struggling against the undertow. There are a lot of things I wish I had known before I started, that would have made my journey a little smoother. But I suppose that’s the blessing of hindsight.
If you are just starting out, I’d like to share with you some things that I learned that just might make your experience a little easier. Before you dive into that intimidating ocean of freelance writers, take some time to familiarize yourself with some life rafts that dot the water.
1. Freelance writing will not be easy, nor will you become rich. Every newbie freelancer has aspirations of becoming the next Carrie Bradshaw or the next assistant at Vogue. These are great fantasies for when you are standing on the line at the bank daydreaming, but they are not reality. Dream jobs do not fall out of the sky. An editor from Conde Nast will not call you at home and ask you to pen a piece on the new Manolos. Not going to happen.
What will happen is work, and a lot of it. You will work on copy for things you have never imagined writing about. Pieces on such varied topics as hybrid vehicles, male enlargement devices and rhinoplasty, will begin to fill your portfolio. You will be paid for these gems, but you certainly won’t be running out with your new found millions and quitting your day job (not yet anyway).
Expect to write about a wide range of subjects, and know how to use the internet to search for reputable sources of information (note: Wikipedia is not a source you want to rely on for your information).
2. You need to know your worth as a writer and you need to know what rates are acceptable. Sure, you’re excited to write and you will take on any project that comes your way. However, it is important that you know the going rates for particular kinds of freelance writing, editing and proofreading jobs so that you are getting what you are entitled to. You wouldn’t be willing to work at McDonald’s if they paid you $2 for every 200 hamburgers you flipped, would you? Well there are a lot of freelancers out there who sell themselves short by taking on writing jobs that require 10 articles at two dollars a pop.
We all have to start somewhere, but being taken advantage of is never a good way to begin. If you are worried about lack of experience or published clips, try writing for a site like Suite101. You will be able to get some web-published clips and some good experience writing for the web. Another good way to build up your portfolio is to offer your writing services to volunteer organizations. While these are commonly non-paying, they are quite reputable and will give you great clips and references for future projects. Even better, you will get to feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you did something nice for someone!
To get an idea of acceptable rates, check with the most current version of the Writer’s Market book. This book will become your bible and it is advised that you spend the $25 each year and pick up the newest version. The book offers a wealth of advice from market listings, freelance market rates and helpful articles pertaining to all things freelance.
3. Providing samples of work means you are giving away your work for free. Working hard to write a quality piece, only to have someone take it from you with nothing more than a thank you is unacceptable. Do not work for free. If a client wants to see how your write, provide him/her with clips of your work (see #2). Freelancing is a job, just like any job, and when you work you are expected to be paid for your services. If a potential client will only work with you under the context of a freebie, walk away.
4. It is much easier and satisfying to write about what you know and what you are interested in. Chances are high that the first piece of writing advice, solicited or otherwise, that you were given regarding your freelancing endeavor, sounded something like this: write what you know. This is a very good piece of advice and should be something you try to adhere to when you can. Of course there will be times when a client wants copy written about colon cleansing or forex trading, and of course you have to write about these topics that you no nothing about and have no particular interest in whatsoever.
However, when pitching ideas, stick to the things you enjoy. It is much easier to write about something that you are personally interested in, not to mention the research behind the piece will be less time-consuming. You are more likely to produce more work of a higher caliber when it is about something you know.
5. Freelance writers who are not organized and cannot manage their time should consider another career path. You will be juggling multiple projects at any given time. It is essential that you keep track of all your deadlines on one central calendar (I find the large desk ones work best). You also need to keep track of payments from clients. You should create a system, even if it is a simple notebook where you devote one page to each project/client, in order to keep up with billing out clients and recording payments.
If you want to read about epistolary novels, check out my article about them on Suite. It was just given an Editor’s Choice Award.
I am working on two three separate articles for Suite101, both relating to books with a 9-11 theme. I am trying to form a best of list for both fiction and non-fiction. While I do have my favorites, I was hoping to get a broader perspective from a wider audience. Please leave your picks in the comments ASAP.
Thanks for your help!
1. The two interviews I did were in relation to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. First was with this year’s winner (and fellow Suite101 writer) Garrison Spik. The second was with the founder of the contest, Professor Scott Rice. Both interviews were informative and really interesting. I cannot wait for my next interview!
2. Decided to drop down to a free account on Elance. It still maintains my profile and client feedback, but since I haven’t been using them much, there is no fee associated with this membership level.
3. Decided to go back to school and finish my BA in English. Have applied and will let you guys know the outcome as it happens.
4. I just got an Editor’s Choice Award on Suite for my article on Back-to-School Books for Adults.
Any questions?
As a side note, I apologize for lack of posts. Been serving Grand Jury Duty (had to previously postpone it) and I am so enthralled with the workings of the legal system. Seriously considering attending law school in future.
For anyone who is interested, I have updated the Literary Culture Topic page on Suite101 to meet my ideas and plans for content. As always, your feedback is welcome.
I am pretty excited that I decided to go for it and pursue the open FW position on Suite101 that I was interested in. So, without further ado, I’d like to announce that I am now the Literary Culture Feature Writer on Suite101. I’m pretty excited since it gives me something to focus my writing on. I am really passionate about the topic, so I am thrilled to research new stories and plan out an agenda for the topic. I’ll let you know when I have created and updated the page to fit my ideas and you can let me know what you think.
I am doing the back and forth dance with Suite101. Thus far, I’ve been a CW (contributing writer) on the site since December of 2007 and I am pleased with the money I’ve made and the topics I’ve written about. When I published my 50th article, I received an additional 10% on that and all other articles afterwards which is a nice little bonus. And every month I am making more money! So now I have 82 (!!) published articles on Suite and I’ve been considering whether I want to stick with being a CW or move up to a FW.
As far as monetary perks, FWs get 20% after they hit their 100th article. As far as work load, they have more strict deadlines: 1 article in their topic and 1 blog post in their topic per week. While CWs only have to have 10 articles every 3 months.
So why would I want to be a FW? It’s not the money. It’s the prestige. I want to be able to be seen as an expert in my area. This will look for future opportunities. However, I don’t truly know if I can come up with enough content in my desired area on a weekly basis. The topic I would want to be a FW for does not have a typically high page view so the money would probably go down. While I can still write about any other topic of my choosing, I feel that I might be so worn out from my FW requirements that all the other things I enjoy writing about may fall to the waist side.
I spoke to my editor about my desire to be promoted to a FW position about a week ago and she encouraged me to get some new articles up in my category (and all the sub-categories) and then we can take it from there. Problem is, I am having second thoughts about going anywhere with this. For all intents and purposes, I am happy right where I am.
Here’s an article appearing on Masthead Online that basically gets its info from Joy Gugler, the EIC of Suite. In other words, the tips provided are basically those strongest emphasised to Suite’s writers.
Here’s the 10 Steps outlined in the article:
1. Articles should be 400-600 words per page.
Try editing your mammoth print pieces into two or three smaller articles. You’ll be trippling its Web value while preventing reader fatigue.2. Title articles transparently, thinking about search terms.
Titles are what sell your article to search engines. Robots don’t understand “cute.” Calling your new atomic chilli recipe “Some Like it Hot” will only attract the occasional pervert. Call it what it is: A Recipe for Atomic Chilli.
3. Write leads for news feeds and RSS.
Many Web nerds use software such as RSS to monitor their favourite sites, informing them of a new article or posting. Typically, only your lead will show up in their browser, so you have to make it stick.4. Use short paragraphs: 50 – 75 words.
It’s hard to read online. Smaller paragraphs with one clear focus are easier to digest.5. Use bold subheadings that contain keywords.
Web readers spend less than ten seconds on an article. “Use subheadings to break up long copy and to indicate where you’re changing tack,” Gugeler says. “These should contain strong keywords, be in Upper Case and bold.”6. Bulleted/numbered lists make for easy reading on screen.
People love lists, especially on the web.7. Optimize for 1-2 keyword/phrases and variations.
Vary the phrases you use to describe the focus of the article. “This will cast a larger net and catch readers who approach the topic differently,” Gugeler says. “Use proper nouns, places, names and brands that feature in your article.” You can’t be too specific.8. Input your top 6-10 tags for reference.
Loose keywords, or tags, are hidden behind the text in the html coding. Search engines use this to index the site. Again, be specific. Don’t put your publication’s name or byline—the Google bots already have those.
9. Embed links to related onsite articles (anchor).
Like a well-designed shopping mall, you want to keep people in your grasp for as long as possible. Provide links to other articles on your site. Use keywords rather than writing out the entire URL.10. Attach a clear and appropriate colour photo, properly credited and captioned.
Just like in print, people love looking at good photos. In the end, Web publishing is not that different from what’s done on ink and paper. Quality still wins out—you just have to package it right.
These are really good tips for those who have no web writing experience. This is the basic “what you need to know to write for the web” crash course. It’s also a good refresher for those who write for Suite.
It’s been over a month since I last published an article on Suite101. Between trying to absorb the critiques from my editor (regarding my review) and my vacation, I’ve had little time to really focus on an article. While I set myself the reasonable goal of having published one new article by Sunday, I am pleased to say I have met my goal. If you are interested in reading it, the article is a brief overview of children reading to dogs and how it helps them with their literacy skills in a non-threatening manner. I also got a very helpful and almost immediate response from one of the editors in the category where I posted my article, which was really useful.
