BUILDING A CAREER IN FREELANCE WRITING

BUILDING A CAREER IN FREELANCE WRITING
-Dr. Satyanarayana Pattnaik, Satyabrata Mishra

A FREELANCER IS AN INDEPENDENT WRITER WHO EARNS LIVING BY CONTRACTING FOR WORK PROJECTS, WORKING FOR NO FIXED EMPLOYER, AND MAY WORK FOR A NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

AS A FREELANCE WRITER, YOU NEED TO ASSESS YOUR SKILLS TO ENABLE YOU TO CHOOSE WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE SPECIAL QUALIFICATION TO BE A FREELANCE WRITER.

EDUCATION FOR FREELANCING

A GOOD OPTION IS TO TAKE A DISTANCE-LEARNING COURSE AND YOU WILL FIND SEVERAL IN THIS CATEGORY. THESE GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY AT HOME AT YOUR OWN PACE. NOTABLE AMONG THEM ARE THOSE OFFERED BY INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY AND MANY OTHER INDIAN AND FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES OFFERING DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN CREATIVE WRITING AND JOURNALISM. MANY AREAS OF WRITING ARE COVERED UNDER THE COURSE AND IT IS ADVISABLE THAT YOU ENROLL IN ONE OF THESE COURSES TO SHARPEN YOUR TALENTS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT GO WITH STUDYING THEM.

FREELANCE WRITING FOR NEWS-PAPERS

NEWSPAPERS REQUIRE NEWS CONTENT EVERY DAY OR EVERY WEEK. ALMOST ALL NEWSPAPERS ACCEPT FREELANCE CONTRIBUTIONS, AND USE FREELANCE WRITERS ON A REGULAR BASIS. THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY, MORE THAN ANY OTHER, IS BUILT AROUND CONTACTS.

REMEMBER THAT NEWSPAPERS WORK TO TIGHT DEADLINES, AND HAVE AN ONGOING REQUIREMENT FOR EDITORIAL POSITION. REMEMBER, TOO, THAT THEIR FAVOURITE FREELANCERS AREN'T THE ONES WHO WRITE THE MOST TECHNICALLY PERFECT COPY, BUT THE ONES WHO FILE ON TIME, ON TOPIC, AND WITHIN THE WORD LIMIT. NEWSPAPERS PLACE A HIGHER IMPORTANCE ON ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY THAN THEY DO ON STYLE AND FLAIR.

ORGANIZING YOURSELF

AS YOU CARRY ON WITH YOUR WRITING, YOU NEED TO ORGANIZE YOURSELF TO SUCCESSFULLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY COME ALONG AND TO ENSURE THAT YOU DO NOT FAIL TO BEAT DEADLINES. PREPARE AND FOLLOW A WORK PLAN TO ENABLE YOU SUCCEED IN RESEARCHING AND WRITING ARTICLES. DEAL WITH ONE ASSIGNMENT FIRST BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT. DEDICATE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE TO WRITING SINCE THIS IS THE CORE FUNCTION OF YOUR CAREER. IF YOU WRITE LESS, THEN THE LESS YOU WILL EARN AND THE LESS MOTIVATED YOU WILL BE TO CONTINUE WITH WRITING.

YOU ALSO NEED TO SPEND MUCH TIME QUERYING ON MULTIPLE ARTICLE IDEAS. THIS IS IMPORTANT SINCE YOU WILL BE LOOKING FOR FUTURE SALES. THOUGH SPECIALIZING ON ONE GENRE IS GOOD, YOU SHOULD OCCASIONALLY LOOK FOR OTHER BRANCHES OF WRITING AND MARKETS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF MAKING SALES AND EARNINGS.

YOU CAN BUILD A CAREER OUT OF WRITING AND EARN YOURSELF EXTRA INCOME PART-TIME OR REGULAR INCOME FULL-TIME FROM FREELANCE WRITING. HOWEVER YOU NEED TO STUDY THE ART OF WRITING, ORGANIZE YOURSELF AND CONSTANTLY SEARCH FOR MARKETS TO STAY AFLOAT.

MARKETING YOUR WORK

THERE ARE SEVERAL APPROACHES TO SELLING YOUR ARTICLE. EACH HAS ITS OWN ADVANTAGES AND YOU CAN GET VALUE FOR WHAT YOU WORK FOR EVEN IF AFTER A LONG-TIME.

CHECK PUBLICATION DIRECTORIES, ON THE INTERNET FOR ADDRESSES OF EDITORS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCEPTING FREELANCE WRITERS' WORK, AND THEN WRITE TO THEM ADDRESSING THEM BY THEIR NAMES AND TITLES. IF YOU HAVE A GOOD RESUME ATTACH IT OR MENTION BRIEFLY RELEVANT CONTENTS WHICH MAKES YOU STAND OUT AS THE MOST SUITABLE TO WRITE THE ARTICLE.

EDITORS PREFER EXPERIENCED WRITERS TO NOVICES AND IF YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES THEN SAY SO. OTHERWISE, IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER AVOID SAYING SO BUT INCLUDE A FEW SAMPLES TAILORED TO THE PUBLICATIONS READERS TASTE.

IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO SEND YOUR ARTICLE TO MORE THAN ONE PUBLICATION YOU NEED TO GIVE A DIFFERENT SPIN AND CHANGE THE WORDING TO SUIT DIFFERENT PUBLICATIONS. TAKE WORK ACCORDING TO YOUR ABILITY AND CAPACITY. THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE TO MARKETING YOUR WORK IS TO WRITE ARTICLES FOR MASS AUDIENCES IMAGINING THEIR NEEDS AND TASTES AND SUBMITTING TO VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS. YOU TARGET SEVERAL PUBLICATIONS IN ONE CATEGORY WHICH YOU FEEL WILL BE MOST SUITABLE TO ACCEPT THE THEME OF YOUR ARTICLE. YOU MAY ALSO COPY YOUR ARTICLE FROM YOUR DISK OR COMPUTER AND PASTE ON VIRTUAL PUBLISHING COMMUNITIES WEBSITES OR E-MAIL YOUR ARTICLE TO VARIOUS EDITORS. THIS IS A QUICK AND CHEAP WAY OF MAKING MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS OF YOUR ARTICLES.

DEALING WITH REJECTIONS

ALL IN ALL WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT REJECTIONS ARE A FACT OF LIFE AND WE WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THEM, BUT YOU WILL BE A LOT WISER, IF YOU STUDY THE REASONS FOR YOUR REJECTIONS TO ENABLE YOU IMPROVE YOUR FUTURE QUERIES AND SUBMISSIONS THUS INCREASING YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING ACCEPTANCES. WHILE SOME EDITORS MAY GIVE YOU SUGGESTIONS THEY WISH YOU TO CONSIDER BEFORE ACCEPTING YOUR ARTICLE AND SOME OTHERS ARE RETURN YOUR WRITE-UP WITH POLITE REJECTION.

READ WHAT THEY WRITE TO YOU AND LEARN FROM THEIR REASONS. CHOOSE POPULAR THEMES FOR ARTICLES AND ADD MORE VALUE IN THEM SUCH AS STATISTICS, PHOTOGRAPHS, EXPERT COMMENTS AND AN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE ISSUES. WITH TIME AND PATIENCE YOU WILL ULTIMATELY SUCCEED.

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