Home
>
Article Writing
>
Writing For Dollars -- A Freelancers Guide

Writing For Dollars -- A Freelancers Guide

If you have writing skills and want to use your skills to earn some income for yourself and families, we offer a few tips here. You can get some good opportunities from your local area and from Internet.

Your novel sits unfinished, waiting for a burst of inspiration to send it out to be typewriter and right to the top of the best seller lists, right? You are not alone. Thousands of would-be writers are waiting as well. But a few successes under your belt will make the possibility of seeing your picture on the dust jacket in the bookstore window seem less remote. Freelance writing can replace self-doubt with self-confidence and put money in your pocket at the same time.

Just as all doctors are not neurosurgeons, all writers are not novelists. A look into the field yields categories you might never have imagined. Magazine articles, greeting cards, business writing, newspaper reporting-these are areas in which freelance can add do make money. Writing provides an opportunity to earn with very little expenditure. A typewriter with accompanying supplies, a flair for writing and the discipline to stick with a schedule and meet deadlines can start you on your way.

STRINGING

Many local and regional newspapers, unable to maintain enough full-time staff to adequately cover ever meeting or event of importance to the populace, will assign certain stories to stringers, or freelance reporters. Assignments may vary as widely as covering a church circle meeting for the weekly religion page to reporting on a town council meeting in a neighboring village. The editorial staff will tell you what they want, when they want it and what you can expect to be paid. Stringers are paid by the word, by the line or by the column inch, and while rate varies from one newspaper to another, it is a set fee which cannot be negotiated.

Building a good relationship with your editor through good writing, dependability and strict adherence to deadlines may enable you to successfully put forth your own ideas for feature stories and articles. You may be able to negotiate a higher rate of pay for these pieces. Don't forget to ask for a by-line. Part of the thrill of freelance writing is seeing your name in print.

GREETING CARDS

Visit your local card shop. There are hundreds of cards, many expressing the same sentiments. Each one is different, and somebody earned money for each of them. The greeting card industry relies heavily on freelance submissions. Each company has its own style; it is futile to fire off ideas randomly hoping to hit pay dirt. Companies will send writer guidelines to those who accompany the request with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). This basic checklist will tell you the subject matter of preference (some companies may deal solely with inspirational messages while others want only adult humor studio cards), the correct method of presentation, length of time should wait for a response and the pay range for accepted ideas. You don't have to be an artist. Greeting card companies want your ideas and captions, although suggestions for accompanying artwork will be appreciated. remember, what may be unsuited to one company's needs could be deemed irresistible by another. Don't throw away any ideas in discouragement after one rejection. Submit, submit and resubmit should be your credo.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Thousands of special interest and trade publications are sold every year. Each is filled with articles, many of them written by freelancers. The trick is to find the right magazine for your article, and tailor your article for that magazine.. If you're a whiz at coupon redeeming, refunding and rebating, consider sharing your expertise with others in an article in Supermarket Shopper. No matter what your area of interest, there's a publication waiting to let you tell it all.

Like greeting card companies, magazine publishers will send you guidelines including style and subject matter as well as pay scales. Don't waste your time sending an article on the joys of a New England vacation to a publication specializing in recreation opportunities in the Ozarks. Guidelines firmly in mind, come up with an idea suitable for the particular publication and follow up with a query letter.

Many publications will not accept unsolicited manuscripts. even those that would rather read a well-written, creative letter outlining a proposed article than wade through a 2,000 word piece to find it acceptable. Your query letter can be open the door that might have been slammed in the face of your unreviewed work-especially if it is an example of proficient writing and piques the editor's interest in your subject and the angle you're planning to use.

While many magazines will not accept manuscripts currently being considered by another publication, you may wish to send query letters to several at the same time. If you are fortunate enough to have more than one acceptance, you can always write two articles with different slants from the same research.

The time it takes for your manuscript to be considered seems interminable. One way to avoid hovering over the mailbox with hope, dread and anxiety fighting for dominance is to keep the mailbox working for you. Don't send off one article and wait for the verdict. Send query letters, greeting card ideas, filler items and articles out constantly, never waiting to hear from one before sending the next. If you receive a rejection, move along to the next prospective publisher for that item, dash off a new cover letter and shoot it out again. You can't sell what's sitting in a reject pile--only what's making the rounds on the market.

Publishers guidelines will give you specific instructions for manuscript preparation. Regardless of the differences from one company to the next, remember that neatness counts. Use typing correction paper or fluid to repair typographical errors. Strike-overs and hand done corrections appear messy and unprofessional. Each page of your manuscript should have the title of the article and your name, as well as consecutive page numbers for all but the first page.

INDEPENDENT PROJECTS

Newspaper stringing, greeting cards and magazine articles are established fields for freelance writers. Your public library will have books and magazine listing companies seeking freelancers for everything from crossword puzzles to innovative messages for telephone answering machines. But you may wish to explore some areas on your own. Whether you live in a small town or a metropolitan area local organizations and businesses can provide fodder for an impressive client list.

Perhaps the local historical society would be interested in your offer to research and write a history of the area. for a fee. The high school alumni association may be looking for a class gift to the old alma mater. A school history, researched and written by a professional freelance writer, would be an handsome addition to the school library, and purchases by class members of yore would add a fund-raising feature. Is you local hospital preparing to celebrate a founding anniversary? a prepared history of the institution, from one-room dispensary/infirmary to today's 200-bed unit would be a wonderful public relations tool for them an a terrific writing job for you.

Local businesses and organizations have varied writing needs. Grant proposals can be written for a flat fee or on a percentage basis. Customer relations pieces such as new service or product introductions and collection letters, annual reports, in house or consumer-aimed newsletters all provide grist for the enterprising freelancer's mill. Even organizations with public relations or customer relations staffs sometimes farm out work on a periodic basis.

Unlike established fields, where prices are determined in advance, independent projects such as these require you to charge by the word, by the page, by the hour or on a completed project basis. No matter how you quote your fee, estimate your time as accurately as possible. Time spent in research, talking to and interviewing people and organizing material for writing is as important as time spent at the typewriter. remember to charge enough to cover expenses in addition to time. Typewriter ribbons, paper, postage and envelopes cost money-so does the gasoline you'll use when research involves travel.

Serious freelancers also have to consider the cost of overhead (heat, water, electricity and a portion of rent or mortgage payments to maintain an in-home office), equipment depreciation and normal employee fringe benefits such as insurance and social security payments when pricing their services. After all, the boss is expected to pick up the tab for these extras. As a freelance writer, you are the boss. And that's a fringe benefit nobody else can give you. More good news is that you can get more writing opportunities by visiting http://www.elance.com where a lot of Internet business owners are looking for writers to get their job done quickly.

---------------------------------------------------------
Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.elance.com
------------------------------------------ ----------------

Note:You may use this article in your ezine or on your site as long as the article and resource box remain unchanged

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

Writing For Dollars -- A Freelancers Guide

Article Writing