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Topic: Freelance/Travel Writing Questions
| Author | Message |
| mari.tinloy | Posted – 11/25/2007 5:14:45 PM | show profile | email poster Hi All, I'm a preparing to graduate from UCLA's English-Creative Writing department in the spring, and I'm currently investigating potential career paths. Right now, I'm interning at a trade travel magazine, and, as the quarter comes to a close, I am writing a term paper concerned with the the career and lifestyle of a freelance writer. I would appreciate any input or advice--things you've learned, challenges, how to get involved in freelancing. What sort of lifestyle best suits a career in freelancing (in terms of family, time, financial, etc.)? What advice do you have for someone coming into this field? Any specifics are greatly appreciate as well. I'm young and I love to write and want to make a career of it. Thanks for helping me. Sincerely, Marissa |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 11/25/2007 7:57:26 PM | show profile I am young as well, graduated from college not quite a year ago but I can tell you one thing I learned along the way--which I did not want to believe while I was in school and wanted to freelance for a living--that it does not happen right away. You don't just decide you want to freelance and then suddenly have all the freelance jobs at your fingertips. A paycheck will have to come from somewhere in the meantime. I remember asking someone who came to my college to give a speech and mentioned he had been freelancing lately (he was retired and I'm guessing was in his sixties) and I asked him what advice he had for someone who wanted to freelance and the first thing he said was, "well I certainly hope you have another source of income..." As far as persoal experience goes, I always dreamed of the freelance lifestyle, and the more I tried and failed and succeeded at getting freelance gigs, the appealing it seemed (and felt, once I landed a job or two) to have a publication to call home. Funny how it works out. That said, the long-term goal is to build up enough contacts/clients to be able to freelance full-time. For now though, I am writing for a full-time job and working on the freelance career during my off hours. Good luck with your project, and congrats on graduation! |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 11/25/2007 7:59:27 PM | show profile Not that it matters... but I wrote that i graduated less than a year ago...don't know what I was thinking, it's been about a year and a half. So there's some more info for you, you graduate, get a job, then go crazy |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/25/2007 9:16:03 PM | show profile There are all sorts of people who freelance, from single people with low overhead to married people with families and mortgages to support. Just as there are all sorts of people who freelance, there is all kinds of freelance writing -- books, scripts, magazine articles, advertising copy, corporate brochures, and on and on. Some assignments require travel, but many fulltime freelancers rarely leave their office. My advice: Read books and take classes in marketing, business, and public speaking. It's the business side of being a freelance that is more difficult for most people than the writing. |
