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Topic: Freelancing?? Huh?
| Author | Message |
| Julianna808 | Posted – 6/10/2008 12:19:10 AM | show profile Full time work in journalism isn't a reality nowadays, because of this recession. I don't have any experience in freelancing (2008 graduate), and haven't the slightest clue in how to get involved with it. Unfortunately, my professors and internship supervisors would mention freelancing as an alternative to full time work, never explaining it in-depth. I always thought it was something to do in addition to or on the side of a full time job. Since there aren't any jobs in media right now, I'm curious as to how to begin a freelancing career. Any advice and/or suggestions on books that can help would be great. And is freelancing as competitive as finding full time work in journalism? (I think so, but say it isn't true) |
| writesonwater | Posted – 6/10/2008 12:30:38 AM | show profile Has anyone read MB's How to get a freelance life? Might look that up -- I think it might be a compendium of freelancing advice. There are a batch of old threads on here that deal with this also. |
| Astera | Posted – 6/10/2008 1:36:56 AM | show profile For books, try "The Well-Fed Writer" by Peter Bowerman, "Secrets of a Freelance Writer" by Robert Bly, and "The Renegade Writer" by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell. You have to hustle if you want to make it as a full-time freelancer. You also have to be ready to run your freelance work as a small business. You need to have a financial plan (i.e., I need to make X dollars to cover my living expenses, so I need to bring in X a month), and a daily plan of attack (i.e., today I will contact X number of businesses to pitch my services, and I will come up with three great story ideas, and I will send a well-crafted pitch to X magazine). You also have to be comfortable with billing and chasing down payment. I've never made a ton of money per year as a freelancer, but I have had some very lucrative projects, and most of them have come from business connections that I've picked up along the way. For instance, I did some proofreading for a marketing agency (my resume got me the interview, and I did well on the test), and that eventually led to some writing gigs for eBay, one of the agency's big clients. Also, you need to understand that to make a living as a freelancer, you can't just expect to write consumer magazine and newspaper articles. You will probably have to take on some PR work, corporate copywriting work, or marketing work. For instance, I write a lot of press releases and catalog copy for a small electronics company. That income, sporadic as it may be, helps fund some of my "passion projects," like finishing my novel. In order to get started, it's always good to have some clips. You may have to write for low pay for a community newspaper to get some decent ones. You can also try just sending out your package to companies, especially if you want to get corporate work, which often pays better. You would write a letter of introduction to introduce your services and include your resume and maybe a relevant clip or two. "Corporate work" usually means writing copy for other businesses, such as sales letters, direct mail, Web copy, etc. Banks, office supply companies, even real estate offices--they all need some sort of copy. Trade magazines can be another good bet. Some of them don't pay all that well, but you can get some specialty clips and build a reputation as an expert. For instance, I did a number of articles for a health care trade publication, and I highlighted that experience when I applied for a job at a medical marketing agency. Other trades are highly competitive and pay more. Also, if you have proofreading or copy editing skills, that can be your way in. I am a talented copy editor, and more than once, that skill has gotten me in the door. Then, once I get to know the client, it's easier for me to pitch my writing abilities, as well. I hope this advice helps. Best of luck! ------ www.adventuresofastera.blogspot.com |
| Julianna808 | Posted – 6/10/2008 10:32:24 AM | show profile mediabistro's freelancing posts? Thanks writeronwater and Astera for your suggestions. I will be reading those books and coming up with plans to "hustle" my way into freelancing. But in the meantime, I notice that mediabistro.com offers job postings in freelancing. Should I apply to these or not? I'm hesistant because many times when applying to online job postings, you hardly ever get a response back. Has anyone had any luck with this board in getting freelance projects? |
| DQ102 | Posted – 6/10/2008 11:11:54 AM | show profile Hi Julianna, Don't give up looking for a journalism job. You just never know what may come your way. But in the meantime you can definitely start freelancing. You probably don't have a ton of clips given that you just got out of school, so start small. Try pitching stories, reviews, essays to local publications even if they don't pay. At this point, you need to get some clips. Once you have some, you can move on to bigger and bigger markets. But keep in mind that freelancing is competitive. I worked for several years before I began freelancing, and I am now able to make a living at it because I developed a specialty and a reputation and contacts. Again, that takes years. So get started and good luck. You'll have ups and downs but keep at it! |
| mkelly | Posted – 6/10/2008 12:14:04 PM | show profile There was a long thread about two weeks ago, noting that entry-level journalism jobs do still exist in many parts of the country if you're willing to move there. I won't revisit that discussion, but you should review that thread. I just wanted to say you are exactly right that the schools these days aren't training students at all for the reality of being a professional writer, which is that you'll be switching back and forth between full-time and self-employment many times in your career. Everyone should learn how to do this, or find another line of work. |
| seeattleme2 | Posted – 6/10/2008 12:29:47 PM | show profile Try first getting freelance positions on staff at magazines as a fact chekcer or a proofreader, in which you go in and read copy /fact check for two weeks, then leave, and return two weeks later. This way you build contacts that could lead to writing assignments. If you can do at mroe than two publications, you esentially have a full time job with a few days off in between. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 6/10/2008 12:33:20 PM | show profile A recession never eliminates full-time work in ANY profession. NYC and the industries that dominate it tend to do worse in a downturn, but in reality no recent downturn has compared in any way to the economic situation of the late 80s and early 90s that saw much higher national unemployment figures, interest rates, etc. than we have now. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a true picture of how to manage a career in college because honestly many schools have professors/instructors who don't have that much real-world experience. But jobs are there in any market; what you have to do is market yourself so that you're seen as a commodity an employer can't pass up amidst all the other resumes they'll get. One way to do that is try to get into areas of journalism where there's less competition. IOW, don't aim to write for consumer mags, but instead try to hone your skills so that you can write about more complex topics at either well-known biz/tech or other industry publications or well-respected trades. People don't think about this much, but it's the boring stuff that makes the world go 'round and that also gets us in trouble when the "material" hits the fan. As hard as full-time employment may get, freelancing is always harder because you always have to be looking for work, you have to manage difficult clients, pay costs that are traditionally borne by an employer, etc. It's got a lot of advantages too, but if you ever go into it, it pays to know both sides of the equation. It's unfortunate that college profs don't teach you much about marketing oneself because in this day and age, people have to do that ALL THE TIME. The days of the lifetime job -- or even a reliable, steady job with no interruptions -- are largely over. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| JimmyG | Posted – 6/10/2008 1:16:49 PM | show profile I'm a freelancer and most of the other self-employed writers I know amassed considerable experience via on-staff jobs before going solo. Having an established content specialty or two upon which to sell yourself, even based on just a few years' experience somewhere, makes selling yourself a lot easier than pitching articles as a newbie writer. Plus, in this business--and especially in this business climate--many "veterans" get pushed out the door for one reason or another and find it's more profitable to leverage their skills and contacts via freelancing than it is to take a 60-hour/week editor's job for $50K or less. |
| Julianna808 | Posted – 6/10/2008 1:24:11 PM | show profile Cyrus, can I e-mail you or something? I agree with you Cyrus, I find it very difficult to market myself because in this industry, my competition and I have the exact same skills and strengths (writing, editing, proofreading, etc.) Any suggestions on how I should focus on what can make me stand out and market myself? I've been trying to do this since before graduating, but keep hitting a wall. Is there any way I can e-mail you or something? |
| seeattleme2 | Posted – 6/10/2008 6:28:05 PM | show profile Cyrus, I find that hard to believe. I remember those days, as well as 2001, and nothing is as bad for magazines (and for the industry in general) as it seems right now. And as 2008 winds down it's gonna get worse, because the magazines rallied in the late 90s--that's not gonna happen this time around. Even the Web is starting to hurt in places. |
| hawkmail | Posted – 6/11/2008 12:53:09 AM | show profile I think it would be incredibly difficult as a recent graduate to get started as a freelancer and really make a living at it. I think there are so many valuable experiences that come from spending a few years learning and honing your skills in an office environment first, not to mention the mentoring and networking opportunities. Does someone who has no full-time experience, regardless of writing talent or work ethic, have the finesse to pitch and maintain client relationships? Isn't it better to learn the ropes on the job, even as an intern or temp.? Julianna - I think your intention to make something happen for yourself is great. Get a foot into freelancing in the ways the other posters mentioned, while you keep looking for that entry level journalism job. Entry level jobs will never go away and often have greater responsibility and upward mobility during a bad economy. I also think, and this is just my opinion, that it would be a big change to go from the collegiate atmosphere with lots of activity and interaction to a somewhat more isolated freelancing situation. Try not to get too discouraged....your obvious willingness to accept advice and work hard will set you apart from many of the other recent grads we've seen posting here. Good luck. |
