21st Century Writing Survival Tips

Continuing last week’s focus on balancing a writing career and a day job, today’s special guest on the Morning Media Menu was writing coach, journalism professor, and author Jill Dearman.

When asked about the freelance writing market, Dearman had some measured advice for freelancers: “It takes a long time to build a business. I think writers need a certain amount of patience if they are going to try and expand their freelance work as markets are shutting down. Really try and build one strong client, and do quality work with that one client and kind of trust that word-of-mouth will be your best buddy … rather than trying and be all things to all people.”

The show also pondered the gloomy effects of the recession on the magazine market–discussing the recent news that through bankruptcy proceedings and refinancing, JPMorgan Chase now influences a $5.04 billion media empire that includes Readers Digest, Source Interlink Media and American Media.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.