Hello my Freaky Darlings,
We all know that writers, in general, don’t earn a lot of money. It’s only the Stephen Kings and JK Rowlings of the world that live in luxury thanks to their writing talent. It took time and hard work for them to get to the point where their book sales paid the bills. Most Authors need to either have a normal day job or figure out a way where they can write full time and still be able to put food on the table.
This is where freelance writing comes in. Some authors groan at the thought of it, some feel that its prostituting themselves. I personally think it’s a form of writing that comes in very handy and there’s the fact that it pays. You don’t spend months or years working on one project and then spend another few months or years trying to get it published. A freelance article can take as little as an hour or a couple of days to write. But you do have to send it to the right publication and you have to come up with good ideas for the articles. You can’t just throw any schlock together and expect to place it with a publication. Like any writing endeavour, you have to put some thought into it. You have to wrack the old bean.
Do you freelance? What problems have you encountered while trying to crack the market?
Speaking from the editor’s side of the fence I can tell you that good freelancers are remarkably hard to find.
People who know their subject, can write readable copy that needs minimal work for publication and deliver it on time are rarer than you might think. When we find a good one we hold on tight.
I sort of like being your freaky darling–thanks. Don’t you query the idea first, then write it and send it…
I think it depends on how you want to do it. You can either first send a query out and then write it or first write it and then send queries off.