TIPS FOR THE WRITER FREELANCE IN TRAINING

This is some good tips for you :

Queries

The best defense against rejection is to perfect the query. Every article, book, or even paragraph you read about writing and queries gives you the same advice. There’s not much more to add specifically to 20-somethings except for this perk: Think about how much time and effort (not to mention postage) you’ll save yourself by perfecting your query now. You can use all that time to write! Take the time to examine successful query letters; model yours after them. A flawless query will get you the job every time—flawless in every sense. I don’t mean just using your computer’s spellchecker. I mean proofreading carefully, even e-mails. I mean making sure your grammar is correct. Why would an editor take a chance on an entire article if you can’t even get the query letter on target? Don’t give them a reason to not hire you!

You know better than to address a letter to “Dear Editor.” Let’s take that a step further. Freelance writer Sara Eckel shared a great tip at Mediabistro’s “Freelance Survival Strategies” program: Aim low on the masthead. Assistant and associate editors generally haven’t built a pool of writers they work with regularly, so you have a good shot of breaking in (and then working with those people as their careers grow alongside your own).

E-queries

Most importantly, find out if e-queries are accepted before sending one. If they’re not, and you send one, and then you follow up with a written query in the mail, you’ll do nothing but annoy an editor/potential client.

Watch your language in e-queries. E-mail tends to be more casual than letters, but an e-query is still a professional pitch letter. In essence, you’re asking for a job.

One last e-query tip: Use the subject line to your advantage. Editors get a lot of e-mail; make it easy for them to read your message. Messages from addresses they don’t recognize or with unclear subject lines will likely be read last—if at all.

Low- and No-Pay Assignments

Many successful writers encourage young writers to never take on assignments that they won’t get paid for or for which they’ll get paid very little. If only if were that easy! As someone who’s still offered assignments for not much, I disagree. Certainly we’ll reach that point where we can scoff when an editor offers us an assignment for little to nothing—but we’re not there yet. You need clips right? I know, I know: You need the money, too. But surely you know that the first couple years freelancing aren’t going to be a walk in the financial park, right? Take what you can get. If you’re writing for free, ask if you can get, say, your website address listed with your byline.

And remember what my friend Rob Brink, who also happens to be a 20-something freelancer, calls the “snowball effect.” With an assignment (done well and submitted on time) comes a better portfolio and increased connections, which leads to more assignments and new clients. Your first steady client will be the hardest one to get.

Rejection

Understanding that rejection is a part of every writer’s life is a given (especially in your 20s when you’re still getting into your groove, finding your niche, you get the idea). One of my college professors taught me (well, me and the rest of my “Writing for Publication” class) a valuable lesson: Learn the levels of rejection.

In the beginning, you’ll see form letters/postcards/notes/whatever. They’re unsigned, they’re generic (“your query doesn’t fit our current needs”), and they only arrive in your mailbox because you sent a SASE with your query. You’ll then graduate to a signed letter that still appears generic, but, on a good day, you can convince yourself that it really is the editor’s signature on the page and not her assistant’s. Finally, there’s the cream of the rejection crop: a personal letter with a note from the editor to keep pitching her.

Okay, okay—on some level rejection is rejection, but which would you prefer: an unsigned form postcard or a letter with a handwritten note from an editor? Me, too.

Networking

Every writer needs to network. Just think about the advantage you have as a young writer. You have years and years ahead of you in this business, so cultivate your network early and keep in touch with people as time passes. These are people who can introduce you to others, who can recommend you for writing assignments, who you can interview, and so on. The typical advice writers get applies to you: Tell everyone you know you’re a writer and that you’re trying to build your client base.

THE BUSINESS SIDE

Taxes

The most important piece of information I can share with you is this: Taxes are not taken out of your freelance paychecks. A friend of mine, 20-something freelance writer April Prince sums it up best: “Sit down with your accountant before you start freelancing, or at least in very beginning. Make sure you understand what you owe and when.” I used to file my own taxes, but I find that, frankly, the cost of my accountant is much less than the cost of therapy bills from the stress of tax time.

Being the Boss

I cannot stress enough the appeal of being your own boss. No one to answer to. No one to tell you to get off the phone. No one to tell you your lunch break ran long. You’re likely as disillusioned as I was a few years ago. Oh, how times have changed. As the “boss,” you’re everywoman: receptionist, photocopy slave, office supply manager, proofreader, accountant, and, oh yeah, writer.

Maeve Binchy, author of Circle of Friends and Tara Road, among others, said in Writer’s Digest in 1997, “I insist on being at my desk at 7:30 AM. I rush just as if I were a commuter.” Maeve Binchy I’m not, but I do have a schedule I try to stick with. Things come up (just as they do when you’re in an office environment), but if you have discipline you can manage.

Remember this: As a “sole proprietorship” (whether you register as a business or not), your reputation is on the line each time you accept a writing assignment. It usually takes just one bad piece of writing to turn an editor’s nose up.

Marketing and Promotion

Again, this job is yours. If you don’t market yourself, who will? Publishing companies don’t have the resources to focus on every magazine issue or every book they publish, which means it’s easy for writers to fall through the cracks. I had an ebook published earlier this year and was shocked at my definition of a marketing initiative versus my publisher’s definition.

Writing the article, the book, the whatever isn’t necessarily enough. Yes, it brings in the paycheck. But marketing efforts can often get you even more money. Try to sell reprint rights or get a new assignment out of your marketing and promotion efforts.