It is a shame, but more and more freelance writers are focusing solely on web content. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this. But at the same time, you do not want to overlook the benefits of writing for magazines and other “offline†publications. This is where I started my career, and to this day I am still involved – even though online work is more prominent than ever.
Breaking into magazine writing is not as difficult as some freelancers make it out to be. As I tell anybody who asks, start with a copy of Writer’s Market. If you don’t want to buy the book version or want to get started right away, you can always sign up for online access. I usually do both, and it works out great in the long run.
Do you really want to get involved with magazine writing? I am not here to tell you that this is something you should definitely be doing. After all, everybody has their own plans. That being said, you should at least consider this type of writing because of the many benefits that it offers. One thing that many people love is seeing their name in print. When you get involved with feature writing for magazines this will happen time and time again.
Along with the notoriety, do not overlook the pay that comes along with being a feature writer. Believe it or not, I have been paid up to $.50/word for some articles. While most gigs start much lower, the ceiling is high.
Even though you may spend a lot of your time generating content for the web, you should never overlook the benefits of becoming a feature writer for print publications.
It is important to have a freelance writing resume that can be quickly forwarded to potential clients. Along with this, you must make sure your resume is perfect in terms of grammar and accuracy. And of course, it should be updated from time to time – this way you are giving out the best possible information.
Despite the fact that it is often times overlooked, it is essential that you update your freelance writing resume on a regular basis. How often you do this depends on your personal situation, the types of jobs that you are applying for, and what you are trying to accomplish.
Every time I add a new client to my list, I consider changing my resume to reflect this. Sometimes I make a change, other times I don’t – it all depends on how things play out. As you begin to consider the same, you will see what I mean. There are times when making a change just isn’t worth it. But at the same time, some things must be included on your resume no matter what needs done to make it happen.
If there are any major changes to your resume you should make them right away. For instance, did your phone number or address change? Did you recently have a book published? Anything that could greatly affect the decision of a potential client should be considered as top-notch importance.
As long as you are open to updating your freelance writing resume, nothing should stop you from making the proper changes when they are called for. Once you do this a few times you will become familiar with which updates are important, as well as those that you can overlook.
As a freelance writer, there are many tools you can use to market your services. Obviously, anything you can do online is going to be beneficial. This leads many aspiring writers to asking this question: do I need to start a freelance writing blog? The answer is no! Every time I tell somebody this they look at me perplexed and wonder if I made a mistake.
If you are going to work as a freelance writer you definitely need a website with information on yourself including a bio, services, testimonials, and anything else that you find to be important. But this does not mean that you also have to blog about freelance writing. There is nothing wrong with having a static website that can help you attract and inform clients and prospects.
Just because you are not blogging about freelance writing does not mean that you have to stay away from this entirely. Many people are stunned when I tell them that ChrisBlogging is not my most popular blog. Sure, it brings in a lot of traffic and I like to think that it helps many people. But over the past few years I have started blogs on other topics, from pets to business, which have become more popular.
Of course, if you want to blog about freelance writing there is nothing wrong with this. Maybe this is your passion, and you enjoy writing about it on a regular basis – I know I do!
In closing, you do not need a freelance writing blog to succeed as a writer. While it can be used as a marketing tool, it is not essential to your overall success.
