Freelance Writing and Feature Articles
It seems that all freelance writers have their “specialty.†This is more or less the type of projects that they work on the most. For some, this is keyword articles, for others business plans or sales letters. One of the best paying specialties to consider is feature articles. If you can break into this area you are sure to increase your monthly income.
As you probably know, feature articles are used by magazines of all sizes. These are the articles that are featured in the magazine due to their depth, detail, and most of the time length. Early on in my freelance writing career I did not concentrate much on feature articles. After all, these gigs are difficult to tie down because there is a lot of competition for them.
After a few months I began to send out query letters to mid-size magazines that matched my expertise. Soon enough, I landed a couple of regular jobs and was on my way from there. Check out a feature of mine in Insight Magazine; this is just one of many that I have completed in the past few years.
The most difficult part of breaking into feature article market is getting that first job. Without a lot of samples this can be difficult, but if you send out enough queries you are sure to get a bite sooner rather than later. From there, you can begin to narrow down your targets and build your career. Your first gig may not pay great, but it is a start nonetheless.
As mentioned briefly above, feature articles can pay very well. This is not always the case, but bigger publications pay $1/word and up. I have never earned that much per word, but have been close a couple of times. Just like anything else within the freelance writing industry, your pay will increase as you become better known and more proficient at writing feature articles.
No matter what stage of your career you are at, attempt to break into feature article writing sooner rather than later.
