September 2007

Not too many years ago, freelance writers who weren’t copywriters had only a few options, the most common of which were writing for magazines or writing for newspapers. Since freelance newspaper writing isn’t usually very lucrative, a lot of freelance writers found writing for magazines to be a great way to earn a living. Many still do. Still, now that so much is online, freelance writers have a lot of choices when it comes to the writing jobs they take.

Online freelance writing jobs range from writing content articles for websites to blogging, writing for online newsletters/ezines to writing for online magazines.

As a freelance writer who makes my living primarily doing corporate writing work, I earn most of my income writing newsletters (online and off), writing articles and web content for corporate sites, blogging for corporate blogs, and writing an occasional press release. For fun, I enjoy writing creatively for literary magazines — I usually look for ones that pay, so it’s like a double-bonus for me.

Although I’ve written an article for a magazine here and there, it’s not the sort of work I enjoy. However, since many writers new to freelancing email me asking for information on freelance magazine writing, I thought I’d offer up this checklist (albeit not an all-inclusive one) about how to know whether or not writing for magazines might be something you’d enjoy doing.

Freelance magazine writing might be for you if:

1. You have a lot of unique ideas and have the ability to pitch them successfully.
2. You have the ability to conform your writing style/tone to that of the magazines you write for.
3. You enjoy interviewing people.
4. You don’t mind spending time reading back-issues of magazines to familiarize yourself with the publications you want to write for.
5. You don’t mind waiting a month or more to hear back about whether or not you’ll be assigned the article.
6. You don’t mind waiting a month or more to get paid.
7. You don’t take rejection personally.

Freelance magazine writing might NOT be for you if:

In the world of freelance writing, deadlines are important. If you’re new to freelance writing, you should treat deadlines as though your career depends on them — because it truly does. If an editor gives you a deadline and you don’t deliver, it can mean more than losing that one assignment. It also means that, in most cases, the editor will never be willing to work with you again. But more than that, missing a deadline tells an editor that you’re not responsible. If word gets around, because editors do talk to each other, missing one deadline could give you a negative reputation.

Don’t think deadlines only matter for printed magazines. Deadlines are just as important to those of us who run online mags and ezines. I’m fairly lenient with the freelancers who write for write-from-home.com, primarily because I don’t run a monthly theme. If I commission an article and it doesn’t come in that month, I can use it the following month. Still, even for a small online ezine like mine, irresponsible writers ruin opportunities for themselves and for others.

For example: I’ve had a few writers who have queried me, and after I’ve told them to go ahead with the article, I don’t see it for three months or I have to hunt them down and ask how the article is coming along. Once I get the finished pieces from these writers, I make a mental note never to work with them again. It’s not worth the trouble.

Another example: I’ve had a few people who have queried, and I’ve assigned the article. Then, for whatever reason, they tell me they no longer have time to write the article. Meanwhile, I have turned down another writer who has queried about writing a very similar piece, because I don’t like to run two very similar articles at once. So these writers not only inconvenience me as an editor, they’ve caused another writer to lose out. Once again, I’ll remember these names, and if they ever query again, I’ll be sure to turn them down out of fear of a repeat incident.

As a freelance writer, I have never ever missed a deadline. I have worked late into the night, taken my laptop with me through family emergencies, and done whatever has had to be done not to miss deadlines. Even though I’m not a magazine writer, the deadlines I have are equally important to me. If an online business tells me they need an article for their website by Friday, they could realistically probably wait until Saturday morning, but I’d never ask for an extension unless I absolutely had to (i.e., if I was hospitalized). A large majority of my freelance writing business is by referrals/word-of-mouth, so I try my best to keep my clients happy.

Here are some tips to help you avoid freelance writing scams:

Don’t write “trial” articles.

If someone isn’t intelligent enough to figure out whether or not you’d be a good fit for the job by reading something you’ve already written, then you don’t want to work for them. Scammers ask for “trial articles” then re-sell them illegally or use them on their own sites. Once you’ve given it away, you can’t prove it’s yours.

Don’t give away your SSN.

Unless they hire you, they don’t need it. (Who does a background check to hire a freelance writer?!) Even if they do hire you, employers (U.S.) only need your SSN to report you to the IRS after you’ve earned $600 in one year. They don’t need it before they hire you — ever.

Read the fine print.

Don’t sign contracts that don’t spell out the terms clearly, including what rights you’re giving away and when you’ll be paid. “On publication” could mean never if they never publish your article. Get a date.

Use Google to your advantage.

Freelance writers stick together, they complain on their own blogs, and they report freelance writing scams to places like writersweekly.com. If you’re in doubt, a google search might turn up something.

Trust your better judgment.

Even if you’re broke and really need the money, don’t hope that something sounding too good to be true will really pan out. It’s better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

Whether working on a non-fiction article or a short story, writer’s block is one thing I think all writers probably face at one time or another. My favorite way to beat the block? Make a word collage. I’m a visual, artsy person, so I keep a stack of catalogs on hand for art projects. When I’m dealing with writers block, I’ll pull out a few catalogs, old magazines, newspapers, junk mail (anything with words). I cut the words out and rearrange them. I don’t use the words to write anything, but playing around with the process clears my mind and inspires me somehow. Yes, I’m weird! But there you have it.

How do YOU beat writers block?