Freelance writing job easiest to find?

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draculeen

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Hi all!

I hope I am posting in the right section, I am still getting acquainted with the site and it's various categories.
I have started asking questions and I will post more lol bear with me! :)

My question here is, what kind of freelance writing work would you say is the easiest to find? Basically, I want to start earning an income out of freelance writing, even if it is not a lot in the beginning. I don't know where to start! lol

I have been studying the two local papers, and can not think of anything their Editorial departments would be interested in. They are weekly publications, and they are full of boring small town stuff, such as highschool sports events, local politics, and drunk driving offences.

If half of the planet would collapse into a travelling black hole overnight, and Australia would dissapear as a result, it would not be mentioned in the local papers. Instead the front page would be "Local man kills deer, his wife is proud" on one and "Lobster fisherman finds a $20 bill under his couch" on the other... :-(

I still might approach them about an Agony Aunt job though... or maybe a weekly humor column? but weekly humor column on what? in such a small town that pretends there is no outside world there isn't much to write about, especially as they might take offense if I start writing about local events and people.

All advice would be appreciated.
 

KTC

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There is no easy freelancing. Prepare a query that will entice your targeted market, and you will be successful. Easy isn't in the cards...but thorough and professional will get you everywhere. Just write a drop dead query and send it to a publication that doesn't yet know that the article/column you are proposing is EXACTLY what they are looking for. I wish you the best of luck!
 

Cat Scratch

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Is there anything in your area that you feel particularly knowledgable about? I started writing about the local theatre scene in my community, as I am active in theatre and usually have an idea as to the inside goings-on. If you're active in, say, Elks Club or something, you could query with story ideas related to your interests. Just make sure it's newsworthy and interesting.
 

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I've always found it easiest to get work writing articles when they're connected to something I have some expertise in. For example: I live in a run-down house which we've been renovating for a decade now. A lot of the renovation has been part-funded by my writing articles about our bigger projects here, such as when we installed a new septic tank, and a rainwater system. I've always kept poultry: so I've written several pieces about poultry. I hate cleaning and with small children, dogs and a house in a permanent state of disrepair I have a lot of cleaning to do: so I wrote a few articles about how to cheat at cleaning, and ended up getting sent several vaccuum cleaners and steam cleaners to try out and review. I started with smaller magazines, with limited circulations, and within a year I was writing for the national papers here in the UK.

Just build on what you can do, and soon you'll be able to branch out into other areas. Don't expect to earn much at first; be prepared to supply good photos to illustrate your pieces; get your work in on time, make sure it's the right length and subject; and be nice to all your editors, even if you decide you don't want to work for them again. It pays!

(By the way, Cat Scratch, I love your avatar. I used to have over 200 peafowl here, in all sorts of colours... now I have only about 10, and it's not enough.)
 

johnnysannie

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draculeen said:
Hi all!

I hope I am posting in the right section, I am still getting acquainted with the site and it's various categories.
I have started asking questions and I will post more lol bear with me! :)

My question here is, what kind of freelance writing work would you say is the easiest to find? Basically, I want to start earning an income out of freelance writing, even if it is not a lot in the beginning. I don't know where to start! lol

I have been studying the two local papers, and can not think of anything their Editorial departments would be interested in. They are weekly publications, and they are full of boring small town stuff, such as highschool sports events, local politics, and drunk driving offences.

If half of the planet would collapse into a travelling black hole overnight, and Australia would dissapear as a result, it would not be mentioned in the local papers. Instead the front page would be "Local man kills deer, his wife is proud" on one and "Lobster fisherman finds a $20 bill under his couch" on the other... :-(

I still might approach them about an Agony Aunt job though... or maybe a weekly humor column? but weekly humor column on what? in such a small town that pretends there is no outside world there isn't much to write about, especially as they might take offense if I start writing about local events and people.

All advice would be appreciated.


Ask the papers what they might like to add.....'bout twenty years ago I netted my first ongoing column and the chance to do freelance features for a small weekly by asking the editor what he would like to have that he didn't. His answer was a book review column - I wrote the first one and he asked me to do it on an ongoing basis. After a few of those, I began doing freelance features on interesting people in the area. You'd be surprised that if you scratch around, there are interesting people almost anywhere.

Some of the ones I remember well were a man who had helped build an Ozarks fishing park (Roaring River State park) and served as a fishing/hunting guide for President Harry Truman and a woman who had made quilts for each of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren for Christmas one year.



Good luck!
 
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