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Writing for a Living: 10 Steps To Help You Succeed From Joanne Mallon
1. Be aware that even very experienced writers are finding it tough right now. If you’re not passionate about it, there are easier ways to earn a living.
2. Get some training – often this is useful not so much for what you learn as the contacts you make whilst you’re learning. The NUJ do some great short courses.
3. Brush up on your law – no point in writing something great if you libel somebody in the process. McNae’s Handbook is the standard text for journalists.
4. Write, write, write. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Even if you don’t have any commissions, start a blog to increase your experience and hopefully start to attract an audience.
5. Think unsexy when you’re researching the market. Everybody wants to write for The Guardian’s women’s page. Far fewer want to write for DIY Week. You’ll have more success if you pitch to places that not many other people are pitching to as well.
6. Think broadly when considering the type of writing that you’ll do. It’s not just about writing features and opinion pieces. Press releases, websites and leaflets all need writers too, and often this work is better paid than standard journalism.
7. Think about your unique life experience and what this gives you the background to write about. What can you write about that no-one else can?
8. Be aware of how payments processes work, if you want to eat. Some magazines only pay on publication, which may be 3 months after you write the piece. How will you survive till then?
9. Talk to other successful writers and learn from them. Join www.Journobiz.com and www.MediaWomenUK.com. Read Linda Jones’s The Greatest Freelance Writing Tips in the World.
10. Set up a website to showcase your expertise, and make a marketing plan to promote your writing business. No matter how great a writer you are, people can’t hire you if they don’t know about you.
Joanne Mallon is a journalist and life and career coach who specialises in helping media people become more successful. Find out more from http://www.medialifecoach.com/ or visit Joanne’s blog.
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on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 10:33 am and is filed under Writing for a Living.
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Writing for a Living: 10 Steps To Help You Succeed From Joanne Mallon
1. Be aware that even very experienced writers are finding it tough right now. If you’re not passionate about it, there are easier ways to earn a living.
2. Get some training – often this is useful not so much for what you learn as the contacts you make whilst you’re learning. The NUJ do some great short courses.
3. Brush up on your law – no point in writing something great if you libel somebody in the process. McNae’s Handbook is the standard text for journalists.
4. Write, write, write. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Even if you don’t have any commissions, start a blog to increase your experience and hopefully start to attract an audience.
5. Think unsexy when you’re researching the market. Everybody wants to write for The Guardian’s women’s page. Far fewer want to write for DIY Week. You’ll have more success if you pitch to places that not many other people are pitching to as well.
6. Think broadly when considering the type of writing that you’ll do. It’s not just about writing features and opinion pieces. Press releases, websites and leaflets all need writers too, and often this work is better paid than standard journalism.
7. Think about your unique life experience and what this gives you the background to write about. What can you write about that no-one else can?
8. Be aware of how payments processes work, if you want to eat. Some magazines only pay on publication, which may be 3 months after you write the piece. How will you survive till then?
9. Talk to other successful writers and learn from them. Join www.Journobiz.com and www.MediaWomenUK.com. Read Linda Jones’s The Greatest Freelance Writing Tips in the World.
10. Set up a website to showcase your expertise, and make a marketing plan to promote your writing business. No matter how great a writer you are, people can’t hire you if they don’t know about you.
Joanne Mallon is a journalist and life and career coach who specialises in helping media people become more successful. Find out more from http://www.medialifecoach.com/ or visit Joanne’s blog.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 10:33 am and is filed under Writing for a Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
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