Dear O'Abby: How do I get freelance work as a writer?

 Dear O'Abby,

A friend of mine suggested that I could make a bit of extra cash from by writing articles for different publications.  I kind of like that idea and have a bunch of ideas for stories I'd be interested in writing, but have no idea how to get into something like that.

Do you know any good ways to get this kind of freelance work?

Best wishes,

Workless

Dear Workless,

Firstly, don't Google how to get freelance writing gigs.  The first thing that comes up are a bunch of sites that suggest you sign up and work will come your way.  These sites tend to be competitive, pay badly and don't give you a lot of control over the content you produce.  As a freelance writer, you are basically setting yourself up as a business and as a business owner, you want to have control over all aspects of the business.  

So my first piece of advice is to know what kind of writing you want to do, find outlets that publish that kind of content and approach them directly with a pitch.  Make sure you thoroughly research the outlet you're pitching so you can ensure the story you pitch will be in line with their audience and editorial style.

Once you've identified the outlets, you need to pitch the story to an editor.  Editors are busy people and they get pitched at all day so make sure your pitch is punchy, to the point and that your credentials show that you are the perfect person - or better, the only person - to write this particular story.  This does not mean sending a lengthy cover letter with all your previous writing experience spelled out, or your full resume. A couple of sentences is enough if the article pitched is strong.

Because editors are busy people, it may take time for them to get back to you. It is okay to nudge if you have not seen a response after a couple of weeks (less if your story is time-sensitive), but don't badger them.  

Alternatively, a lot of businesses have blogs or newsletters that require content on a fairly regular basis and if that kind of writing appeals to you, that can be a good source of regular freelance work.  Maybe even start with one of your own previous employers, if they have such a thing.

There are a lot of opportunities for writers of all styles out there from writing reports to reviews to business letters to advice columns (like this one - although I don't get paid for this), so keep your eyes open for anything that looks like it could use help with its content and don't be shy about pitching your ideas.

Hope that's helpful!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: Can I make a living as a writer?

 Dear O'Abby,

Is it possible to make a living as a writer?  What should I do to make this happen?

Yours,

Directionless

Dear Directionless,

Short answer, yes.  It is possible to make a living as a writer.  But...

It really depends on what you want to write.  Very few writers make a living writing novels or picture books or even non-fiction books.  So if that's what you're talking about, I'd say probably not.  And certainly not right away.  If you're lucky enough to write a book that's a runaway smash hit and shoots to the top of the best-seller list, then you may be able to make a living writing books.  At least for a while.

If you're willing to consider other kinds of writing, there are certainly ways to make a living.  You could freelance and write stories for newspapers and magazines and other publications.  It's not always easy to get hired for these things, but if you're eager and persevere, you may be able to get enough work to get by and if you're good, you may get offered a regular column or feature in one or more of these publications.

You could also consider technical writing - writing manuals or guides or webpages.  If you have some specialist knowledge in a certain area, this could be something you can put to use.  But even if you don't, if you can analyse and understand concepts and put them into words clearly, you can probably work in this area.  Some companies will need in-house people to do this work which could be a full-time position, whereas others will hire freelancers when and where they need them.

Advertising agencies need writers to come up with the perfect words to sell products.  If you're good at coming up with pithy one-liners or catchy phrases that stick in the brain for days, copy writing for an advertising agency could suit you.

And of course there's writing for film, television and theater too.  Screenwriting and playwriting are quite different skills to writing prose, but good writing is is good writing, regardless. And a compelling story or character is compelling on screen, on stage or on the page.  If you are thinking about trying out something in this arena, my advice (as someone who works in the screen industry) would be to remember that these are visual mediums.  Think about how you might tell a story visually.  That whole show vs tell tell thing becomes way more critical when the story is going to play out in front of the audience. 

With social media being such a crucial tool for engagement these days, there are also opportunities for those who can write smart, succinct, engaging social media posts across platforms.  So if you're glued to your phone and spend much of your time on Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat, there may be a role for you writing this type of content.

If you have an eye for detail and excellent knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation, there may be opportunities for you to work as a proof reader or editor.  Again, this could be a full-time, in-house position at some companies, or something you do on a freelance basis.  It's not actually writing, but you will use the skills and knowledge you have developed through writing to improve the writing of others.

And that's just a handful of the opportunities that may be available to you if you want to make a living as a writer. Even if that's not exactly what you had in mind, and your dream is to write best-selling novel after best-selling novel, doing other types of writing will only help hone your skills. I write for a living in my day job, creating web content, newsletters, press releases and corporate documents, and proof-reading and editing other documents. It all helps me become a better writer.

Good luck!  I hope you this was helpful.

X O'Abby

Truths and A Lie with A Cautionary Tale

For my first post, I thought I'd help you all get to know me better by expanding on the truths and lies from my Mystery Blogger introduction.

Truths first:

• On her very first time volunteering at a regional SCBWI conference, Mystery Blogger introduced Well-Respected Editor without any verbal stumbles. And then as MB exited the stage, she promptly tripped over Well-Respected Editor’s purse and nearly faceplanted. There's more to this story--after my near-pratfall, I tried to recover with a "Ta-da!" Which might have worked, except that apparently no one had noticed me trip. So instead, they were wondering why I was ta-da-ing while Well-Respected Editor was trying to talk. Memorable for all the wrong reasons!

• The most cats that Mystery Blogger has ever had piled on her at one time is seven, distributed equally between her lap, feet, head, face, and shoulders. There were another five in the queue waiting for an opportunity. Or a fight to break out, which also clears the decks. I only have two cats (both reformed ferals and special needs) but I volunteer at a wonderful no-kill, cagefree cat sanctuary called Fat Kitty City.

There are over 100 cats, some adoptable but many permanent residents due to special needs. "Does this tie into writing at all, Angelica?" you may be asking. Yes, because last year I started up an online auction called Pens for Paws to raise money for FKC and it is chock full of critique opportunities for writers. If you're one of those, you might want to bid (starting March 12).

• While recording a video pitch for a PitchFest, Mystery Blogger misspoke “sets a ship afire” with a bad word that rhymes with ship. And then couldn’t stop laughing for the next twenty takes. Now whenever she talks about that book, most of her brain cells are devoted to screaming, “make sure you say ship!” This works approximately none of the time.

• Mystery Blogger once scared an agent on Twitter by trying to make a joke. Agent had tweeted something along the lines of “you don’t ever want to send me a query so bad it ends up on my Special List” and Mystery Blogger responded with “Challenge Accepted!” Agent tweeted back that the Special List was not meant to be aspired to and Mystery Blogger apologized profusely. They shared a laugh and became the best of friends. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I ended up on that list without even querying. So the moral of this cautionary tale is not to assume that agents can spot sarcasm in a 140-character tweet. Unless . . . she was being sarcastic and I've worried for nothing all this time???

On another note, in my "hello" paragraph I failed to mention exactly what kind of writing I do. I started out freelancing, with articles published on gardening, family travel, local history, natural history, pets, green living, and recipes for special diets. These days, I mostly write poetry, picture books, short stories, and young adult novels. So you can expect to see my future posts populated with any of the above subjects.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all back here in two weeks for my next post!