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Sunday, September 30, 2007

How To Get Started Freelance Writing

I wanted to start this blog so that I could help people understand about freelance writing and help them along their own path to getting published. There is good news for freelancers, a vast market is waiting. There are more than five thousand magazines in today’s market which doesn’t include all of the internet opportunities available that take freelance material. Every day, aspiring writers strive to discover how they can get their work published with their own bylines. I hope that his blog can answer those questions.

To begin, your personal knowledge and expertise can find its way into this vast market. For example if you know are a nurse, there are numerous Nursing Magazines, if you enjoy hunting or fishing, there are numerous Hunting & Fishing magazines. Whatever your passion, there is a magazine for you and online resource for you to write articles. Your experiences can become articles or stories for print magazines, or ezines, or blogs.

A little market research can uncover a wealth of specialty magazines—sports, hobby, travel, auto, military, business, health, nature, mystery and more—as well as hundreds of literary and regional publications that could be markets for your work.

Find out what these magazines are all about by reading them, explore the Internet, and research what is available to you. Never go by the name of a publication or web page to make an assumption about its contents. Titles can be misleading. And a lot of web pages have a need for articles and usually have a wide array of topics and opportunities. Be sure of what a magazine and/or web page publishes—and give yourself a better chance for success—by reading. Editors return hundreds of manuscripts every month from people who have no idea what their magazines want. Businesses also turn away quality work for their web pages, because some writers just submit their work without researching where they are sending it.

Find out what these magazines are all about by reading them, explore the Internet, and research what is available to you. Never go by the name of a publication or web page to make an assumption about its contents. Titles can be misleading. And a lot of web pages have a need for articles and usually have a wide array of topics and opportunities. Be sure of what a magazine and/or web page publishes—and give yourself a better chance for success—by reading. Editors return hundreds of manuscripts every month from people who have no idea what their magazines want. Businesses also turn away quality work for their web pages, because some writers just submit their work without researching where they are sending it.

“It’s a terrible waste of time, energy and postage for all of us,” says one editor.
Visit the library or send for sample copies of the magazines. If you do your market research up front, you’ll decrease your chances of singing the “rejection slip blues.”

Writing, like any craft is hard work, it can be fun and yes, you can make a living at it. But you have to want it and you have to be willing to put in the time. I look forward to sharing this process and would love to hear your comments, or suggestions for blogs, or even to answer your questions. You can also visit my webpage at http://www.brendasegnawebmarketing.com/

Ciao for now,
Brenda