So, you want to be a freelance writer?
What's wrong with you? Don't you know that during your first year as a freelance, you probably won't earn more than $3,000-if even that?
Don't you know that the publications you'll be penning your sterling prose for may not pay you for weeks--perhaps months?
Don't you know that knocking off a few articles in your spare time is no problem at all if you have spare time 9-5 p.m., five days a week?
Don't you know that the suicide rate for freelance writers is soaring--and that freelancers are frequently disowned by their families (especially if they are Jewish)?
Don't you know that most freelance writers won't even give each other the time of day?
You still want to be a freelance writer? OK. You've passed the first test. Because if you're the sort who's easily discouraged -whether by a rejection slip or a telephone disconnect notice (and there will be lots of both)-this is not a job for you.
The fact is, freelancing can be one of the best jobs in the world. Successful freelance writers get to see their by-lines on the covers of the country's best publications, travel all over the world (expenses paid), meet all sorts of interesting and crazy people and they can sleep late on Mondays.
Nevertheless, "success can be very elusive. It may take years before you hit the big time. But you probably know this already. You've probably already met your share of struggling writers. Pathetic, aren't they?
Well, soon you'll be one of them.
Perhaps you already have an article, or an idea for an article that you have been panhandling, without success, through mails.
What did you do wrong?
Perhaps your article wasn't very well written. Perhaps the idea wasn't well thought out. Perhaps it was submitted at the wrong time. Or misdirected. Or, more likely, perhaps you haven't shown your article or article idea to the right editor.
But before I go into any more of the nitty-gritty, let's define our terms.
What is a freelance writer? According to the latest edition of Webster's New World Dictionary, a "freelance" is “1. a medieval soldier who sold his services to any state or military leader; mercenary. 2. a person who acts according to his own principles and is not influenced by any group. 3. a writer, actor, etc. who is hot under contract for regular work but sells his writing or -services to any buyer.
To be sure, the modern-day, professional freelance is a combination of all three of the above--a freethinking mercenary who writes for the highest bidder. Or, to paraphrase Richard Boone, you might say that our motto is "have pen--will travel" (and that pen better be loaded),
Sounds cynical, doesn't it? Well, you have to be a little cynical if you want to make it as a freelance. You also must be patient, disciplined, reliable, business-minded, and a little nuts, although not necessarily in that order.
It also helps if you know how to write.
All told, there are some 20,000 to 30,000 Americans who list their occupation as freelance writing, according to a recent Department of Labor survey; probably three-quarters of these live in New York. Of this number no more than one or two thousand actually make a living from freelancing. Perhaps three or four hundred make a good living from freelancing.
And what do freelance writers write? Most, like myself, write articles, essays, or reviews for newspapers or magazines. Some with commercial or public relations experience writes speeches and advertisements. A few write jingles for greeting cards. Others do it all.
During my first year as a freelance, based in Ithaca, New York. I did everything from writing articles about the "campus mood' for the Cornell Alumni News 10 concocting a serialized history of beer for a local discount beverage store to ghostwriting for law and medical school ($50 per essay; $25 for every school the customer was admitted into).
In short, I was a hack. Most freelancers begin as hacks. It's only later on when they can affix their names to their work, that freelancers can afford to think of themselves as writers or--if they are only writing for periodicals- journalists.
Nevertheless one shouldn't delude oneself -the abyss is always near. The danger point comes when a freelancer has his or her work published in a prestigious publication, like the Times, or Atlantic Monthly, or, if lightning strikes, The New Yorker. That's when there's a temptation to rest on your laurels.
That's what happened to me after I sold my first article to the Times Magazine for all of $850. I was on top of the world. Friends and relatives from California, Alaska, and other points distant phoned to say, breathlessly, that they had all read my article (in this case, a profile of Holland) and "loved it!" Suddenly filled with generous, humane impulses, I threw a party for various friends and creditors at an expensive restaurant. I treated myself to some plants and posters 1 also stopped sending out for work. Within a month, I was broke again. And all those accolades weren't worth a damn.
So, you still want to be a freelance writer?
OK. Here are some pointers on getting started.
1. What equipment do I need to get started as a freelancer?
Not much--a typewriter, some good business bond, a small reference library, including a good dictionary and a Thesaurus, and a copy of Writer's Market '79 (See The Writer's Bookshelf.
It also helps to have a cat or two (or at least a responsive set of plants) to keep you company during the long, lonely hours you'll be holed up in your apartment.
Scotch and soda are optional. No grass, please--and no speed (unless you are a narcoleptic).
2. What publications are looking for new contributors?
Almost all are—just take a look at Writer's Market.
The fact is, most periodicals and many newspapers get most of the stuff they publish from freelancers. Yes, even the dailies.
However, you must have what the editors are looking for. The best way to break in is to target a few publications in a particular market that you are interested in or think you are qualified to write for, and read as many back issues of these publications as you can. After a while, you'll have a pretty good idea of the editors' tastes. Remember: most editors edit their publications for themselves. You have to psych them out.
Some of the better markets these days are alumni magazines (this is where I broke in), regional publications (New York, Boston, Washingtonian), and service-oriented publications (Apartment Life, Gourmet).
3. How do magazines and newspapers pay?
Some publications pay by the column inch, others by the word. Some pay by the page. The best-paying magazines are mass-circulation, general interest publications like Reader's Digest, Playboy, Esquire, National Geographic, and some women's magazines.
Obviously, these are also the hardest to break into. Skin books (Playboy, Penthouse) pay the best of all.
4. Do I need a "specialty" to make it as a freelance?
No, but it helps--particularly if you can document previous experience in that specialty, writing or otherwise. For example, a teacher will have a better chance of getting an assignment from a specialized education publication than someone who is simply interested in education.
The most crowded specialties are the most glamorous ones-politics, arts, sports. Someone with expertise in one of the more arcane areas of current affairs, such as finance, education, or religion should have a much better chance of making a go at it.
Nevertheless, the most important thing is your ideas.
If you have a great article idea- or at least what an editor thinks is a great article idea-he will probably give you a shot at it. (Contrary to rumor, most editors do not steal article ideas; they wouldn't be in business very long if they did).
5. How do I send out for work?
Some editors will entertain queries by phone.
However, almost all will demand to see what is known in the trade as a query letter.
In this letter, which should be no more than one or two pages in length, you should outline your article idea as colorfully and succinctly as possible, as well as your qualifications for writing it. Almost all editors will demand to see some samples of your previously published work.
If you don't have any writing samples to show, then you probably should just go ahead and write the article on speculation and submit it. Remember to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. And pray.
6. How should I structure my time, once I go freelance?
First of all, you should give yourself a daily word quota. Five hundred is good to start with. I try to write 1000, just as Shaw once suggested.
You should also devise a fairly rigorous routine with periods for pure writing, research, and correspondence, respectively.
On a typical day I'll write about 1000 words of an assigned article in the morning, go out to research my next article or article query in the afternoon, and devote a few hours in the evening to correspondence Of course, if you work better at night, you may want to reverse this.
It also helps to paste famous quotations on the wall. One of my perennials is "This too shall pass.”