Basic Advice On How To Get Freelance Magazine Writing Jobs Online

You know all those magazines on the store shelf? The ones with all the articles in them? Who do you think writes those articles?

I bet you think the magazine has dedicated staff, sitting in expensive office space, producing article after article. You would be wrong. The editor is the one who puts it all together but often he or she does is commission articles from freelance writers.

How does that work?

  • Firstly, make sure the publication you want to write for does accept work from outside. There are still some publishing companies that source their work in-house. The easiest way to figure this out is if the names on the article by-lines are different from the ones listed as part of the staff.

  • The editor wants to see your style. So he or she will want samples. Any time you get a piece published if it is an ezine or a company pamphlet keep a clipping, save the url. Anything that has your name on the byline that is what the editor wants to see.

  • Know your market. Read over back issues of the periodical. Make sure you know exactly what is expected of the writers they publish. The editor is more likely to commission a piece that fits exactly onto an already established page.

  • In your reading make note of what they have just published. They will not require an article on something they have recently covered.

  • If you are trying to make a name in politics, try to avoid sending a left-leaning piece to a right-wing paper.

  • Make a list. Brainstorm for article ideas that you could write. You are going to need a whole bunch because chances are that editor is going to reject most of them. Make sure you are never out of ideas to make that pitch.

  • Keep an eye on the news. If one of the ideas on your list makes the headlines, then get that pitch in as fast as you can. That is why you keep a ready-made list, so you can fire off your approaches as soon as the news hits.

  • Track where you send your pitches. You do not want to keep sending the same proposal to the same editor after he or she has already rejected it.

  • And finally, make sure you have your query letter perfect. There is no point in creating an article for a publication unless you have been commissioned. Just sending in random piece is unlikely to impress.

Sites For Freelance Writers

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