Breaking into the business of getting paid to write

[Jason Cooke]

I'm just curious to know how all of you experienced professional writers got your first gig or paid assignment or whatever else that involved being able to eat bread as a consequence of stringing words together (whether for publication or not). I am presently mired in a career that I wouldn't wish on anyone with a sane value system, and am looking for more creative work. I wrote a bit for a college newspaper in Maine, but found that said newspaper liked to edit everything that was precisely interesting to me in my writing out of the finished product, so I went back to scribbling pseudo-poetic phrases on post-it notes at my insurance job--with little organization and even less motivation. I had read on one of these threads something about cold-calling. Is that the way to go? Also curious to know who this David Eide fellow is, and how did he get our names? And how did he know that I like to write? Then again, we are living in an aporia of a postmodern existence--this all could just be another one of the voices in my head.

Please advise. I'm serious about the breaking-in thing.

[Bonnie London]

Hope, I am so glad that I read this forum and in fact was going to exit when I saw your picture. I love Sun Oasis and it keeps my writing career at least on my second burner as does your wonderful site. "Hope for Writers". Thank you and David Eide for your dedication and the inspiration you give to all of us. The best to you both and thanks again.
Bonnie

[Hope Clark]

Bonnie,
Thanks for the kind words. Hope Fundsforwriters.com has been able to help your writing career. Amazing how my picture attracts attention. In reality I cringe in the mirror. Y'all don't see the wrinkles and gray hair I do. (smile)

Hope
Fundsforwriters.com

[Stacey Barlow]

hi Hope!

It has been a while since anything new has come to me from Fundsforwriters. . .It truly is a great help to me and I've told my writer friends about it as well and through the site, one of my friends received a grant. . .thanks so much for keeping us abreast of things.

[Capt. Fred Everson]

Thirty years ago it took a self addressed stamped envelope and the balls to put it in the mail. Today you can email it and you don't have to pay for the stamps to cover the return of your manuscript with the rejection form. You need a pretty thick hide to break into this business, but seeing your name in print, and on the first check is worth the effort.

[Julie Anne Fidler]

I started freelancing five years ago, after losing yet another lame job. I figured I didn't have anything to lose, so I read up on how to approach publications, learned how to write a query letter, and went for it. The first article I pitched got picked up, and after that I was hooked.
My best advice would be to stop thinking and start doing. The worst someone can say is "no."

I am currently working as a part-time proofreader for a publishing company, and trying to freelance in my off time. However, the problem I have run into is finding enough work to make up the difference.

Good luck!
-Julie

[Stacey Barlow]

Well Jason, it all starts with a hunger, love and passion for the writing (any type if you know how to do it) I can't even begin to tell you how it all started for me but i will try. Okay, I have been writing for years and my sister seen one of my pieces (of poetry) and she said that I needed to do something with it. As we all know, writing is a form of expression so that's all I was doing (for myself as therapy) which keeps down the cost of actually going to one. Not to quote the old saying "It's not what you know. . ." it still rings true. My first big break was since my sister works for ACS (American Cancer Society), they knew of my work and I was asked to write a poem for that region. Eventhough being paid a small amount, it lead to bigger things. Best investment is the writer's market (book) filled with information on publishing companies. Network pays off too. At least you received the chance to write for a newspaper. Most companies look at that as being the best thing you could ever do in writing. (Especially for magazines) It's not so much tht Mr. Eide gets our names, I found this site by searching in writing topics. Take a home study course, network with other writers, work in progess equals stability in success. . .I'm almost there. But as my cousin says "You are famous, but you are not hearing anything, and you just don't know it." I think I like it that way. . .but it's always good to know if your name is out there.

A work in progress. . .

Stacey

[David Eide]

Blogging and some of these newer forms of publishing like Triond or Suite101 are pretty good ways to break into the writing profession. The thing to remember is that it is highly unlikely you will make a lot of money writing in the short-term. To become a freelance writer, commit for the long-term, look at your financial situation, leap in, thrash around, go up learning curves, and recommit every couple of years. It takes time to learn the ropes and to get in a positive frame of mind and much of it is a mind game. Start with the commitment and a mission statement. Jump in.

What freelance writers need to understand is usually the thing they lack the most: the ability to constantly market and to run a business. Many good writers are chased out of the profession because they believe all they have to do is write well.

You have to write well but do other things too.

[Capt. Fred Everson]

Yes indeed. I got paid for my first two submissions, one to a national magazine, and the other a state publication. The first piece I sold was a two paragraph filler. It paid $40 in 1979. I wound up selling more than 100 fillers to that same magazine. Samuel Johnson said it best -- "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." That said, you better be thick skinned.

[Darlene Cain]

I write for www.helium.com and have made money there. There is a section called Marketplace which list topics which are requested by different publications. You write the article and it if it is chosen above the others it will pay.

Sometimes the competition is quite fierce but I have sold a few articles on there. Signing up is free and the articles that you post stay on the sight which brings in residual pay.

Good Luck

[SageRave]

Hmmmmm....

I can't say that I actually have a writing "career", but I do pay bills writing articles online. You might consider doing something similar on apart time basis. My private gigs have been the result of someone reading an article I have written on a website, like Associate Content or Demand Studios.

Have you submitted articles to print magazines?

No matter where you write, or for whom, you will write to specifications, even if they are limited to the subject matter. The very things you find interesting might still be edited out of existence.

Good luck!

[Holly Ocasio]

Right out of college, I wrote to a bunch of newspapers and magazines and asked whether they could use a writer. Of the places that replied, I chose three -- including a big metropolitan newspaper, which made me feel pretty cool at the time.

The jobs were all correspondent arrangements, writing feature stories or covering meetings. All were paid. One paid pitifully, so I did minimal work there, concentrating instead on the better-paid work.

I advise newbies nowadays to avoid pay-per-click and freebie arrangements. Such arrangements are abusive. There is no need for a professional to work for free or even for a grand total of $5 a story (Demand Studios, Helium, et al.). There's also no need (sorry, David!) to believe that you MUST write fillers before you write features. I didn't. In fact, I wrote features for years before writing one of those little two-to-three-paragraph items that runs in the front of a magazine.

To find paying work, look around more. Looking around the Web more, though, may not get you what you want, because the Web is rife with these companies wanting writers to give away their work; you have to come out into the light and air, and start making real contacts, not just answer ads on the Web. You have to seek out the paying work.

You also have to make a rule for yourself: You will believe in what you're worth, and you won't work for less. When you crowd your schedule with little penny-ante jobs, you rob yourself of time to find the work paying what you believe you're worth.

[Yayoi Winfrey]

I started out by writing for FREE! It was a small, widely-circulated, free publication in Los Angeles all about nightclubs and a few other entertainment choices. I'd be sent to different nightclubs in the city to review them for ambiance, cover charge, crowd, drinks, fashion, music, etc. Of course, I didn't pay to get in (the editor/publisher would call ahead) and often the owner/manager/bartender/deejay would treat me and my guest to drinks and appetizers--sometimes lavishly. That is how I justified doing what I did for no pay. That, plus since I was writing for free, the editor/publisher rarely edited my articles. In that way, I collected several clips that I really liked. And, since my interest was in film, I asked for, and got, assignments to review films and interview filmmakers. After collecting clips for about a year, I began pitching to editors and publishers who actually paid. Since I had clips then, I was treated like a pro. Just like they say, you gotta pay your dues. That was 12 years ago and, over time, I have discovered what topics are my passion and try to focus on them. Otherwise, if I have to do tech writing or something I don't like, I may as well just stick with my day job.

Good luck!

Your Hip Hapa,
Yayoi