Hi and happy Monday!
Lately, a couple people have asked me how I got into freelance writing, so I thought I would share it here for anyone who’s interested!
Started writing about what I knew and was interested in on Medium through their Partner Program. This allowed me to a) get my work/name out there, b) have some work in my portfolio to send editors, and c) make some money along the way.
Lots of research! I reached out to writers, read things online, etc about how to pitch, how to have the most success on Medium, etc. This is a great place to find people to talk to. I'd focus on ones who are in your niche / have written for pubs you'd like to write for, that kind of thing!
Subscribed to newsletters that shared pitch calls (like this one!). Sonia's is big as well
Study pubs you want to write for. What kind of content do they publish and not publish? Do they have pitching guidelines? What topics seem to be popular? Etc
Pitch! Small pubs & big pubs alike. For the most part, I got started in smaller ones that colleagues wrote for, and worked my way into the bigger ones once I had more experience. But don't be afraid to shoot big at times either.
As far as colleagues, I recommend getting into Slacks / group chats for writers that people post about on Twitter. Great way to meet and connect with writers, hear about opps, ask questions, etc.
And to get to that point, I recommend following writers on Twitter. You can either search "writer" and click “People,” or search the pub name and click "People," or click the Twitter link from an author's profile in a pub, etc. Interact with them there too!
In your pitch, be clear about your expertise. This could be what you have a degree or certification in, what you’ve researched, what you’ve written about before, that kind of thing.
Now, onto the writing jobs and pitch calls for paid subscribers!
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