FAQ answers - part one

A freelance writer is anyone who makes some or all of his or her income by writing on assignment. Freelance writers are professional independent business people, skilled not only in writing, but in attracting clients to their writing. Freelancers' clients include newspapers, magazines, government departments and agencies, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations.

Many professional writers point to the "free" in freelancer to explain why they prefer to work for themselves. Freelancers are free to choose their own assignments and juggle work schedules and workloads. Freelance writing is an excellent work option for writers who choose to live outside major centres as it allows writers to work from home. Many professional freelancers become specialists, writing primarily about their area of greatest knowledge and expertise (e.g. science writing, financial writing, copywriting, medical writing, food writing, travel writing, etc.), while others are generalists, willing and able to write in many different areas.

Freelancers report suffering occasional dry spells, when the work assignments seem few and far between. As well, newspaper and magazine per-word payment rates for freelance writing in Canada have not seen any significant increases since the numbers were initially tracked in the 1970s. This, coupled with greater media concentration, has led many professional freelancers to write for corporations, businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Since their work is not permanent and full-time, freelancers are unlikely to benefit from employee pension, health and insurance plans, and need to make their own provisions for retirement. On the other hand, many successful Canadian freelance writers have turned these challenges into opportunities - finding lucrative work with corporate markets, government agencies and clients in other countries.

One of the great advantages of freelancing is that you can test the waters by starting to work part-time before you make the momentous decision to freelance as a career. Draw up a focused plan for what you would like to write and where you would like to see it published or sold. Then pursue that specific goal and assess the outcome. Attend local PWAC seminars in your area and feel free to pick the brains of the professional freelance writers in attendance.

As with any other new business, you should start your writing career with a focused business plan. Set realistic yet challenging timelines and income goals. Attend a PWAC seminar in your area. Start to build that valuable network of contacts, and begin using those contacts by sending out pitch letters.

The level of education among professional writers varies greatly, but most PWAC members have at least one degree related to their areas of expertise and writing skills. Degrees in writing or journalism are by no means necessary to a successful freelance career, but they are a growing trend. Writing is a skilled profession, and clients often like to see some educational experience in the field before contracting you for work. Information about educational resources near you, specifically journalism schools and post-secondary writing programs, can be found on the Internet and in the PWAC Links section. Obviously, being able to show prospective clients a professional portfolio of relevant work experience helps tremendously in the pitching stage. But many publishers will take a chance on a relatively untried writer who presents a strong pitch or query letter. And many clients will hire you if you can demonstrate knowledge of their business and an ability to communicate effectively in writing.

7. Where do people get their story ideas?

There are as many answers to this question as there are professional writers. Generating stories is a skill developed over time and experience. All beginning writers have heard the "write what you know" advice, which is the writing equivalent of a new salesperson starting with their "natural market" of family and friends. The most successful freelance writers become story "sponges", permanently attuned to interesting events or details in their immediate environment. Carry a notebook or some sort of recording device with you at all times. Stay interested in everything going on around you - ask questions and follow-up questions, and listen carefully for tangents you can follow up on. Create a personal web of contacts and information sources to keep your potential story bank constantly refreshed. PWAC members benefit from all sorts of networking and information-sharing opportunities provided by the association, including three active e-mail listservs, regular electronic bulletins and local seminars and peer gatherings. All of these services can play an instrumental role in setting up your personal information network.

Write, write, write - and get published. Then keep clippings of your published stories.

Very little professional writing makes it to publication without being edited, and editors make individual editorial decisions based on different motivations. One writer may find that one or two small word substitutions have changed the nature or tone of the work, while another may find a 1,000-word piece drastically cut to 300 words due to last-minute space limitations. Whether or not to use these articles in your portfolio is an individual decision. You can certainly put anything you've written in your portfolio, regardless of its final appearance.

Most newspapers accept freelance work, and the Canadian magazine industry is heavily dependent on the work of freelance writers. Trade magazines devoted to a certain industry or sector are usually hungry for writers who understand that field, and many freelancers have used these markets as stepping stones. Websites are a growing market that requires a steady stream of "fresh" content.

PWAC members also have the advantage of access to Canadian Writer's Market, an online database of more than 1,100 Canadian writing markets. To create this database, professional writers have gathered detailed information on editorial contacts, payment rates and policies for all these markets. A number of resources are available for discovering good magazine markets, but nothing is quite as effective as leafing through the many magazines at your neighbourhood newsstand or library. Being able to browse through the hundreds of titles available in Canada gives a new writer an excellent grounding in the kinds of writing being bought by potential magazine clients.

There's a simple answer to that one - don't send out any queries. Unfortunately, the rejection letter is a reality of professional writing that will never go away. Here are some strategies for reducing your exposure to these confidence crushers:

• know your markets;
• develop a relationship with editors at each market you're interested in;
• always present yourself in a professional manner in writing, on the phone, and in person;
• pump up the volume of queries you send out (one acceptance letter is more powerful than ten rejections).