Freelance work

glamrochick

i'm a student who enjoys writing and would like more letters published or i would write short articles/ reviews on things, how do i go about it? I'm based in manchester. Have had 1 letter in TV Times and 2 in Shindig! , tried to get one about Jimmy Saville published but nobody seemed to get back to me..

hope you can help

Hezzawithkids

Pick up and copy of the Writers Forum magazine or Writing magazine (both available at good newsagents like larger branches of Smiths). They are packed with ideas for getting on in the freelance writing market, plus competitions, etc.

Good luck!

glamrochick

ok thanks, will look for them when i go out and see what they are like!

Gazing_On_Sunsets

Those magazines are good. Also get hold of the Writers and Artists Yearbook or Writers Handbook as those list many magazine markets. A good website is the Renegade Writer even though it's US based.

Look sideways for opportunities. I have a monthly column in a magazine - it pays £75 a time for 600 words - in an area I know NOTHING about. But my husband is a fanatic so my column is about being the wife of a man mad on mechanical stuff. I just wrote a few examples and emailed them in.

You do need to analyse the tone of the magazine you're pitching to - even if you're sending in letters. Consider the readership, their social class and their education and aspirations.

I get a few things published every month but I'm really working hard on increasing that. And you might not hear back from somewhere for months - I had an acceptance yesterday from somewhere I pitched to on 7th September! So you need to be pitching ideas or submitting stories daily. Because you WILL get rejected, a lot, we all do. And it's never personal.

Good luck!

glamrochick

is it worth going on that site cos its US based? yeah annoying if we got rejected but guess its part of it..funny how you can write bout something you know about.. what websites could i go on? i tried to apply for work experience for full house the magazine, i emailed them today

Gazing_On_Sunsets

glamrochick wrote: »

is it worth going on that site cos its US based? yeah annoying if we got rejected but guess its part of it..funny how you can write bout something you know about.. what websites could i go on? i tried to apply for work experience for full house the magazine, i emailed them today

Yes, it has a lot of positive information about how to pitch, how to write a letter of introduction, how to do a follow-up and so on.

You'll get rejected far more than you get accepted, I'm afraid!

Write about what you know and what you enjoy. Learn how to make a proper pitch, and send them to magazines that you've studied. Ensure you aren't sending an idea that's been done - read all the magazines in the local library, as it's cheaper than buying them! Also, and it should go without saying, but your spelling, grammar and punctuation must be totally spot-on at all times.

glamrochick

that sounds good, i wrote a short script but needed to be in a story format for womans own , so not sure how to incorporate dialogue like a book format, need to learn that, looked at the mags today and they looked good

square-pants

glamrochick wrote: »

is it worth going on that site cos its US based? yeah annoying if we got rejected but guess its part of it..funny how you can write bout something you know about.. what websites could i go on? i tried to apply for work experience for full house the magazine, i emailed them today

One small observation, you really need to work on your grammar.

No one will take you seriously if the work you are submitting reflects the messages you've written on this thread.

I don't want to appear harsh and I know this is an internet forum and grammar often goes out the window. However, I can't believe that anyone serious about becoming a professional writer could allow themselves to ignore some very basic principles of the English language.

Along with many others I'm sure, it always makes me cringe when people fail to begin sentences with capital letters, refuse to use full stops, ruin language ( bout, cos) and use 'i' instead of 'I'.

The people reading your submissions won't even bother to read the content.

There are so many aspiring writers out there that will never make it, the competition is strong and many publishers and publications won't take unsolicited work. Give yourself the best chance by making the right first impression.