5 Myths About Forging a Successful Freelance Career

A beginning freelance writer suffers a specific sort of frustration. It comes from the expectation that she should be further along in her career, garnering higher word counts, meatier bylines, and perhaps book deals.

Surprisingly, writers tend to believe in a handful of fallacious shortcuts to success. Turns out, there’s a better way to approach freelancing. What follows are the 5 myths and a few suggestions to develop a writing career that’s strategic and — above all — realistic.

1. You just have to know the right people

“Trust your story,” says Meg Guroff, features editor at AARP The Magazine. “Don’t start your pitch with who you are or who we know in common. Grab me with a lead-in that shows what a fantastic idea you’ve got and what a fantastic writer you are. Then you can briefly state the qualifications that make you perfect for the assignment, including anyone I know who can vouch for you, if there’s anyone.”

Knowing successful writers and editors can be extra credit but is by no means a requirement. What’s more important is gathering a story that’s well-researched, insightful, and relevant to the publication’s audience.

To Guroff’s point, present a solid, succinct proposal that answers the following questions: Why this? Why now? Why you? Sending a strong pitch signals to editors like her that one is a professional — which is more important than being a friend of her friend.

2. Getting published is a lottery

“I’ve been surprised how consistent things get,” says Alex Palmer, freelance writer and author of Weird-o-Pedia. “I now have three main clients I regularly write for and the occasional pitch that gets picked up.”

Pitching magazines isn’t about mass emailing editors — it’s about building relationships with them. For one’s current clients, think:

• What would be good for their upcoming themed issue?
• What seasonal story can I offer them?
• What can I review for the front-of-the-book?

Keep a list of potential ideas and pitch them to clients on a consistent basis. Shoot for once a week, if possible. Remember, a happy client is a long-term client.

3. All successful writers have a “big break”

“One of the realities that I discovered is that pitching big idea/big payout articles is hard,” says freelance writer Ben Popken. “They’re hard to come up with and hard to sell. They’re risky for everyone involved. In my experience, editors are more interested in filling coverage gaps.”

Instead of wondering when The New Yorker will come calling to assign a cover story, a freelance writer must keep landing bylines even if the word count may be low or the magazine may be little-known. Malcolm Gladwell honed his skills for 10 years at the Washington Post before landing at The New Yorker.

For writers just beginning to gain experience, Popken says, “Take the low-paying gig. You can always ditch it when you get something better.” And after amassing all that practice time, one’s big break is not so much “big” as it is “the next level up.”

4. Writing style is more important than ideas

Former editor and current freelancer Ann Friedman writes, “Sorry to crush your illusions, but it is possible to succeed in journalism without being a great writer. It is not possible to succeed without having great ideas.”

Therefore, get to know a magazine’s content strategy. Look at the coverlines and see what the outlet likes to feature. Check out the various sections of the magazine and what kinds of reviews, Q&As, or profiles they run. Know the tone of the magazine. Glance at the pub’s target audience in the media kit.

If a writer knows exactly what the magazine wants, she’ll have a better chance of pitching them the right kind of story.

5. Editors will generate ideas for you

Freelancer Marquita Harris transitioned from the cubicle world to the freelance world. “I missed working on a team,” she says. “Because I was working remotely, I rarely if at all received feedback for my work.”

Very little contact goes on between the editor and the freelance contributor, and that includes feedback and idea generation.

Therefore, the freelance writer must come up with her own leads. Work the beat: read trade journals, talk to sources, review statistics. By understanding her field, a freelance writer becomes a go-to expert for mags within her category.

Successful independent writers can’t bank solely on connections, luck, writing style, or editors’ help. One must be savvy, reliable, steadfast, strategic, and independent — the rare alchemy that makes an editor want to work with a contributor again and again.

Images courtesy of Oh Paris/flickr, traceyp3031/flickr

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