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Any Tips On Freelancing?

6 Oct 2009 16:0810 commentsBizLike
The search for good advice.
I currently work as copy writer for a PR firm in the industrial sector. To say that the job is a little dull would be a complete waste of the opportunity to use the phrase "a monotonous exercise in the exceedingly mundane".

I would like to explore more stimulating forms of writing in a professional sphere, earn a little extra cash and expand my horizons. Freelance immediately springs to mind. Unfortunately I have absolutely zero experience, when it comes to finding freelance work.

I would appreciate a little bit of input from anybody who has had any experience in this regard.

Basically what I need to know is:
-Where to look for work
-What a portfolio should include - I'm loathe to use the stuff that I write for work.
-What is the going rate for freelance work
-Any tips on travel writing would make my day
-The same goes for opinion pieces
-Any thing that you can recommend which have missed - pitfalls/benefits etc.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond. Your input is much appreciated.
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Journo
Some advice-
Read lots and lots of magazines. Get to know them well. Their content, their style, their tone, their markets. Choose the mags you'd most like to work for. Put together some story ideas that you think would suit those mags. Craft your ideas as short, tantalising pitches that will catch the attention of the reader and stand out from the crowd. Send an introductory e-mail to the managing editor or assistant editor of the mag - editors are usually too busy and will rarely get back to you. Don't send your CV, it will mean nothing and will most likely not even be read. Send a story or two only if asked to do so. Your ideas are more important, and more likely to get you a commission, than anything in your portfolio. Persevere. Learn to shrug off rejection, and, worse, indifference. Get to know the workings of the magazine industry. It's a tough business, and tougher still for freelancers. But there is work out there, and if you are good at what you do and thick-skinned enough to carry on trying, you will get your break, and you will get the work. Do not submit travel story ideas to magazines. The vast majority of submissions by freelancers are for travel, so there is a glut of it on the market. Likewise with opinion columns. Leave those for later on, when you've got enough experience and a solid portoflio. Go for "trend stories", good profiles, fresh and interesting lifestyle angles. If you need more info on the market and how it works and whether it's worth persevering, get to know a couple of journalists, and pester them for advice. You'll find they're generally very happy to help, because once they were in your position too. Re rates: they're low. Currently about R2 per word, even less for beginners. Up to R3 per word or more for senior journalists and experienced freelancers. So don't think of doing it for the money. Think of doing it because you love writing and because you truly believe you're good enough to make a living from it. Good luck, and I hope this is of some help to you. Also try some of the excellence freelancing sites and resources on the web, such as www.freelanceswitch.com. It's an American site, but the advice is universal and you should find it very helpful. Posted on 13 Oct 2009 22:55
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Thanks-
Journo, you legend. This is exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you. Posted on 14 Oct 2009 17:15
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Journo
A pleasure...-
Just shout if you need any more specific advice or clarification. Posted on 15 Oct 2009 14:05
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Wow, it's like I could have written this-
I feel exactly the same, i'm thinking of freelancing but didnt really know where/how to begin. Thanks for the advice. Posted on 15 Oct 2009 09:41
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Some ideas-
Been there, done that for a few years - and it was quite lucrative at times. See yourself as an actor who's just arrived in LA and that the mags are film studios - you need to see yourself as a brand and build your brand accordingly. The greater the brand the more cash you'll command. I'm now an editor and what I look for is 50% talent, 25% personality (we have to LIKE working with you) and 25% delivery - deliver to spec and on time if not before deadline - there's nothing worse than chasing a freelancer for copy as print deadline looms. I'd rather take a B-grade writer with AA delivery over an AA-writer with B-grade delivery - we can fix the one, but not the other. Also, for max cash, do one-piece voices over multi-voice pieces and write about something you have an interest in. Think it through: an interesting 1,500-word profile should pay R3,000 (standard rate of R2/word). If you love film and interview a filmmaker, you should be able to spin a juicy story in 5 hours (1.5 hours for the interview, 1.5 hours to write, an hour's travel and an hour to 'massage' the article into perfection while securing quote approval) - R600/hour. If you did a life coach feature (and you don't like life coaches), you might need 4 or 5 'voices' to make the feature work - 6 or 7 hours for face-to-face interviews, 3 hours travelling, 2 hours to write, an hour to 'massage' and another hour for quote approvals - or R230/hour. NEVER have more than one multi-voice piece on the go at once. The ideal, of course, is a monthly/weekly column and/or regular 'beat' so readers get to know your name and your income is stable (it's the writer's equivalent of having a TV series). Have fun and good luck! Posted on 22 Oct 2009 17:40
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1.5 hours to write a 1,500-word feature? Eish!-
No wonder the quality of journalism in our mags is so poor, if that's the speed at which the features are written. Posted on 22 Oct 2009 19:28
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okay, okay...-
Okay, or call it 2 hours but you get my point: it can be quick, which shouldn't impact on quality. Touch-typing helps, of course. My advice was that he sticks to his passions. So, if the freelancer has a passion for film he should know his Polanskis from his Almodovars ahead of time without intensive, start-from-scratch research. 1,500 words on a topic he's familiar with should easily be able to be written in a few hours. And without any compromise on quality. The interviewee quotes alone could provide 750 to 1,000 words, with the mood and packaging of them driving the balance. People tend to speak in 100 to 200 word chunks. It's the business of writing - content provision in exchange for payment - and that's what he seemed keen on? He can take longer on his book, savouring each sentence, once he gets his freelance career up and running? Posted on 23 Oct 2009 12:55
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You're right, point taken. Another small bit of advice for freelancers...-
Start your own blog. It's a great way to get used to writing for publication, and to build up a small readership while you go about starting your career. Posted on 24 Oct 2009 09:07
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Jo Duxbury
Freelancing in SA-
Firstly, it's not for sissies and it's not just about writing, design, photography or whatever your skill/talent is. Once you go freelance, you become a business owner - you have to really put yourself out there in terms of sales, marketing, managing your finances, customer service, etc. etc.

I started www.freelancentral.co.za about four years ago - as a freelancer myself, I saw a need for someone to help SA freelancers in their careers - go and check out the site for some useful content (and a great platform to promote yourself on - OK, perhaps I'm a little biased!).

I highly recommend you do your homework about what freelancing is all about before you take the plunge (even part-time or after hours). FreelanceSwitch.com and FreelanceFolder.com both have produced excellent ebooks about how to get going or get ahead in freelancing (there are links to them from Freelancentral.co.za). Read, learn, absorb and then go for it! What you put into your freelancing career, you will get out of it. There is a lot of work out there - yes, even now - it just takes a little more competition, creativity and professionalism to secure it.

Good luck! Posted on 4 Nov 2009 16:18
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Leoni Benghiat
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If you're looking to write in Afrikaans, SA Vryskutskrywer is the one stop portal for you. We cater especially for people who are bored to death with humdrum jobs leading nowhere. Drop us a line sometime. Posted on 10 Nov 2009 01:48
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