Would You Just Start Already?
I was honored to be interviewed by Thursday Bram, as I am a fan of hers (and not just because of that ultra-cool name!) Her last question was about the very best piece of advice I could give new and intermediate freelance writers, which, for me, was a hard one. I ended up going with frequency- the most frequent question I am asked is "How do I get started?" Sometimes it's manifested in "What's the first step to _____?" or "I know I need to ______ but I don't know how!"
As I said in the interview at Thursday's blog, if I had to tell you one thing, it would be to start writing. Write a piece. Writer a personal essay. Write a magazine article on something about which you are passionate. My reasoning behind this is that this piece serves three purposes:
- It loosens the writing muscle.
- It shows you that you CAN.
- It gives you a polished peice that you can then start selling (in the case of a magazine article), or that you can use to sell yourself (in the case of biz-tech writers.)
So, what's keeping you from pursuing your dream?
Comments
Hi,
I just found your page. I would have to say I’m most interested in entertainment writing, culture society/racism writing, or football related journalism. I have been freelancing on a NFL site that never got off the ground a last year, and recently an entertainment site where I write weekly articles but only pays me $15.00 per editorial.
While I’m not in it just for the money–I love to write afterall–I’m trying to figure out how to move forward and land other gigs. I followed your links and came across a few opportunities that I’ll pursue. But more often than not, this is the road block that I’m running into…I am seeing a few jobs I’m interested in, but they require more experience.
So, for example, I’d love to be a TV Comedy writer guide on about.com. I just stumbled across this site and didn’t know people could blog about their passions and make money. That’s something that would be a joy to do, and to get paid is cherry on the top. When I go to apply, they are looking for someone who has industry contacts, a seasoned journalist, etc…apparently it’s too far out of my league.
I see other listings like this too. Through your links, I came across sports writing opportunities. Too bad one would have to have been a professional writer for five years with contacts throughout the league.
Where are the more entry level type of jobs for these kinds of gigs? I don’t understand. Maybe I’ve just missed all the opportunities–I have mostly been searching soley on craigslist–but I find that I am not finding a lot of opportunities to pursue my interest and passion.
Thoughts?
Great interview! Great photo too. I am delighted to see that you have the same goals for your writing as I do … help with the family’s finances and be there for the kids!
Yup. I’ve found a balance that I’m quite happy with. It’s funny, because I felt the need to be home with my children MORE after they started school- there was just more opportunities (extra curriculars, daytime volunteering) than when they were younger.
Allena, I think you are right on the money here, and I think it would be really good advice for Mike, who commented above. Sometimes we just need to act. When we hit a roadblock like “experience,” we can do some grunt work (think some of the keyword nonsense that can be had from Guru.com or writing for bylines online) to get past it. It is all about the action, the doing, the becoming.