| Fillers
in Magazines and Newspapers Not all writers
make it to the cover pages of magazines.
At least not at first. In the beginning,
you might just have to make do with
fillers. And they pay as much as
they’re fun to do. Jokes, opinion
pieces, short lists, news items and other
short pieces are termed fillers. Editors
are always on the lookout for good
fillers, so you stand a good chance of
breaking through.
Greeting
Cards
With
e-cards, paper greeting cards seem to
have taken a backseat. Nevertheless, the
sale of paper cards is still ongoing and
they are still preferred when it comes to
special occasions. Despite popular myths,
greeting card markets are not as easy to
break into as they seem, can take a long
time to respond and an even longer time
to get your card into print. The upside
is that greeting card markets pay
extremely well for short writing.
What’s more, though limited,
opportunities exist for e-card writers
too. So when you need to take a break
from the regular work, dip your fingers
into the greeting card pool
Doormats,
Magnets, Bumper Stickers, T-shirts, etc
If
you’ve wondered how those words made
it to t-shirts, stickers, doormats and
magnets, think no more. Freelance writers
are often required to write the slogans
for such material and are paid quite well
for it. If you have the ability to coin a
catchy or humorous one-liner, this could
be your shot to riches. You won’t
get a byline, and certainly no fame, but
you could be earning as much as $50 per
word!
Posters
They’re
up in your room, you’ve seen them in
your friend’s office, and you often
find a funny one at the fast-food place
down the street. Someone must have
written them. Why not you? A lot of
companies sell posters and generate
handsome sales from them. In fact,
writers of posters are usually paid in
royalties, that is, a percentage of each
poster sold. So, instead of being paid
one-time, you’ll be paid over and
over again for something you wrote years
ago.
Resumes
Practically
every one needs a resume (yes, even us
freelance writers). Some people write
them up themselves, some prefer to take
the help of professionals. Write up a
resume for a friend or two at work (even
if she doesn’t need one!) as samples
and respond to advertisements and calls
for resume writers. Keep in mind though
that resume writing isn’t your
regular every day writing. You’re
not supposed to decorate the page with
flowery prose or funny anecdotes. You
need to be professional, crisp and
attention-grabbing. Practice with a few
fake ones, and you’ll soon be on
your way.
Advertising
Advertisers
need writers, commonly known as
copywriters. They’re the flesh and
blood of the campaign. Getting into
advertising can be a tricky business, but
with a few credentials and a polished
resume, you’ll have no trouble at
all showcasing your talent to the world.
If you are indeed good at what you do,
advertisers will line up to get you to
work for them. If you prefer not to work
for someone, you could set up your own
copywriting business and promote it to
get clients.
Website
Copy
With the
Internet revolution finally having
realized in its full form, small and big
companies alike are looking for writers
to write content for their websites. Not
only do these companies pay well, but
they also give the writer a much-desired
break. If you’ve written website
copy, you’ll have no trouble finding
more assignments of the same kind. Simply
guide the prospective client to the
website and he’ll know what kind of
work he can expect from you. Aim for
start-up companies at first. They’ll
usually hand over the whole work to you
and you can make a great portfolio.
E-books
E-books
are not here to replace print books.
They’re here to provide an
alternative resource for distribution.
However, as opposed to print books,
e-books are short, contain lots of web
links and usually provide answers to a
customer’s immediate needs. They can
be downloaded off the Internet in
seconds, and you can profit from a single
e-book long after you’ve written it.
Don’t get fooled though-- writing
e-books takes just as much time and
dedication as writing print ones.
It’s only the mode of delivery
that’s different.
E-zines
Online
newsletters, or e-zines as they are
frequently called, are becoming the rage
of the publishing industry. Many of these
e-zines are paying markets and run
regular features and columns. Many of
them have associated website,s too. While
the pay in this market is less,
you’ll be writing shorter articles
in much less time.
Newspapers
Generally,
when we think of newspapers, we think
news. But newspapers hold a lot more
information than that. With regular
columns, reviews and updates, latest
findings, and point-of-view articles,
newspapers are the writer’s best
bet. And if you’ve gained entry into
one section of the newspaper, the other
sections of writing open up to you
automatically. Though slow on the income,
getting published in your local daily is
still a major ego-booster!
Newsletters
There
are many households and small companies
that publish newsletters. And all the
more are springing up each day. These
newsletters are a great way to break into
freelancing and gather clips. Their
requirements are not as tough to meet as
those of magazines and most editors are
quite quick in their response times. To
add to that, some newsletters also pay
quite well, sometimes almost as much as
small magazines.
Ghostwriting
If
it’s the fame you’re after, you
won’t get it here. But you can earn
a decent amount of money ghostwriting
memoirs, books or even articles for
people who don’t want to or
can’t write themselves. Ghostwriters
are quite in demand today with more and
more people trying to preserve their
family history by getting memoirs or
biographies written. However, apart from
the money, there’s nothing else. You
don’t get the credit, the fame or
sometimes, even the byline.
The
prospects for writers today are immense
provided you’re ready to experiment
in different areas. The Internet has made
it easier than ever to find writing
assignments not only in your own country,
but around the world. A simple e-mail is
all it takes to apply for a job and send
in the assignment.
It’s
easy for a freelance writer to get stuck
doing the same old thing over and over.
It’s not only fun, but sometimes
necessary to introduce a little spice
into your writing routine. If you’ve
been writing articles all your life, try
doing some greeting card writing instead.
If the money is slow, and you could
really use some extra money, apply for a
resume writer job. If the book
manuscripts are lying unsold, try selling
short stories for a change.
With a
little variation now and then,
you’ll not only find your income
shooting up, but also your inspiration.
So next time you find yourself waiting
for word on that manuscript, send out a
few short pieces instead. It’ll
definitely be worth the effort.
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