Fiction to Freelance in Five Easy Steps
By Beth Morrow
Career
All that research you do for your books could be put to
another use.
By Beth Morrow
Here's a quick quiz you're guaranteed to pass: choose one
topic you know more in-depth than anyone. Okay, maybe not
everyone, but the majority of people. Got it? Good. Now
think of two different aspects of that topic you could confidently
teach others.
Complete that with no problems? Congratulations-you can
be a writer.
A freelance writer.
What? Freelance? But I'm a fiction writer, I hear you protest.
I create worlds of the future and heroes who make women
cry. I'm full of witty dialogue, sparkling characters, and
happy endings. I don't do nonfiction.
Sound familiar? Since the beginning of time, the implied
distinction between fiction and nonfiction has kept many
a writer safely clinging to one side of the mountain without
granting consideration to the other. Fiction writers love
that their work fuels creative escape and fantasy; freelancers
thrive on making sense of and providing information for
the real world. While the chasm between the two may seem
impossible to bridge, you're doing a disservice to your
writing, your readers, your career, and ultimately, yourself,
if you limit yourself to only fiction or only freelance.
Venturing into freelance writing can be a scary proposition
if you've spent your time immersed in fiction, but the hardest
part is learning to write-and you've mastered that. If you've
ever had an interest in the world of nonfiction, come along
for the ride. From the basics of freelancing to how writing
nonfiction articles are guaranteed to improve your fiction
writing career, you'll never look at a magazine the same
way again.
But I Write Books...
While that may be true, have you given thought to the ways
in which writing nonfiction pieces might help your writing
career? From knowledge gained, to contacts made, to character
insight, to the ever-popular paycheck, a reason exists for
every romance writer to consider freelancing.
Before she left her regular job to become a full-time novelist,
Cindi Myers (The Man Tamer) took her insight from working
as a medical office manager and turned it into articles
for a variety of medical trade and other magazines. "Freelancing
allowed me to quit a corporate job and become a full-time
writer. This made the transition to full-time novelist smoother
and allowed me to see myself as a 'real writer' well before
my fiction was selling." On the reverse side of the
coin, using the content from researching your fiction details
can be easily spun into freelance articles. "Let's
say you did a ton of research for your lead character, a
scuba diving instructor. Use what you learn to pitch an
idea to an editor of a diving magazine after researching
their needs," suggests Holly O'Dell (Spin Control).
Likewise, freelancing on a wide array of topics helped expose
O'Dell to "...many ideas, careers, and experiences
that I never knew existed. Every experience in life is fiction
fodder." For Dorchester author Christie Craig, research
for an article on high-tech home furnishings led to a talking
refrigerator, microwave, and litter box in her tentatively
titled Divorced, Desperate, and Delicious. "Writing
freelance is educational," says Craig. "You never
know where you might use the information."
Expanded knowledge isn't the only way freelancing can benefit
your fiction works. "[Freelancing] can give a meta-view
of what editors do and helps me understand the process better,"
says Harlequin Blaze author Samantha Hunter (Untouched).
Cheryl Wright, editor and owner of the Writer2Writer.com
Web site and author of the upcoming The Write Resources
from Central Avenue Press, believes that being able to work
on deadline made her an editor favorite, and that being
able to tell editors and publishers she'd been widely published
helped her acceptance rate immensely. Developing a network
of other publishers, editors, and agents through freelancing
helped lead Holly O'Dell to publishing her own book and
receiving valuable (and unsolicited) insights on publicity.
Publishing articles on the same general topic as your fiction
can also help build the ever crucial readership base for
your fiction before, during, and after your book hits shelves.
"Once you're published in fiction," adds Marcia
James (At Her Command), "you can use your freelance
writing skills towards self-promotion."
One final consideration for adding freelancing to your
writing repertoire is that the writing muse knows no boundaries
with respect to words: the craft skills you pick up from
freelancing can only improve your storytelling through fiction.
"The content of [my freelancing] is similar to my fiction,
but based more on personal profiles. This has spilled into
my fiction and has improved my characterization and even
plotlines," says April Star (Tropical Warnings: A Wanderlust
Mystery). Harlequin Everlasting Love author Tessa McDermid
(Family Stories) uses some of the same techniques, such
as involving the senses and showing the story with strong
verbs and specific nouns, to strengthen both her fiction
and freelance writings. Becky Barker (A Matter of Trust),
has improved her fiction by learning to write a tighter
nonfiction article using the most effective words. Conducting
frequent interviews has given Holly O'Dell insight into
writing fictional dialogue. And Christie Craig has used
her experience in writing for Highway Trooper magazine to
strengthen her cop heroes. "Knowledge gained freelancing
opens your world. It helps widen the world in your books,"
she states.
OK, I'm Interested. Where Do I Sign Up?
First thing you'll need is that idea you came up with earlier.
Don't get too attached to it in a particular form, however:
the magic of freelancing comes from taking one topic and
twisting it in infinite directions to suit the need and
style of the publication you're targeting. Much like choosing
your romance subgenre prior to writing a piece of fiction,
you'll want to consider the end point, the magazine or publication
you want to write for, before you begin to write. "Most
writers write an article then try to submit it to the appropriate
magazines," says mystery author L.C. Hayden (Why Casey
Had to Die). "They get rejected and wonder why. Do
it the other way: find a magazine you'd like to write for,
study its style then write for it." This sentiment
is mirrored by multipublished author Shirley Jump (Pretty
Bad). "Research the markets that fit best with what
you already know. If you're a mom, try parenting publications.
If you're a business person, look at business publications.
If you want regular work, consider trade publications."
Once you've found the publication where your envisioned
article might fit, how do you target that market? That is,
how do you figure out for certain your article would fit
better in Dragons Weekly, not Life and Time of Dragons?
Easy: a little thing called slant.
Loosely translated from freelance to fiction, slant = voice
+ tone + style. To discover the slant of your magazine or
target publication, read several recent, back issues of
it closely and take note (and notes, if necessary) of the
following things:
Types of verbs (active, passive, impact)
Average length of articles
Tone (serious, light, humorous, informational, technological)
Point-of-view
Themes (often mentioned in the editor's message or table
of contents)
Audience. Who is the main reader of this magazine? Checking
out the advertisements in magazines often gives good insight
to the target reader.
Mission: What is the magazine's main goal? To teach, inform,
or entertain? Some of these items you'll find in market
listings, but some you'll need to train your critical writer's
eye to locate. Best of all, the more you evaluate publications
based on slant, the easier it becomes. "Even magazines
targeted to the same audience vary in style," says
Hayden. Knowing the difference between styles can mean the
difference between acceptance and rejection.
A Trip to the Market...
By far, the easiest part of freelancing is finding markets-freelance
speak for publisher's guidelines. New markets literally
pop up daily. There are thousands of markets and market
listings online, and some Web sites will even mail you free
market listings each week, such as www.FundsForWriters.com,
www.writersweekly.com, and www.absolutewrite.com.
While markets are a dime a dozen, don't overlook the obvious
when trying to find places to publish your nonfiction. Current
magazine subscriptions (yours or borrowed from friends and
family), local, and regional publications you can get free
in your neighborhood, office waiting areas (ask first),
the annual Writer's Market, and even word of mouth, are
all easy places to begin. If you're published, you may want
to ask your editor if they have contacts in the nonfiction
publishing world. The only caveat in searching for markets
is to be forewarned that finding freelance markets can become
extremely addictive to the person with a creative, flexible
mind. Like e-mail and solitaire, you can spend hours perusing
markets and not writing, which is detrimental regardless
of genre you write in.
Oh, No. Don't Even Say Query!
I know, I know. But I promise freelance queries are much
more succinct and less painful than their fictional counterparts.
Besides, not only will a good, solid query sell your article
to the editor, it'll help tighten and streamline your next
fiction query.
While you may have a burning desire to write the article
first (writing an article without an editor's prior approval
is called "on spec"), resist the urge. Many editors
read only queries, so doing your homework here will have
a direct payoff in time saved.
Writing the nonfiction query essentially boils down to
three parts: the article idea and how it fits into the target
publication, the "about me and why I'm perfect to write
this article" paragraph, and your contact information.
Some editors prefer longer queries with more of the article
idea embedded; some like a short, sweet query letter to
get to the point. If your idea isn't right but the editor
likes your query, they may ask for other ideas. Be flexible
and open-the editor knows their publication more in-depth
than anyone else, so what they sense as crucial for their
readers is ultimately what they want to get your article
to address.
Submission: The Final Frontier
You've conquered the query. What are you waiting for? Submitting
to nonfiction editors is, in essence, the same as submitting
to fiction editors. In a nutshell:
Always check guidelines before sending a submission. Always.
Ninety-eight percent of submission requirements will be
in the market listing, on the Web site or in the magazine's
fine print. If you can't find specifics, it is perfectly
acceptable to call and ask details. Never pitch over the
phone unless invited to. Simply call and state that you'd
like to clarify the submission guidelines before sending
in your query or article.
If you break rules, break them in writing, not submitting.
Most editors will trash any query or submission that does
not adhere to their guidelines (e-mail queries only, snail
mail submissions only, no attachments, include samples,
etc.). Don't assume because you've been writing or been
published that you have permission to do things your way,
not the editor's way. Common, professional consideration
and respect should be the cornerstone of every writer's
career.
"Being proficient in both fiction and nonfiction has
meant rarely being without an assignment of some sort,"
says Cheryl Wright. "Whether it's editing, writing
short stories, researching articles or something entirely
different, doesn't matter. Being busy writing and having
money hit your bank account regularly is paramount to a
successful writing business."
Whether by improving your craft, keeping your name active
in the reading community between books, building readership
or just getting another paycheck or two, the value of freelancing
to your fiction career can take your writing to the next
level. Embracing the opportunities available through nonfiction
writing can open a world where your words have even more
power to entertain, inspire and inform-and isn't that the
ultimate dream of every writer?
Online Freelance Resources
www.fundsforwriters.com
www.writersweekly.com
www.absolutewrite.com
www.woodenhorsepub.com
www.freelancewriting.com
www.writing-world.com
Printed Freelance Resources
The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
Ready, Aim, Specialize! by Kelly James-Enger
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How To Win Top
Writing Assignments by Jenna Glatzer
How to Publish Your Articles: A Complete Guide to Making
the Right Publication Say Yes by Shirley Jump
Get a Freelance Life by Margit Feury Ragland
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Beth Morrow is a nationally published freelance writer whose
first love is writing romance fiction. In addition to blogging
(almost) daily writing resources at www.fountainpeninc.blogspot.com,
she shares her take on the writing life at www.writer-in-progress.blogspot.com
and will be teaching an online course through Hearts Through
History RWA this June for fiction writers hoping to break
into freelance at www.heartsthroughhistory.com/freelance.htm.
Visit her on the Web at www.bethmorrow.com.
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Fiction to Freelance in Five Easy Steps
Romance Writers Report April 2007
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