Newspaper Writing Tips
It’s a conundrum: you can’t sell your articles because you haven’t been published, and you can’t get published because you haven’t sold anything yet! It’s similar to getting a job in many fields: you can’t get hired without experience, and you can’t get experience without working. What’s a writer to do? The worst part is [...]
Earning $15 per article is a fine way to start a writing career – but don’t lose these steps for writers who want to earn MORE money from their articles and posts! The lowest amount of money I’ll accept for writing an article is $50. Those articles don’t require research or interviews – they’re straight [...]
Congratulations – a magazine editor is interested in publishing your article! But when do you ask about pay rates? These tips for freelancers are inspired by a reader’s question… “I’ve read several articles on this topic (pitching query letters) and am almost good to go,” says Laura on How to Pitch a Query Letter to Magazine [...]
What do you think is the best way to make your articles better? These tips for newspaper and magazine writing are especially for reporters – but they apply to all types of writers. They’re from Vancouver-based publication coach Daphne Gray-Grant – one of my writing mentors. “Do you see interviewing as a fact-gathering mission?” asks Gray-Grant. “If [...]
The $1,000,000 question: “Should I quit my job to work as a writer for hire?” Here are a few tips to help you figure out if you’re ready to work as a freelancer full-time. For me, the biggest sign that I didn’t want to continue working as a freelancer was that I quickly wearied of pitching new article [...]
If you’re not a niche market writer, you may be cheating yourself out of writing jobs! These reasons to specialize in freelance writing are from professional writer Frances Bula, who recently spoke at the Magazine Writers’ Craft Fair in Vancouver, BC. “The media is a place where you can create yourself,” says Bula, who has [...]
When you get a freelance writing assignment, do a happy dance! Then get to work. These ten steps for writers will help you write an excellent feature article and ensure the editor gives you more assignments. Before the tips, a quip: “Successful magazine writers have the skills fo a news reporter and the gifts of a [...]
A panel of BC magazine editors reveals and describes the best (top 10!) qualities of freelance writers. If you’re a freelancer, I hope you see yourself here… But first, a quip: “Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.” ~ A.A. Milne Collecting money and [...]
To learn how to write interesting magazine or newspaper articles, you need to study how news writers do it. These tips are inspired by a newspaper article by Vancouver Sun reporter, Peter McKnight. McKnight’s article is all about the F-word – but that’s not what makes his writing interesting! He could write about fluff, and [...]
How do you write an author bio (biography) to accompany your byline? Here are examples of long and short author bios, plus tips for writers of magazine articles, book contributions, book proposals, or blog posts… Just the other day I was asked how to write a bio by a fellow writer on Twitter. The same [...]
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