Need Writing Experience? How to Get Clips and Get Published

Jennifer Roland | | 0 Comments

Knowing how to get clips and get published is easier than you think! If you need writing experience, you can relax into the knowledge that you can be a successful writer – even if you’ve never had anything published. With these tips, you’ll soon have published work samples, called clips, which you can use to get bigger and better writing assignments.

“Every writer has to start somewhere. This isn’t the end of the road, it’s just the beginning! Julia Cameron started out as a journalist. Anne Lamott wrote restaurant reviews. Barbara Kingsolver credits journalism with forcing her away from her computer to meet people she would not otherwise see.” ~ Christina Katz, Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids.

It’s the classic Catch-22: to get writing jobs, you need good clips. To get clips, you need good writing gigs. The good news is that there are many options for getting writing experience and getting published. Once you get a good stable of writing samples – well written, edited, and designed – you can use them to get better and better writing assignments.

If you’re a new freelancer – or if your freelance writing career needs a boost – read The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less. It’s the number one bestselling freelance writing book on Amazon.com.

And, here are five ways to get writing clips so you can get published in the magazine of your dreams…

5 Ways to Get Writing Experience, Get Clips and Get Published

Write for local magazines and newspapers

Local publications can teach you how to target article ideas to different audiences and publications. For example, you could cover a school board meeting on a policy to prevent students from sexting for your local newspaper. Then, use the information you gathered at the meeting and the sources you met to write an article describing how parents can keep their kids from sexting for a local parenting magazine and an article on how teachers will implement the new policy for a regional educational newsletter. Not only have you gained writing experience and three great clips published, you’ve also demonstrated your versatility as a writer.

Go online for writing opportunities

Look for blogs and online magazines in your specialty area, and offer to write for them. Because blogs and websites are expected to always have fresh content, the amount of writing involved can be overwhelming. A site owner will likely appreciate the help in providing high-quality content for their readers, which will help you get published. This blog is a great example of that! Here on Quips and Tips for Successful Writers, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen is open to other voices – and she pays writers. Read more in A Paid Blogging Job – Writing Quips and Tips Articles.

Explore trade magazines

These targeted periodicals offer opportunities for writers who have experience or knowledgeable contacts in a specific field. If you have worked as a nurse for 10 years, you probably have the necessary knowledge to pitch a query letter and write an article for a nursing publication. Study your potential markets and find out what types of articles they publish and then target your topic to fit. And, learn how to get published in niche markets. Learning how to get clips involves thinking “outside the box.”

Write for a nonprofit organization

This can be an amazing way to meld your passion and your career – and a great way to get clips. Do you believe in a great cause? Check to see if they have need for a skilled writer. Perhaps they need help with their newsletter or press releases. If your passion is animals, see if your local humane society needs help. If you are inclined to help women and children, offer your talents to a nearby women’s shelter. Keep all the articles you write – they’re your clips – for your chosen cause and use the best ones to help you get published in other magazines.

Take a writing class – a surefire way to get writing experience!

Working with a writing instructor is like working with an editor. You submit your work, receive feedback, and then revise your writing to incorporate that feedback. Taking a writing class doesn’t just give you writing experience, it can also help you stretch as a writer by requiring you to write in different styles and for different types of publications. You can use your completed and revised assignments as evidence of your writing skill, or you can submit them to the appropriate publication to get that ever-important published clip.

Freelance Writer, Jennifer Roland

Jennifer Roland is a freelance writer and editor focusing on parenting, women’s interests, ed tech, personal finance, and pop culture. Read her blog and find out more about her book, The Best of Learning & Leading with Technology.

If you have any stories of how you got your first writing clip – or if you have questions about getting writing experience or getting published – please comment below.

Do you have what it takes to be a successful writer? Read 5 Traits of Top Writers.