Some of you may have seen me mention that I’ve been writing a comprehensive how-to e-book about breaking into paid writing. Well, about a year later than I imagined it would happen, Make a Living Writing: The 21st Century Guide is shortly headed to the designer for layout.
Wow, am I thrilled to be saying that! What a slog it’s been, trying to get this material written and organized inbetween all my regular writing assignments and all that other life stuff that happens when you have a family with three kids.
But I’m pleased to say the e-book table of contents is ready for review. I invite MALW blog readers to take a look at the table of contents this week and leave comments about any topics they don’t see being covered in the book that they’d like to see me add.
Please keep in mind this e-book is intended mostly for new or low-earning writers looking to learn how to break in and start earning well. I’m planning a sequel with more advanced tactics for moving up to higher-paying writing work, so if I think a topic doesn’t belong in this e-book, it may end up in the sequel.
Today, I’m sharing the table for the introduction and part one, which is all about breaking into writing for publications, either print or online. Later this week, I’ll share parts two and three, which are on copywriting and earning from your blog.
Appreciate your feedback, readers! And hope to have the book ready for purchase soon.
Make a Living Writing: The 21st Century Guide
By Carol Tice
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction-
Let’s Get Started
Who am I to give advice?
Freelance writing today
Myths about getting published
Three ways to make good money from writing
What’s your goal?
Watch for unexpected opportunities
The 7 Habits of Successful New Freelance Writers
PART I: Writing for Publications
Get Ready to Write
LOOK IN: What do you know?
Choose a focus
Finding the time
LOOK OUT: 7 Steps to Your First Paid Writing Assignments
1. Identify your writing type
2. Find your rung on the ladder
3. Start marketing your writing
A baker’s dozen ways to look for writing work
Research and The Writer’s Market
4. Use social media to build your writing career
Social media do’s and don’ts
5. Find places to get your first few clips
All about writing for Internet content sites
Six problems with content-mill writing
6. Find editors to pitch
7. Create your pitching toolkit
Your resume
Your bio
Your Web site
Three reasons to organize your clips on your own site
What if I don’t have a Web site?
Your blog
Your in-person pitch
Get Set to Pitch
Finding and developing story ideas
Evergreen article ideas
Submitting unsolicited, completed articles
Preparing your query letter in three easy steps
Step one: Know your publication
Writer’s guidelines and editorial calendars
A look at an editor’s life
Step two: Define an angle
Step three: Match your pitch to the right publication
Online articles vs print articles
In the back door: Online articles for print magazines
Crafting your pitch
Two foolproof approaches to writing queries
Query don’ts
Case study: Pitching Kiwanis
Send the most queries in the shortest time
Three ways to pitch editors
1. Pitching via email
Don’t help your editor rip you off!
2. Pitching on the phone
Sample script for a phone pitch
How to leave a voicemail for an editor
3. Pitching via snail mail
Should you nag that editor about your query?
Go: Writing your first assignments
What to know before you start writing
What determines writer pay?
Finding sources and interviewing
Twelve interview tips
How to find facts for your article—fast
Timesaving tips for fast article writing
Seven tips to beat writer’s block
Making your article great
Getting paid
Final thoughts on writing for publications
OK, Collette — you’ll be happy to know I have developed a whole additional, multi-page section on blogging for business thanks to your feedback! I had mentioned business blogging here and there but felt I didn’t have a good comprehensive pulled-together section that takes you through finding prospects, determining rates, writing and the technical aspects.
Appreciate the valuable comment! I do think business blogging is HUGE right now, SO much demand, so glad to cover it more thoroughly.
There is a large section on corporate writing assignments — it’s one of the three main sections of the ebook. See the rest of the table of contents here on Friday to review the details in that section.
I’m going to go look over it now to see what I say about blogging…
If what I ultimately have to offer is half as much as what you now have to offer, I’ll be able to consider it a job well done.
I’d love it if the book would also cover finding corporate writing assignments and blogging for corporate clients. I’m really looking forward to this book!
Well, it will be now! Thanks for reminding me of an important topic that should be included. I do already touch on in-person vs phone in my time-management tips. That’s Think before you drive — is there a compelling reason to take the travel time to meet in-person? Do you need to learn how this person looks, acts, what their environment is like? Then you need to see them in person. If not, in my mind, you don’t. I also do take the pay rate of the market into account.
Some folks just don’ t pay enough for me to drive to see sources…and they usually know it. Since a lot of the reporting I do now is national in scope, in-person sort of isn’t an option anyway…but it is an important thought process to go through for locally reported stories.
I’m definitely in the camp with USA Today in that story, with the belief that email is NOT an interview, and if it’s used it must be identified as coming from an email. You can’t go wrong sticking to that rule — if editors don’t care they might edit the disclosure out. But you don’t want an editor who feels lied to because you didn’t say.
Also, email journalism is lazy and distances you from the real world, instead of engaging you in it. You’re supposed to be reporting on what’s happening out there! And if you never get “out there,” how can you do that?
Whoops, I goofed on the AJR link! It should be http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4005 with no extension.
Will the section on interviewing talk about the problem of not-quite-interviews, as in the recent “‘e-interviews'” mentee community discussion? Shortly afterward, I came across an American Journalism Review article on that very topic (http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4005)–also an e-discussion comment, from someone with years of experience on both sides of the editorial desk, that many publishers of how-to/lifestyle/hobby writing don’t consider their work “journalism” and have a more lenient attitude toward the electronic collecting of comments. (Telling a bit on my age, I also remember writers’ books from the 1970s and early 1980s that mention written “interviews” conducted by snail mail!)
When it comes to _real_ interviews, I’d also like to see a few hints on deciding whether a face-to-face (vs. a phone) interview is feasible: what situations justify a long trip or extreme juggling of schedule to meet a source in person?
I second Stacey’s feedback. Looking forward to it!
Hi Stacy — thanks for the feedback! I do have one query example that got one of my mentees a good-paying assignment. I think I’m going to go in and add something on portfolios!
Thanks!
I would like to see examples of query letters that have worked in the past. Another idea is how to develop a portfolio when you have only done ghostwriting or writing for content mills (which of course screams “please pay me peanuts”).
Looks like you covered the subject well though! Congrats on almost getting it completed!