Expanding Our Markets as Writers

Expanding Our Markets As Writers
by
Diana Rowe Martinez

The BIG CALL. That's what we all want. That's what we as writers strive for. That's why we sweat our blood and tears over the computer and into the romances that we write. Or maybe we've already gotten the BIG CALL. And we've suddenly realized that with that BIG CALL the BIG PAYCHECK did not come automatically attached like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

So how do we expand our markets as writers? How do we support ourselves as writers while we are waiting for the NY publishers to buy our book and then send us our first big. . .or not so big check? Some choose the 9-5 option out of necessity. There are those darn persistent little mouths that need to be fed and waiting anxiously at your mailbox and clipping coupons till your fingers are blue is not an option. These same writers tuck their little ones (or their husbands <g>) into bed, kiss them on the cheek and then sink into the chair in front of the computer and try to whittle out a few pages of their dream while losing precious hours of sleep.

Others have taken their love of writing and expanded that love from writing romantic novels to freelance writing full-time. A FREELANCE WRITER, according to Webster, is "a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer." This gives the writer many, many choices especially in this technology driven world. Some pay well while others not so well. But YOU can pick and choose. After all, you are the one with the talent.

Traditionally we picture the freelance writer as one that writes for magazines, such as Woman's World, or Family Circle, but there are so many options out there. There is a high demand for writing talent out there, especially on the web. You just have to know where to find it. This month's newsletter is devoted to helping you find it.

Many HODRW members do freelancing to subsidize their fiction writing. Freelance writing jobs vary as much as our members: confession stories, technical writing, book reviews, golf course reviews, magazine articles, nonfiction books and many more on subjects far too numerous to name.

I went out into the masses and asked our members this question: "If you could tell us one thing (TIPS) you've learned TO DO and NOT TO DO from your freelance writing experience, what would that be?"

Patti De Groot suggests: "TO DO: Let your clients know you'll take rush jobs. That's where the money is. NOT TO DO: Don't be afraid to ask the editor or client who's requested the piece lots of questions so they don't come back to you later and say 'that's not what I was looking for.' "

Emily Cotler advises: "DO NOT assume you will remember that brilliant thing you just thought of. You will not. DO write it down -- even if it is only two or three or eighty words. Buy lots of little notepads and litter your life with them. NEVER be without a pen. LEARN to write on cocktail napkins and the backs of envelopes. MAKE a small inbox or folder for all these little inspirations. When you don't know where to start, simply start sifting through these. DO read Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD. Then, read it again."

When I decided to take the full-time freelance plunge about 18 months ago, I decided to contact someone I trusted would give me the good, the bad, and the ugly about freelancing, HODRW member Lynda Sue Cooper.

Lynda was kind enough to offer HODRW potential freelancers these answers: "Here is my number one tip: Don't EVER be intimidated out of taking an assignment by what you, personally, DO NOT KNOW. When you are a freelance writer, you are just that--the writer. You are not expected to be the expert. There are experts whom you can interview for every topic imaginable. As long as you are willing to make calls, do interviews, and spend a little time on research, you do not need and are not expected to have expertise in your subject matter. That is the biggest misconception new nonfiction freelancers seem to have about magazine writing. A lot of people have said to me, "I want to write for magazines, but I don't know anything!" All you have to know is how to find the people who DO know."

Lynda gives this example, "I have published close to 100 articles in parenting magazines, and I'm not a parent. Am I a fraud? Absolutely not. I never pretended to be anything but the message conveyer for these articles. I am not basing the article body on my personal knowledge (because that would be a personal essay, not an article). For the meat, I interview the appropriate experts."

Other tips from Lynda: "I landed a lucrative assignment writing an article on golf safety. Do I play golf? No. The last time I held a golf club was in junior high phys. ed. class and I had no aptitude for the sport. But, the editor didn't expect me to be a golf expert, she expected me to find golf experts and translate their answers into a readable, interesting language for her readers."

And the best advice, Lynda can give, and I wholeheartedly agree with, is, "Bottom line, if an editor calls and asks if you can write an article about the internal combustion engine, say, "Of course I can!" and then get thee to a library."

Simple as this, a writer writes. You'd be surprised some of the poor efforts out there. Or maybe you wouldn't.

My oldest daughter, now a 17-year-old high school senior who knows almost everything (just ask her), occasionally steps out of her alien teenage skin and brings her desperate mother insightful words of wisdom. Last week, she wrote a saying on a 3 x 5 card and taped it next to my computer:
"DREAMS: Happiness comes from taking your dreams seriously and yourself lightly."

So dream your dream of being a New York Times published romance writer, but why not along the way call yourself a well paid FREELANCE WRITER? Then, you can laugh (or cry) all the way to the bank.

Freelance writer of boring technical stuff, Diana writes short contemporary and western historical romance to spice up her life and is editor of the category "Rodeos and Cowboys" at Suite 101. She continues with her "dream" and writes romance usually featuring cowboy heroes. Her manuscript BECK AND CALL COWBOY recently placed first in the Outreach International Contest.