I've gotten several questions from people about the ad links here and how best to approach the ads. It's an excellent question that I thought should be detailed a bit. There are many ads, of course, especially on Craigslist. I try to hand-pick the one's that have these criteria:
- The process of hiring is going to involve a complex set of evaluations so there is no, "first come, first serve," mentality. Many ads on Craigslist that I see on other sites will literally snatch up the first writer who comes along and accepts the rate of pay. That means those who get the ad first have the advantage. That to me makes the writing market more a meat market than a skills market but those ads are there if you want them.
- The ad has to have a fair rate of pay. I try to find leads that pay between .50 and $1.50 a word although sometimes it falls short of that.
- Through all the correspondence and Q&A's over the years I have a sense of the audience and "know" when someone or a portion of the traffic will want to access the ad. Call it an unintended-consequence- of-being-online-so-long.
- I always think of myself as that young freelance writer answering the little classified ad in the Oakland Tribune that turned out to be a very good writing opportunity and keep that in mind when searching out ads.
My chief advice is this: Online ads are one and only one source for freelance writers. I know young writers are eager to get clips and want to start their careers anyway they can. But these ads only represent a fraction of the jobs that are available in the market. As you move into your freelance career remember that you are going to need to "cold-call" a lot of editors and make your pitch a strong and efficient one.
As I advised someone the other day, "your cover letter is a great opportunity to intiate a relation with the editor and differentiate you from the pack. Editors don't want to read the same resumes, same letters, same clips over and over again! You've got to come to them with an angle of attack that shows them you can solve their editorial problem. And you back that up with specific achievements in the subject area you are pitching.
Some Tips:
- Study the markets! There are good market books like Writer's Market but make sure you look at the Gales Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media which lists publications by town and region. It can be found in most reference sections of libraries.
- Get samples and read them and analyze how the editor is running stories and if you have an idea write the query letter.
A lot of these questions are addressed at the Freelance Resource page that includes Magazine markets from a variety of topics.
If you have a question or would like to weigh-in on how to make the process of ad's more efficient or how to serve the freelance community better let me know!
Thanks/David
