Surviving as a Writer in Trying Times

Whether you're a full-time freelancer, or are just doing it for supplemental income, it can be hard to publish a consistent amount of articles every month. And in the state of today's economy, this has become even more difficult. I struggled with this a year ago when I decided to try becoming a freelance writer full-time. At the time, I had barely any articles under my belt, and the few I had were all for the same magazine (which happens to be the publication I work for now).
Almost exactly a year later, I am no longer working as a full-time freelancer, but I have increased my writing samples, which have been published in a variety of magazines, and I also used my samples to land my dream job as an editor at an equine publication. Here are a variety of tips to help you gain exposure (and income) in a weak economy:

Know How to Network
For the Fearless Freelancer: In the business world, networking is everything. Many people visualize writers to be people who spend all of their time sitting at a computer and writing, but they don't usually realize that most full-time (and part-time) freelancers need to be business savvy as well.
In my experience, one of the best ways to network is to attend a writer's conference. When attending a conference, it is important to bring business cards and writing samples with you. Don't just try to network with editors, though. At my first conference, I exchanged business cards with many other freelance writers and publicists, whom I have kept close contact with. Whenever I am having a hard time getting in touch with someone, I can contact one of my fellow freelancers or a publicist, and they are usually more than happy to help me. I've also contacted a friend (who is a freelancer) to ask for advice on how to pitch to a trade journal that she has written for. She was more than happy to help me out, and I landed a contract to write six articles for that trade journal in 2009, thanks to her!

For the Timid Writer: If you're more timid, and can't bear the thought of attending your first conference alone (or you can't afford attending conferences, which can be rather expensive), there are some other options available as well. If you're assigned a story for a publication, don't be afraid to ask your editor to give you leads on people to interview. Many editors have someone in mind as an interview subject when assigning articles, and are more than happy to provide contacts.
Once you've interviewed the contact for the article, try to keep in touch with them after the article has gone to publication. I usually do this in one of two ways: I either ask for their address and send out brief thank you card, or I offer to send them a free copy of the publication. Sending a thank you card is usually more time consuming, but sending a copy of the magazine is more expensive. No matter which route you choose, be sure to save a receipt, as you can write this off as a business expense.
A great website that I have also used to build interview contacts is www.profnet.com. They have a list of experts in many fields. After posting a topic for a business article, my inbox was filled with responses from people interested in being interviewed. I wouldn't always use this website as a source for contacts, though, especially if you're looking to interview someone for a niche magazine (like Dolls magazine or Cat Fancy - you aren't likely to find an expert in that area on Profnet).

Keep Your Options Open
When I started out as a full-time freelancer a year ago, I bought a bunch of books that offered advice on how to make a lot of money as a writer. Almost all of those books told me that the best thing to do was find a few magazines that will assign articles on a regular basis. While this is good advice, finding articles that assign on a regular basis can be really difficult to do, especially if you're a beginner writer.
I suggest that all freelancers (not just beginners) constantly try to pitch to at least one new magazine every month. Why? Because if for some reason, one of the magazines that assigns articles on a regular basis ceases publication, you will have a back up plan, or will already be writing for another magazine as well. I recently learned this from experience when a trade journal I was writing for discontinued publication. I was writing a couple of articles for them a month, but luckily I had just landed a contract with another trade journal. My first article for the second publication was due right after I wrote my last article for the first one. In today's economy, the media especially has taken a hit. More publications are going under every day, or are having to limit the amount of articles they print.

Don't Be Afraid to Say No (or Yes)
When to Say No: When I recently starting working full-time again, I had to limit the publications I wrote for, and I had to choose wisely. After building relationships with editors, it was really difficult for me to tell some of them that I wouldn't be writing for them anymore. How did I do this? First, I estimated the amount of time and research I would have to put in each article, and looked at how much each publication paid me. Another factor that helped me make my decision was how often the publication gave me work. By deciphering which magazine paid the best, while constantly assigning work, and didn't take up too much time, I was able to make the right decision.
Also, don't be afraid to discontinue writing for a magazine if you feel you aren't being paid enough for the time spent on an article. When I first started writing, I accepted an offer as a Sports Correspondent for a local newspaper. The newspaper offered me $25 for every story I wrote (about 400 words). Being young and naive at the time, I thought this was a great offer, until I drove to my first soccer game, which was 45 minutes away. Then the game lasted at least another hour, and I had to drive the 45 minutes back home and still write an article. I only wrote for the newspaper for about a month.

When to Say Yes: Although I didn't feel like I was getting paid nearly enough money to cover all of those soccer, football and field hockey games, the experience of interviewing coaches on the spot was well worth the low pay-rate. I am now able to use the skills I developed from covering soccer games and apply them to my current job, where I sometimes have to cover horse shows or conduct a quick interview over the phone.
Covering games for the local paper also gave me a niche market that I could include in my portfolio. If I ever want to become a sports editor, a sports writer (which I doubt will happen), or apply for a position at a newspaper, I have some writing samples under my belt! If the pay-rate is low, but you are an inexperienced writer or are looking to expand your repertoire and need a few published samples to get your foot in the door with other magazines that pay better, then working at a lower pay-rate may be well worth it.

Coming Attractions: In my next blog, I will include a list of my favorite books for freelance writers.