Freelance Writing For Newspapers

"Anyone can be a freelance, but dedication to the task is vital. You may get a few ideas today, research into them a little next week and write your piece a month later, and even that unhurried approach will require a degree of discipline if your work is to be publishable. Tighten up the schedule, determining that by a particular date or within a pre-arranged time you will think, study, research, write, rewrite and rewrite again — however many times it takes before you are satisfied — and a firm plan of action becomes necessary. There is no ‘right’ way and no ‘wrong’ way. Only the quality and timing of what you write will determine how successful you will be.
Even firmly established freelances at the top of the tree know they will only stay there if their work continues to be the best. Of course they’ve experienced rejections — and they don’t forget them. Yet failure always was the mother of success, and success is a journey rather than a destination. Meeting the challenge of continual disappointment with a strong determination to succeed will certainly prove any writer’s ability; that’s the professional way. And it’s amazing that the more professional you are, the more editors need you.
Be a freelance journalist and you shoulder a responsibility that will keep you on your toes. If you are fascinated by people, what they do and think, why, where, how and when, you’ll find it challenging and exhilarating, demanding and satisfying: immensely rewarding in every way. When the ink gets into your veins, there’s no job to beat it."

"Anyone can be a freelance, but dedication to the task is vital. You may get a few ideas today, research into them a little next week and write your piece a month later, and even that unhurried approach will require a degree of discipline if your work is to be publishable. Tighten up the schedule, determining that by a particular date or within a pre-arranged time you will think, study, research, write, rewrite and rewrite again — however many times it takes before you are satisfied — and a firm plan of action becomes necessary. There is no ‘right’ way and no ‘wrong’ way. Only the quality and timing of what you write will determine how successful you will be.
Even firmly established freelances at the top of the tree know they will only stay there if their work continues to be the best. Of course they’ve experienced rejections — and they don’t forget them. Yet failure always was the mother of success, and success is a journey rather than a destination. Meeting the challenge of continual disappointment with a strong determination to succeed will certainly prove any writer’s ability; that’s the professional way. And it’s amazing that the more professional you are, the more editors need you.
Be a freelance journalist and you shoulder a responsibility that will keep you on your toes. If you are fascinated by people, what they do and think, why, where, how and when, you’ll find it challenging and exhilarating, demanding and satisfying: immensely rewarding in every way. When the ink gets into your veins, there’s no job to beat it."