Readers, following is an email from a reader, looking for some advice on clips and samples. Do you have a freelance writing question? If so, email me! You can find my info here. Now, let's dive into this FAQ!
Hi Allena,
Thanks so much for your wonderful site on freelancing! I'm trying to break into freelance writing and it's been incredibly helpful.
My question pertains to getting together clips and samples to send to potential clients.
First, a little background. Ideally, I want to write about social science research; it is what I know best and am interested in. However, I am really eager to write about anything to get some great experience!
I'm worried about providing published clips. I have a couple of academic papers from college (fairly recent) that are published in academic journals, such as Social Justice Research. These pieces are the only thing I can think of that may "count" as a clip.
However, I hesitate to send these, even though the journals are fairly well known. Although I want to show that I can produce publishable work, I also want to signify that my writing voice is not only academic, but can reach larger audiences.
Given this, what do you think would be a good next step? I've been thinking of starting a blog and writing interesting articles for that, to show my range of expertise. I'd be able to include articles that are a little more general interest, shorter and more approachable.
My question is, is this blog a worthwhile idea, or is it too time consuming, as opposed to simply using my time to pitch pieces and get some "real" paying work?
I am definitely ready to start making money with my writing, but I don't know which way to go with this.
Thank you so much for your help!
Dear reader,
The academic clips are a great start! But let's go over some things in your email that interest me and might help my readers.
First, I understand wanting to write in your niche. It's always so much easier to write about things that you care about, know about and have a passion for. But, you're right in that you may need to be patient and get some work produced in some other areas before you can get right to work in your area.
You've got something great going for you here, and that is the fact that you've published in some publications that are on the level. But, like you said, they are a very specific kind of print work, and they don't show much range. In addition, your potential clients are busy; they're not likely to be able to read a lot of print of such depth. I wonder how much they can get a feel for your voice from them.
So, you're correct in that you want more variety available to show people. Blogs are both helpful and time-consuming. There are other ways to get clips. For example, you could always do a volunteer project for a clip. Yet, those are time-consuming, too.
In the end, my advice for you would be to hold off on the blog for now, especially if you're not particularly moved to do it. Consider some volunteer work. In the meantime, you might want to go ahead and see if you can sell based on your academic clips. I would recommend that you pull out some of the most interesting portions, with some text that shows your voice and tone. You can format these pieces into a PDF, and label them as truncated samples. These may just be the "trick" you need, without any extra work or unpaid projects on your part.
Published Author Needs Clips!
Hi Allena,
Thanks so much for your wonderful site on freelancing! I'm trying to break into freelance writing and it's been incredibly helpful.
My question pertains to getting together clips and samples to send to potential clients.
First, a little background. Ideally, I want to write about social science research; it is what I know best and am interested in. However, I am really eager to write about anything to get some great experience!
I'm worried about providing published clips. I have a couple of academic papers from college (fairly recent) that are published in academic journals, such as Social Justice Research. These pieces are the only thing I can think of that may "count" as a clip.
However, I hesitate to send these, even though the journals are fairly well known. Although I want to show that I can produce publishable work, I also want to signify that my writing voice is not only academic, but can reach larger audiences.
Given this, what do you think would be a good next step? I've been thinking of starting a blog and writing interesting articles for that, to show my range of expertise. I'd be able to include articles that are a little more general interest, shorter and more approachable.
My question is, is this blog a worthwhile idea, or is it too time consuming, as opposed to simply using my time to pitch pieces and get some "real" paying work?
I am definitely ready to start making money with my writing, but I don't know which way to go with this.
Thank you so much for your help!
Advice on Clips and Samples
Dear reader,
The academic clips are a great start! But let's go over some things in your email that interest me and might help my readers.
First, I understand wanting to write in your niche. It's always so much easier to write about things that you care about, know about and have a passion for. But, you're right in that you may need to be patient and get some work produced in some other areas before you can get right to work in your area.
You've got something great going for you here, and that is the fact that you've published in some publications that are on the level. But, like you said, they are a very specific kind of print work, and they don't show much range. In addition, your potential clients are busy; they're not likely to be able to read a lot of print of such depth. I wonder how much they can get a feel for your voice from them.
So, you're correct in that you want more variety available to show people. Blogs are both helpful and time-consuming. There are other ways to get clips. For example, you could always do a volunteer project for a clip. Yet, those are time-consuming, too.
In the end, my advice for you would be to hold off on the blog for now, especially if you're not particularly moved to do it. Consider some volunteer work. In the meantime, you might want to go ahead and see if you can sell based on your academic clips. I would recommend that you pull out some of the most interesting portions, with some text that shows your voice and tone. You can format these pieces into a PDF, and label them as truncated samples. These may just be the "trick" you need, without any extra work or unpaid projects on your part.
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