How To Become A Freelance Medical Writer?

How does one become a freelance writer?

• How does one become a freelance writer? I've written for money before, but it's all been for assignments that fell in my lap. How do I begin to seek out places to write for? Do I just put together a portfolio and submit to various publications? Any tips would be appreciated, as I'm basically starting from square one. I should mention my previous writing gigs (though far and few between) have been in the arts -- music, theatre, etc. I'm also looking to start at a local scale with local publications, in case that wasn't clear.

• Answer:

  I've done this on and off, mostly for magazines. There are a few tricks to freelance writing, and a few things to keep in mind. First off, when you freelance, unless you have good connections, you often start small. If your other writing has been published, start a clippings file. Larger publishers like to see this. Like the "takes money to make money" adage, it takes being published to get published. Most of the freelance writing I have done has been by writing queries to editors. Often I'll try to see if anyone I know knows anyone at the magazine/publisher/whoever and if so, I direct a personal note, otherwise I find the name of the editor, and write an email to them. Generally I'll include a link to my resume, an outline of what I am proposing to write, and possibly an intro paragraph or a paragraph explaining why my article is important and/or will be useful to their readership ["what's the hook?" in other words....] If they go for it, then I write the article, usually "on spec" meaning that they haven't given me a contract yet, but they'll take the article if they like it. If you've done a good job outlining your abilities, they should like your article. Some writers [esp ones that need to do this as a paid job] don't write on spec because if they *don't* take your article, you get paid nothing. Get a copy of http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp [book by people who put out the magazine Writer's Digest] which outlines tons of paying and non-paying writing opportunities, and mainly outlines what sorts of writing many publications are looking for, what they pay, what some of the guidelines are, where to go for more information. Googling for "writer's resources" is also a good way to get started. There are lots of fly-by-night sites that try to be a freelancer haven. I've found good work off of Craigslist and see good stuff at elance but haven't wanted to join. If you're looking to start local, the best bet may be to try to make a personal connection with someone at the paper/magazine, offer to cover some interesting event you are going to, or something you have special knowledge about. Above all, you'd like to be thought of as "that guy/gal we can call for __________" [I write a bunch of articles about librarians and the PATRIOT Act for example]. Be persistent without being pushy. Friendly without being sycophantic. Keep track of who you have written to and when. It's generally bad form to pitch identical articles to multiple editors, but variants on a theme are okay. If you don't hear back in a month or two, write again but don't be a pest. Keep sending out queries, even when you don't hear from people, keep a lot of topics in the hopper. You'll have to think about whether it's worth writing for low or no cost to get your foot in the door, many writers I know disagree strongly about this. Once you get a writing gig or two, my advice is this: - edit yourself quite well & proofread. the less editing you require, the more value you have as a starting writer - stick to word counts [see above] - don't miss deadlines, don't ask for extra time - be professional, ask if you have questions, stick to agreements - read contracts! many writer contracts are "take it or leave it" deals, make sure you understand what you are signing away and make sure this is okay with you - if they like your work and publish you, feel free to continue to query them & approach the editor you have been working with Keep in mind that there are many people who want to write, so find a way to positively distinguish yourself from the pack. As you get more and more experience, you can start dropping your less-professional gigs off of your writing resume, but for starters, add pretty much everything you have [though I'd downplay "personal web site" and posts on MeFi, for example]. If you've done any essay-length writing for your personal site/blog, think about expanding it into a writing submission. Think about joining a group like the http://www.nwu.org/ [who has good info on contracts on their sites] or a local group of writers just so you have someone to talk to or bounce ideas off of. Other than that, keep involving yourself in interesting things so you'll have something to write about, learn a bit about getting paid as an independent contractor [and tax ramifications thereof] and realize that it's tough to make a living wage off of this kind of work off the bat, but it's fun and interesting and if you're like me and writing anyways, a useful extension of what you do already.