I know so many struggling writers who don’t know the first thing about where to get work as a writer. They had dreams of graduating from top schools with a degree in creative writing and walking right into a screen writing job, or becoming one of the staff writers on a big show, or getting an instant book deal.
In reality, it just doesn’t work that way. But, you need to be aware of all the middle steps and the less than fabulous jobs you’ll need to take in order to move up, and where you can get those.
First of all you’ll need to write for no money. Think about it: writing is FUN! Everybody wants to do it. On top of that, think of all the young business people who aspire to launch websites or newspapers of their own. Think of the millions of sites competing for your attention and ask yourself if they can all realistically make a good revenue. Now take that small number and think about the thousands of writers trying to get a job at those publications. Think about it: they are not going to give some of their little money to a writer whose never even been published?
Go to the “Contact Us” page of your favorite sites. Explore their “sister sites” (site that they pull content from, and visa versa) and find the editor’s emails on those too. Reach out to the Managing Editor, or whatever editor you can find on there and if there isn’t one, just use the general address provided and ask if they want a writer. If they are paying, great. If not, you should still take it.
I suggest doing this for the sites that you like since, if you’re going to be doing something for free, you may as well enjoy it.
Look, it’s not uncommon to have to do something for free for a while before you can get paid for it. Especially in the arts. My friend who had been a singer her whole life wanted to become a voice coach. However, she didn’t have a resume or any tales of success under her belt. How could she expect people to just start shelling out their money to her? So, she began offering to teach her friend’s kids how to sing better for free for a while. If their kids were clearly becoming better singers, they’d agree to give her money. In addition, she’d get great referrals from that!
Doing it for free is just part of the game. In the meantime, get a side job that actually pays the bills. It’s okay if it has nothing to do with what you really want to do.
An additional step to take towards eventually being your own buss is launching your very own site that covers the topic you’d like to professionally write about. At the very least, if you aren’t able to get any of those free gigs, you have work to show other potential writing employers.
If your blog gets big, even better! You might get a book deal out of it! Nonetheless, having your own database of published writing is just a good plan.
