The Most Important Skills to Start a Writing Career
So, you want to get paid for your articles, but you never got published. You have no formal experience and no one has ever hired you for a writing job. The professional scurry of getting paid can be intimidating. Hone in a few important skills can help you get started.
Writing, just placing the pen on the paper, is quite difficult in itself. But most writers have no problem with creative endeavors. We are confused by the business side of writing – the job of writing to make a living. Beyond creativity, here are life skills to help you jump-start your professional writing career with zero work experience.
Communication skills
Not all writers are introverts, but certainly many of us are. This can be a tough obstacle, but social skills are essential when you are trying to sell your ability to communicate in words to others. Here are some ways to break out of your shell.
Don’t be afraid of the net
I’ve always hated the adage, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know.” This means that you can do it simply based on your contacts. While this may be true for some, most of us will eventually have to prove that we can do the job too.
However, it is true that many opportunities are presented to people through networking. It’s just convenient. If I need to hire a writer, why spend hours looking for one when I already know a handful of seasoned writers? You probably already know how to make contacts – meeting groups, keeping in touch with colleagues, chatting with fellow writers, etc. But if you find it difficult to do this, here are some tips:
- Come up with a network “quota”. Force yourself to do a certain number of professional classes per month.
- When talking to people, don’t be afraid to be funny or smart. It’s enough just to be nice .
- Give before you get it . Invite someone to help build your network. A simple gesture can go a long way.
You also need to be professional, diplomatic and kind. If the editor refuses you, thank him for his time. As you leave your job, stay on good terms, not only with your employer, but also with the employees you interacted with.
Of course, you are not guaranteed a concert just because you are diplomatic and friendly. But opportunities often arise through networking, and professional social behavior matters a lot.
Use social media
We all know that the writing landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. Social media play an important role not only in writing, but in many other areas as well. You can complain about it or use it to your advantage.
Nimble explains how social media can benefit you as a freelancer. These points are especially useful for writers who have not yet been professionally published:
- Showcase your talent : Create a public page with examples of your work. Update your social circles as you post something new.
- Build a Reputation : Get people to like, retweet, or recommend your content and you’ll get immediate approval.
Moreover, knowledge of social media in itself is an added bonus for the client or employer. In fact, many of them expect it. On Make a Living Writing, freelance writer Carol Theis explains :
Want to know the first thing Entrepreneur asked me about when I started blogging for them a few years ago? “Can you retweet your messages?” At the time, this question was new. Now it is becoming more commonplace and no longer secondary, but part of the main deal.
Whether we like it or not, having an internet presence has become an important part of freelancing, especially if you’re just starting out. Resist the belief that accepting these changes means you are not a real artist. Tweets by Margaret Atwood. Salman Rushdie is on Instagram. Technological evolution is nothing new, so it’s best to embrace it. Part of being able to make a living doing what you love is to keep up with the world that will pay for your work.
Speak out
Don’t be afraid to just ask for opportunities. You don’t have to get bored about it, but you might be surprised at the sheer power of the statement . Let your network know that you are interested in freelancing opportunities. If a friend or former colleague finds a new job somewhere, let them know that you are available if they ever need a job.
Here’s a personal example. When I lost my job a couple of years ago, I was afraid to talk and let people know that I was looking for a job. I didn’t want to bother anyone, but to be honest, I felt a little ashamed too. But I got over it, told the editor that I was looking for a job and would be grateful for any recommendations. As a result, she helped me get some lengthy concerts. It made me wonder if I shouldn’t have said earlier.
Of course, don’t constantly email an editor or friend asking for services. Nobody likes this, and if you do, your emails are likely to be ignored and deleted.
Resourcefulness
Some professions have a fairly standard outline. If you want to become a doctor, you go to a medical school, complete your residency, and get your license. It’s not easy, but pretty much a plan of action for every doctor.
But writing doesn’t work that way. Some professional writers have a background in writing; some don’t. Some get jobs because they start a popular blog. Some writers are hired because they have friends who are also writers. The point is, everyone’s specifics are different, so you must work with capabilities, skills, talents, and experience that are unique to your situation. In other words: be resourceful.
Optimize your existing skills and resources
Author Ahyiana Angel is a great example of the power of resourcefulness. She was an NBA publicist who was just tired of work and wanted to do something different. She found that she enjoyed writing and began submitting her first manuscript.
While going through this process, Angel had no previous professional writing experience. But as a former publicist, she had marketing skills. She optimized them and, in fact, became her own publicist. As a result, it received several signatures and was then published by Simon and Schuster. (In fact, I asked her for some specific tips for promoting yourself as a writer. More on that later.)
In addition, Writer’s Digest invites you to use whatever experience you have , even if it seems unrelated to the job you want to do:
Treat every personal experience or article written as a credential or building block. I started my career as a newspaper editor in college. Then my favorite English professor invited me to review the novel for free in the local Charleston Gazette. This “free” review led to a paid job at the newspaper. Over the years, I became interested in wine. I used this to teach a wine tasting class that led to work as a newspaper wine columnist.
Find a connection between your past experience and your current aspirations, and then use that experience to your advantage as much as possible.
Adapt
Part of being resourceful is adapting. If you are leveraging your experience, for example, this may be enough to convince the client you might be worth the work. But to convince them that you are worth it, you may have to adjust to their lifestyle. Maybe they have a different writing standard. Maybe they expect you to look for photographs to accompany your story.
Author Mark Kobayashi-Hillary discusses this with The Guardian:
“I would advise aspiring journalists to understand how journalism is changing … In the short term, the best thing any aspiring journalist can do is make sure they have multiple skills. Today, just being able to write is not good. Well. You need to understand how to record good audio, edit it, record video, edit it too, and interview / publish in all of these different formats. If a potential editor sees that you are familiar with the various forms of multimedia publishing, then you have a big advantage over the crowd preparing for the job. “
Learning to adapt to changes in your industry and adapt to customer needs will make it easier for them to say yes to you.
Marketing Skills
Likewise, it is helpful to have a little bit of marketing knowledge if you want to freelance or make money with your writing skills. Here are some specific marketing skills you should be familiar with.
Branding
This word makes me cringe, but I can’t deny the importance of building a personal brand. And you can do it without being messy and annoying. Create an online portfolio. Start a blog and connect with your readers. Find like-minded people online. It’s worth reading our full article on the subject – there are some great tips. If you are an introvert, you will probably find these tips useful too.
Angel agrees that it helps start a blog where you can post content regularly.
This will give you a starting point for your work in promoting new titles, editors or agents that you would like to work with. Create content with new notes and voice. Try to grab the editor’s attention with your storyline or headline and content.
She adds that part of her own branding is just being honest and showcasing your unique voice. We also have some tips for creating your own blog .
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is a buzzword for a simple concept: make sure your text pops up frequently when people search Google for that particular topic. Some tactics for ensuring your material appears in search results are: come up with good headlines, use the right tags, and think about how people will search for your topic.
SEO tactics are always changing, but it is important to have a general understanding of what it is and how it currently works. Sites like Quicksprout keep track of changes for you and describe them in plain language.
Guest posting and presentation
If you are looking for an article author, consider guest posting. It can help build your brand, but it can also improve your portfolio. This way, when you write to the editor, you will have multiple signatures, not just content from your own blog.
To host a guest post, you need to come up with some pertinent ideas and submit websites. Check out our in-depth article on how to write a good pitch , but here are a couple of helpful tips.
- Write a spectacular, immersive teaser
- Add narration to make your idea more interesting
Regarding Pitching at Writer’s Digest, one writer shared his tactics :
Another approach that allows me to sell articles is to send a short introductory note asking if the editor is receptive to suggestions from new freelancers. The logic is simple: you only ask her to accept you as a potential author, not assign an article. If she says yes, I back them up with ideas while the connection, however small, is still fresh.
Angel adds that this helps to thoroughly research outlets. You can search for less popular sites that are actively looking for new talent. Or, you may be looking for new websites that are just hungry for content.
Thick skin
Any writer will tell you: thick skin is a must. Reward emails usually generate a lot of rejections. And if that’s not enough, there are different types of rejection! Here’s how you have to overcome any sensitivity.
Don’t be afraid to share your work
In other words, “don’t be afraid to show yourself off.” Share your work. What you are ashamed to share may be the most well received. Don’t be afraid if the work isn’t perfect. Many highly successful jobs are far from perfect, depending on who you ask. Plus, you learn by completing something , and you learn even more by sharing those things with others and getting their feedback.
Accept criticism
I was born with thin skin, but I’ve learned to get tougher over the years. One trick that helped me? I am not only waiting for criticism, I ask for it. These days, when I send my articles to someone and ask their thoughts, I tell them, “I would like to know what I could have done differently.” It makes them feel more comfortable telling me if something sucks. It also prepares me emotionally for criticism. Bottom line? Learn to use criticism as a tool for improvement.
Of course, some people can be real assholes. They will criticize your letter with the intention of hurting your feelings, not trying to help. But you can use this to your advantage by removing emotion from their statement to see if there is anything constructive or helpful in it.
Tenacity
It is important to remember that doing what they love is not easy for most people. This is why persistence is so important.
Of course, sometimes you try the same method over and over and it just doesn’t work for you. You can try something else. But don’t give up just because you got rejected or didn’t get what you wanted right away. Learn to get up and keep trying, even if it means adjusting your plans. This is where ingenuity comes in.
In terms of detail, the success stories of each writer are quite different. A specific path to success might have worked for your favorite writer; it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Your personality, experience and situation are unique. But there are a few skills you can’t do without, no matter which path you take.