Freelance Blog

During the process of information / story gathering and before giving the stuff for publication, every Freelance writer will be forced to face the situations such as:

·         The interviewed communicating his appreciation but puts a word of caution “ don’t quote me”.

·         The interviewed communicating “the revealing  are off the record”.The consequences may be unpleasant, quarrel, litigation, breach of trust, legal threatening etc.  In such situation Freelance writers are put to embarrassment or put the person interviewed in an awkward situation. Some basics should be understood and followed to avert the situation.

·         Make the issue clear at the outset itself the intention of at your seeking material in addition as to publishing with the name of the source.

·         Intimate clearly that the source will be intimated as “dependable Source” , “ deep background”.In general, it is not advisable to agree for the restrictions, as the person revealing the materials may be using the Freelance writer and his magazine publishing the same to spread rumors and false propaganda. So, what to do then:         Clearly indicate the intention and the purpose of  the interview for which the person is being interviewed.

·          Not to accept any condition including “ let me see before printing”.

·         Best precautions are forthright honesty & careful tact.

·         To explain in the cover note to the publisher,  about the source and their direct quotes, as the same information /gist might have been published in a different way in some other magazine.

Once you freeze your decision to be a FREELANCE WRITER, there are two main things to be done:

1.       To find  good ideas for article

2.       To find the market potential for the ideas / subject

3.       To identify the Editors  & Publishers to recognize the article.

For the first step, the beginner has to:

·         Scan through the news papers

·         Avoid stories, since there is plenty of coverage, except

·         Those having not been told earlier or which have different nucleus

·         Tickle brief news that raise more questions

·         Better to read the English newspapers circulated in other locations / Regions / Foreign land

·         Derive potential stuff from them, as local news would have caught the eyes already.

·         Likewise, magazines of various languages /regions etc to be scanned .

·         Concentrate on specialized magazines of the subject you have chosen(i.e. sports, business, finance, arts, politics, bio-tech, system development, HR related etc)

·          Best source can be your own experience and what is happening around you & friends.

·         Inventing ideas / news may not occur often. But because of the inventions in New Technology, Changes in Social attitudes, Adoption of new habits, Cultural Changes, we can expect or foresee new arenas.

·         Keep your eyes and ears opened on the happenings in and around you

·         Style of presentation to be Unique in nature  

The Second Step after concluding the stuff / article the freelance writer has to sit in the seat of a reader. He should test the merits of the stuff and contents and jot down the criticisms and questions. In short, you should put yourself as critic and analyze for making modifications and corrections. After that you should check in the news papers , periodicals, Magazines, Library stuffs etc regarding the appearance of your subject and the way of handling the same. This will give more depth to your ideas for refinement. In case of having selected the magazine / periodical for presentation of your subject / article, one should  have the view of the circulation areas, number of visitors to the magazine, comments, observations, requirements If any etc. All these will enhance the market potential and recognition for your article.

Now the Freelance writer has concluded the subject / article and the type of magazine / periodical to be involved. The third step is to identify the publisher / Editor which is the crucial part of Freelance Writing. Unless the article gets published the writer’s name will not get acquainted over the length and span of the magazine readers. For this, the writer has to list down the number of magazines / periodicals / newspapers dealing with the subject. Then rank them as 1,2,3,4, and so on. By way of ranking the writer can understand the type of readers and their requirements and their whims and fancies. After selecting the magazines / periodicals / newspapers through which the subject has to be published, the writer has to approach the appropriate and competent or key person in that magazines / periodicals / newspapers who is decides the subjects and articles.  There also, those officials need to be ranked to have the fruitful results. The proper and key person to be approached at the appropriate time with his prior permission. All these step by step activities of organizing will go a long way. This will lead you to reach a top spot as a Freelance Writer for the subject in that magazine.  Once you get a chance in a renowned publication then you are going dictate the markets.

FOR ACHIEVING THIS, YOU NEED ATTITUDE, APPROACH, ORGANISING AND CONTINUOUS REFINING THE IDEAS T THE CURRENT LEVEL, SYNCHRONISATION TO THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS, CULTURE & ENVIRONMENTS.   

An agreement should be entered into between the Freelance writer and the Freelance Publisher to be unambiguous on the intention and execution of the assignment. It is an important document the terms of which should be complied with in strict sense.  I can narrate the contents and clauses in broad sense.

CONTENTS:

1.       The parties to the agreement i.e. Writer and Publisher / Client.

2.       Reference to the Membership / affiliation – both for Writer & Publisher

3.       Title for the Article under discussion / conclusion.

4.       Byline to read

5.       Source of the idea: (a) Writer   (b) Publisher

6.       Length of the article (app)

7.       Milestone activities listing

8.       Cutoff Date / Dead line date / Period of completion.

9.       Publication Date – Probable

10.   Licensed Rights

11.   Copy Rights-  both in Published Manuscripts & in Reprint Rights

12.   Remuneration with a split to limits of various types of Expenses, Fees etc

13.   Applicability of additional fees for updating the manuscripts in cases of delays.

14.   Obligations of the Writer: to include:-

·         Agreed parameters

·         Sources

·         Accuracy

·         Trustfulness

·         Libel

·         Deadlines for various mile stone activities

·         Revision of manuscripts

·         Incurrence of expenditure & reimbursements – limits

15.   Obligations of the Writer: to include:-

·         Changes in Editorial Structure

·         Sources

·         Accuracy

·         Trustfulness

·         Libel

·         Deadlines for various mile stone activities

·         Revisions

·         Updating of manuscripts and indication of the writer’s identity.

·         Limitation of expenditure & reimbursements – Acceptance

16.   Applicability of Law

17.   Clause for Mediation between Writer & Publisher on disagreement

18.   Arbitration Clause

19.   Duties and responsibilities of an Arbitrator

Freelance writing is a business.   I coin the word ‘business’, even though it is commonly called and understood as a ‘profession’. On approaching this profession as a business, income /earnings net of cuts will become the criteria.   The beginner when takes such an approach to FREELANCE WRITING the editors will have fewer risks and lesser works. There need to be some kind of guidance for Freelance Writing and that is the approach I am adopting here.

The aspects cannot be contained through teaching and explanations in schools and colleges, since the impact has to be felt and understood in its true sense. It can be compared to a one’s feel of success, adventure, warmth of a child, the first utterances of his child etc, which are all can only be experienced. So many words and explanations cannot reveal the actual. You are enjoying the scenario in Niagara Falls. It will not be possible to inject the same feeling to those who are reading  / hearing your  explanation and experiences. The teaching may describe techniques and can be stimulating but it cannot be the same thing as doing it.

In the advent of advances in printing technology and fast paced business of periodical publishing, change is constant factor. There are changes in the editorial policy because of the erosion in editors’ jobs and enormous increase in editors’ turnover. Under these circumstances, it is a step towards injecting the basic rules of Freelance journalism for those having the inbuilt talent. 

The editor is the employer for the Freelance writer.  For enabling the editor to complete his job in time, the freelance writer has to adapt to the situation and ideas of the editor. There are certain do’s and don’ts, which the freelance writer has to follow.  Those include:

 A:   DO ‘s:

1.       Listen and understand the Editor

2.       Send the assignment neatly typed

3.       The stuff sent should be after reading the magazine /situation

4.       Spell properly

5.       Discuss with prior appointment

6.       Plan to move from the place with prior intimation / permission

7.       Discuss the story source with facts before sending for printing

8.       Make allowances for the fact since such ideas can strike to more writers

9.       Discuss / communicate on the corrections made, if such correction tilts / distorts / unrecognized your views or story.

10.   Should be time conscious - Stick to time

B:  DON’Ts:

·         Don’t  send  manuscripts with overwriting / corrections

·         Don’t send not even a query, if the magazine is not read and understood

·         Don’t misspell the most basic things such as editor’s name, magazine’s name etc

·         Don’t send materials with ‘zips’, since it may lead to appointing additional members to fill in.

·         Don’t miss the deadline given

·         Don’t vanish from the scene without permission.

·         Don’t withhold the facts or the story source

·         Don’t disclose the story source to outsiders and competitors

·         Don’t falsify or exaggerate facts

·         Don’t be suspicious on the ideas being self owned.

·         Don’t get agitated if corrections are communicated.

DON’T TAKE MORE TIME THAN EXPECTED OF YOU BY THE EDITOR.