Being able to write for magazines or newspapers or any other well read document is a skill. Being able to write almost everyone learns throughout their life but being a writer as such is a different task altogether. When you write for print media, whether it be online media, a newspaper or a magazine you need to ensure that whatever it is you are offering is quality stuff. Readable so that the target audience of your particular media outlet will be interested in the information you put down on paper. There are some specific things you need to know if you want to write for a newspaper especially. When you are working as a freelance writer, or perhaps starting out that way with the newspaper with a view to a more permanent post you need to follow some basic steps with the information you are proposing to them. You must of course know what it is you are writing about. Everyone can write, put words down on a piece of paper, or these days on a computer, but unless you know what you are writing about your article will have no balance or meaning. Just because you can structure paragraphs and use different words throughout your article does not make it interesting. When you are writing a specific piece make sure that you have as much background information as you can and that of course everything you write is factual. Find out what is the current news, or the people who are constantly making the news headlines. Perhaps it is a local political leader or even a local celebrity. When you see some form of pattern regarding who or what is constantly on topic within the publication then make sure you get in with the people who are close to that person, if you can not contact that person themselves. You want to know what is going on and perhaps even provide yourself foresight into what may be next in the rounds of news or entertainment giving you the jump on other freelance writers. When you are dealing with a specific newspapers or magazine then you also need to get a personal edge in order to perhaps gain more freelance work or that possibility of future permanent employment. So make sure you meet with the relevant staff members of the particular publication. Don’t just deal with the secretarial staff, although you want to keep them on side as well. Ask for their feedback and listen to what they have to say to you. Without their approval of you there is little or no chance that they will be using your material. When you have your story line and all the background information you can come up with, as well as sources close to the event itself, then it is time to get your face in the way of the specific people that can give you the yes or no with regards to your article. Make sure that you approach them with the story line in mind, try to make sure that this is fresh and original and not something that is over done already within the publication. As a freelancer you may perhaps wish to start out offering a tidbit of what your planned story will be, and if this is the case make sure you have that ready already and give it to them there and then. Or fax or email or whichever is your form of contact with them. What ever you do make sure that you have confidence in the material you have written and relay this with your dealings with the specific publication. You want them to see that you can in fact write great articles for their newspaper or magazine so prove it to them. Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part, once you are in and if you are a good writer with new and fresh ideas you will perhaps even find that they are coming to you with their requests and this is after all the aim you had in mind in the first place. Wouldn’t it be nice to have to turn some work away instead of constantly being on the hunt for it? Being able to write for magazines or newspapers or any other well read document is a skill. Being able to write almost everyone learns throughout their life but being a writer as such is a different task altogether. When you write for print media, whether it be online media, a newspaper or a magazine you need to ensure that whatever it is you are offering is quality stuff. Readable so that the target audience of your particular media outlet will be interested in the information you put down on paper. There are some specific things you need to know if you want to write for a newspaper especially. When you are working as a freelance writer, or perhaps starting out that way with the newspaper with a view to a more permanent post you need to follow some basic steps with the information you are proposing to them. You must of course know what it is you are writing about. Everyone can write, put words down on a piece of paper, or these days on a computer, but unless you know what you are writing about your article will have no balance or meaning. Just because you can structure paragraphs and use different words throughout your article does not make it interesting. When you are writing a specific piece make sure that you have as much background information as you can and that of course everything you write is factual. Find out what is the current news, or the people who are constantly making the news headlines. Perhaps it is a local political leader or even a local celebrity. When you see some form of pattern regarding who or what is constantly on topic within the publication then make sure you get in with the people who are close to that person, if you can not contact that person themselves. You want to know what is going on and perhaps even provide yourself foresight into what may be next in the rounds of news or entertainment giving you the jump on other freelance writers. When you are dealing with a specific newspaper or magazine then you also need to get a personal edge in order to perhaps gain more freelance work or that possibility of future permanent employment. So make sure you meet with the relevant staff members of the particular publication. Don’t just deal with the secretarial staff, although you want to keep them on side as well. Ask for their feedback and listen to what they have to say to you. Without their approval of you there is little or no chance that they will be using your material. When you have your story line and all the background information you can come up with, as well as sources close to the event itself, then it is time to get your face in the way of the specific people that can give you the yes or no with regards to your article. Make sure that you approach them with the story line in mind, try to make sure that this is fresh and original and not something that is over done already within the publication. As a freelancer you may perhaps wish to start out offering a tidbit of what your planned story will be, and if this is the case make sure you have that ready already and give it to them there and then. Or fax or email or whichever is your form of contact with them. What ever you do make sure that you have confidence in the material you have written and relay this with your dealings with the specific publication. You want them to see that you can in fact write great articles for their newspaper or magazine so prove it to them. Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part, once you are in and if you are a good writer with new and fresh ideas you will perhaps even find that they are coming to you with their requests and this is after all the aim you had in mind in the first place. Wouldn’t it be nice to have to turn some work away instead of constantly being on the hunt for it? Michiel Van Kets provides article services for Abso-bloody-Lutely, a general web directory. The publications cover topics like news and media and newspapers. He runs a SEO company which is specialized in link building, among them a directory submission service, which is obviously why he started a directory himself; to learn the other side of the concept.
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