Landing My First Paid Freelance Article—How I Did It, And How I'm Feeling
Landing My First Paid Freelance Article—How I Did It, And How I'm Feeling
On August 28th, I submitted a pitch titled “Why Koreans Do ‘Girl Dinner’ Best.” On August 31st, the pitch was accepted by a women's magazine. Here are some takeaways from my first paid gig.
Here’s the article, if you’re interested: The Secret To The Best Version Of This Summer's Hottest Culinary TikTok Trend Is Korean "Girl Dinner".
But to start off, I want to give you quick rundown of my freelancing journey so far.
Setting A Goal
On August 28th, I made a goal commitment. This was categorically different from most goals because rather than representing wishful thinking, it dealt in particulars. I gleaned these particulars from an Andrew Huberman toolkit podcast.
Set a Goal:
To become a freelance writer.
List Specific Action Verbs Involved
Pitching article ideas, researching publications online, composing emails, tracking my pitches and contacts, networking with alumni and more established writers.
Establish a Time Commitment:
For the next 12 weeks, I will send off 2 pitches/week and work a minimum of 10 hours per week. Anything else is bonus.
Determine Specific Work Hours:
I will work in the evenings from 7:30-9:30, after the baby has gone to sleep for the night.
(I also wanted to be clear about my “why.” Why try to break into an oversaturated industry where you have to work like a sled dog to make lunch money? I don’t have space enough in this post to do the answer justice, so wait for a later post dedicated to this question.)
Setting Myself Up for Success
My first step after setting the goal was to create two spreadsheets, one for tracking clients, and the other for tracking pitches. This is super important. If you want to fully capitalize on your wins, you need to keep records of (1) who likes your writing and (2) who you need to follow up with. You can find numerous templates online. For the pitches, I used The Write Life’s “Pitch Spreadsheet.”
I also created seller profiles on Fiverr and nDash and asked my previous employer for a testimonial. Then, I deleted Fiverr because it stressed me out.
It’s also good to have a virtual headquarters, from which to spread the tendrils of your influence (mwahahaha). I updated my website with a Services page. I made this Substack and linked it to my website. And I created a Twitter profile (*cough* sorry, X).
Next, I started to brainstorm article ideas. For this, I ask myself these questions:
What am I an expert in?
What do I enjoy researching?
What’s trending/ in the news?
Do I have any life experiences that others would find interesting or illuminating?
Sending Off Pitches
In the two weeks from August 28th to September 12th, I sent off seven pitches. I used a mixture of submission forms and directly emailing editors. Some people will tell you never to use the online submission forms on publication websites, but I actually landed my first gig that way (though I also emailed the editor afterwards, asking them to check for my submission). One in seven is a fairly good record, considering that that one in fifty is a common success rate for beginners. Granted, I do have some professional writing experience and have written unpaid essays for a few blogs. If you haven’t written for free, I recommend you try that before writing for pay. It gives you a chance to build your portfolio and get your name out. This week, I’ll be sending followups to the six publications who haven’t yet responded.
Writing for Evie
Writing for Evie was pretty straightforward. I definitely recommend working with them. They sent me their editorial guidelines, had me sign a contract, and I banged the article out over the weekend and sent it in. Surprises? They asked me to include images within the text; they published the final draft without asking for a revise and resubmit; they ended up replacing most of my images with different ones.
How I Feel
Most of you probably aren’t particularly interested in my feelings—but my feelings may be common ones for beginning freelancers.
Unduly Excited
Lol. I feel like a kicked dog to be so happy about publishing one article, but I need to manage my pride and allow myself to celebrate the small victories.
Determined
I’m NOT going to be in the 90% of people who give up. I’m just not.
Antsy
I’m driving myself crazy with impatience waiting to hear back from places. But that’s why consistent pitching is important. Once my writing routine is more established, my week will be spent doing a mix of things. I’ll be writing things I pitched weeks ago, hearing back from editors, and sending out new pitches.
Self-Doubtful
This is a common one, and I know it’s the reason most people give up. But nobody is perfect, and even the New York Times’ Editor-in-Chief was once a beginner.
Distracted
I don’t have a niche per se. So, I’m exploring lots of different types of writing on lots of different topics. It’s fun. And, I’m also…
Exhausted
It’s no joke trying to start a business while also momming for the first time. But both are super fun! And what better way to use my lonely evenings, when my baby is sleeping and my husband is solving equations? 10/10, would recommend.
Jesu Juva. Soli Deo Gloria.
