Customer Reviews

Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market

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I remember looking in bookstores many years back and being surprised that I could never find a book about freelancing for newspapers. This is just the book I was looking for back then, and I'm glad I have it now. It's a well written, well organized book that sparked my thoughts and made me see writing opportunities I hadn't really considered before. It includes quotes from newspaper editors about what they're looking for, an analysis of which types of articles are usually written by freelancers, a guide to queries (with good examples written by the author), advice about how to conduct interviews and do research, a submission tracking sheet... in short, it's an excellent primer about both the craft and business end of freelancing for newspapers, and well worth the price. My single complaint is that it could have used a better copy editor, but I still highly recommend it.

Sue Fagalde Lick's FREELANCING FOR NEWSPAPERS: WRITING FOR AN OVERLOOKED MARKET is a winner: it shows how to locate newspapers which use freelancers (as opposed to many who only use staff), how to pitch an editor for a story idea, how to interview and gain assignments, and more. Students of media studies and journalism will find it the perfect starting point for breaking into a notoriously difficult industry.

In more than one "how to make money writing" book, the problem of clips for those with none usually includes, as part of the answer, writing for newspapers. But Ms. Lick's guest chapter in Make a Real Living As a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer was the first time I saw how it could be an option. This book is a needed extension to that initial guest chapter.

In this book, she discusses the basics of writing and outlines the differences between writing for magazines and writing for newspapers, including lead time, style, and pay. She explains the different terms used in the business that you'll need to know and how to break in. She also discusses queries, which are slightly different in tone than what you might send to a magazine editor. Sourcing gets a look, as well as how to conduct interviews and do research for an article, copyright and what to do when you get rejected. At the end, she briefly examines whether or not newspapers will exist in the near future. She mentions editors' preferences fairly often and gives a pretty clear view of the pressure they're under and how you can help fill that need for content.

It's a good book for those who are able to work in the field but don't have journalism experience. Like some other books about writing, she explains the inner workings clearly enough that if you aren't able to do this, you see it, and immediately regret it because it sounds like so much fun. Using this book, I got nearly got a "yes" to one of my queries. It wasn't too long after that encouraging response that I discovered my writing is going to have to go in a different direction.

Overall, excellent resource. Highly recommended.

I'm half way through this book and felt I have enough of a feel to write a review. I admit, I purchase books that have many reviews, and from those reviews most need to be positive before I buy. I chose this book solely because of the publication date and the topic. I want to know about freelancing for newspapers and I want current information.

This is a fantastic read. It is straightforward with very little fluff if any at all. It's current, and gives the high level overview when needed. The author gives the interested reader respect; understanding that one who is interested in this type of book must have some intelligence. Fantastic job!

Excellent. Complete information to get in print. Just what I needed, see you in print this summer. Thanks