SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2007

Freelance writing for newspapers can be a 'Catch-22'

by Jeremy Schnitker

Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market

When a freelance writer looks for assignment opportunities, they usually don't think of looking at newspapers first. Typically, magazines and Internet media outlets rely on freelancers, while newspapers hire full-time staff reporters to handle the vast majority of their content.

But with newspaper budget shortages and job cuts seemingly increasing each day, the industry has begun to depend on the work of freelancers more and more to fill the gaps.

Freelance writer and author of Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market, Sue Fagalde Lick says she hears of dailies cutting staff jobs frequently.

"I hear from cohorts in San Jose [where she used to live], and they tell me how they just laid off 40 people there," she said. "I hear those numbers at other big dailies, and they can't possibly cover everything the way they used to. They just don't have the staff."

This is where freelancers come in.

While newspapers still depend largely on staff writers for hard news and spot coverage, Fagalde Lick said a freelancer's best bet for getting published is to look into feature-type stories, reviews, opinion and travel.

"Some bigger papers have neighborhood sections which they do hire freelancers for, stuff like city council," she said.

Typical of any solo gig, freelancing for newspapers offers the freedom that many writers enjoy, such as not having to show up to the same office everyday. But there are some downsides: you don't get the salary staffers do, nor do you always get a crack at the best stories.

"A staffer has a better in to the good stories," she said, "and you definitely don't get paid as much as a staff writer. A staff writer gets paid to be there even when they're not actively writing a story, whereas a freelancer has to look into the time they put in and how a story and how it stacks up with the money."

Another difference between being a freelancer and a staffer is that a freelancer has to generally come up with their own story ideas instead of being assigned them. This means freelancers frequently have to pitch their ideas to busy editors, and Fagalde Lick says the best way to get in contact with an editor these days is email.

"They're [editors] awfully busy," she said. "With a phone call, they're very likely not going to be there, or in they'll be in the middle of something. [Snail mail] Letters tend to get buried in the stack."

With columns or op-ed pieces, Fagalde Lick said a writer is best served submitting a complete manuscript to an editor. However, if a story requires a great deal of research, she said it's best to pitch a story first and get a go-ahead from an editor before you start working on it.

"Otherwise you don't know if you're doing that work for nothing or you don't have the credibility with the people you interview," she said. "It's much better to say you're writing something for this paper for such and such issue."

Therein lies the conundrum of being a freelance reporter as opposed to a staffer; it's often difficult to gather sources and pool resources when you're not officially affiliated with a newspaper.

"It's hard," Fagalde Lick said. "It's a Catch-22, cause you want to be sure that you can deliver the goods and that you've got the sources."

Links:

Fagalde Lick's Freelancing for Newspapers blog

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Filed Under: Writing