A Freelancer's Nonfiction Life

Los Angeles may be the freelance capital of the world. Here we have thousands of part-time, wannabe, or starving writers, actors, artists, foodies, fashionistas (although not so many as NY, I'm sure) and filmmakers all vying for cheap apartments and day jobs, all reading The Secret, chanting their mantras, and doing their damnedest to make their dreams real.

As an L.A.-based writer, I'm unique only in that I don't do screenwriting. Scripts, and by extension, the TV and movie industry, are not my thing. I live in Los Angeles for the most mundane reason: I was born here.

Writing anything-but-screenplays can be done anywhere in the world. Here's how it works:

Nonfiction:

1. Think of a great idea for an article
2. Write a great pitch letter and send it to an editor
3. Repeat. Odds are, by the the 20th time you've done this and done it well, an editor will respond favorably.
4. Write article to editor's specifications.
5. Pray you'll be paid.

Magazines and newspapers are buying less and less from freelances, as the Internet and other media cut into their profits. The Internet and other media are buying, but they are paying much less, because so many writers are willing to provide articles for free.

The bottom line: Many magazines that used to offer contracts, kill fees (example: we'll pay you 25% of the contract fee even if we decide we don't want the article), and pay on acceptance of the finished piece (a biggie) are not doing that anymore. Instead, it's become a more cut-throat marketplace.

Many publications now say: We offer no contract. Send us the piece first. Do all the work, and mail it to us. Respond to our questions and edits. Invest a lot of time in this with no guarantee that you'll be paid or published. This is called writing on spec. In the past, most professionals turned up their nose at such jobs. Now, it's sometimes the only option offered.

Writing on spec is not all bad. For five years I've written for a book series that accepts everything on spec. I don't know until the book is published and the check received what they are going to use. This company, though, has used and paid for about 80% of what I send, so I keep working for them.

Magazines who ask writers to prepare professional pieces which they may never use should be ashamed of themselves. They aren't--it's become a viable business model--but they should be.

There are a few other outlets, besides magazines, that pay freelancers for nonfiction pieces:

• Encyclopedia articles for books. If you're an academic, you can put your research skills to use writing quick, dull pieces. You'll become a whiz at Trivial Pursuit, but you'll be luck if you are paid more than ten cents a word, and you may have to wait years (literally) for publication and payment.
• Nonfiction books. A hit book can support you for a year, while many books never find their audience and simply become labors of love. If you want to write nonfiction books, though, you must learn to write Book Proposals--see the Larsen book in the Amazon module.
• Copywriting, either technical or business writing. THIS is where the money is made! Peter Bowerman's book (listed above in the Amazon module) is the Bible for would-be copywriters. The most difficult part of this type of writing is not the writing at all--it's the marketing of one's self, which most writers hate! But. . . it pays the rent

Writing is fun, creative, and allows you to pursue varied ideas and interests without restraint. Finding people who will pay you for your work is the hardest part. If you want to live decently, you should invest part your time and energy into finding business or corporate clients who will pay you to compose letters, brochures, or advertising copy for them.

Other alternatives are to marry rich, suck up to a wealthy aunt, or discover a hidden talent for picking lottery winners or hot stocks. Seriously!

I've met very few people who could claim to make a livable income by writing for magazines. Quite honestly, the few that did claim that were also teaching writing classes or giving lectures, so clearly their income was being supplemented in other ways.

OTOH, even if we're not rich, we are all happier than we would be doing anything else.