Stare At The Sun

Alright, I'll keep this short and sweet.

I am really considering switching my major, to Journalism or English. My plan is basically to be a freelance writer(in theory) however, i was wondering, does anyone know how easy/hard this is to do, problems i will run into, etc. I am a good writer, honestly i am! Only a few B papers in my life, any advice is welcome, TIA!

redravin40

There are a number of good writers on TFP, not many of them actually make a living at it.
A freelance writer has to be an aggressive marketer, good bookkeeper, have a hide as thick as a rhino and be willing to work for minimum wage (or less) in the early stages.
I suggest having to another major, like education so you can teach if all else fails,
That said, go forth and do well, this world needs new views and ideas.

shakran

OK, as far as journalism goes, it's a GREAT profession. I think I have the best job in the world. Every day is something different. I never know what's gonna happen. And I know the news before anyone, and I get to tell stories for a living. Paywise, however .. . well let's just leave it with, you have to love this profession enough to not mind the wages.

As far as getting good grades on papers goes, that's great, but it won't help you in journalism. At least 99% of english profs want papers that are the polar opposite of a good journalism piece. Most of my english profs wanted page after page of detail, explanation, etc. Your newspaper will want 20 paragraphs if you're lucky. You have to learn to write concisely, using short declarative sentences rather than the long compound sentences you see so often in english papers. In addition to learning to write for journalism (and keep in mind that there's newspaper writing and then there's broadcast writing, which are two totally different styles) you also need to sharpen your interview and research skills.

Best advice? Before you switch your major, take a couple of courses in journalism to find out if it's really something you like. Were I you, I'd try a print and a broadcast course - a good radio news writing course would teach you quickly how to write for broadcast, how to incorporate sound into your story to bring the listener to the scene, and would also give you a good contrast between that and print journalism. I started out majoring in print journalism, but after taking a couple of radio news courses I switched over and never looked back.


I would strongly recommend against changing your major to english if your goal is to write news, freelance or otherwise. You'll end up with a LOT to unlearn if you go that route.

Stare At The Sun

^^ Thank you very much for that, very good advice. Thanks again

ARTelevision

Rates for freelance writing are really too low to make a living.
It's the toughest way to do anything - freelancing.
Teaching or a full-time writing/editorial position work just fine.

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sufferin

The most difficult part about freelancing is dealing with editors and getting paid. It helps if you're really good at selling yourself, getting assignments, otherwise a good reputation will keep magazines and editors knocking on your door. It's not that difficult to make a decent living at it if you hustle a lot and are able to have a good turn around time.

Also key to holding down a freelance job is having contacts in the industry you're writing about. Having a job on a magazine or newspaper for a couple years, paying your dues, making a name for yourself -- all that will help you when you decide to go alone.

jw_toyboy

I'm not a journo myself (at present, although I have done a few little pieces for odds and sods) but I know more than a few who are and there are so many different ways to get in to it.
Some are freelancers who started off aiming to be (lets take one for an example) a doctor, she relaised that she couldnt stand the whole being a doctor thing in her third year I think but finished the degree. After doing some backpacking she heard from a friend who was a staff writer at a big paper that they were urgent for health stories the two helped oneanother at first but eventually she took the plunge and did a course on journalism and now is a regular contributer for all sorts of health issues.
The other friend mentioned went the more traditional route taking a cadetship with rural paper staright out of school - learning the craft by doing allsorts of 'boring pieces' before moving his way up that ladder to do sports and politics. He then got a job with a big paper and hasnt looked back.
To be a freelancer I'm told your best to pick one topic that your an expert at wether it be a specific sport, al-Qaeda terroists, health etc. Also you have to learn what each editor (and the paper they work for like), they vary dramaticlly in audience and formats even the sophistication of language it may seem pretty trivial to some but to an editor it can make or break a story.

Good luck and have fun.

lightning

I have a degree in Journalism and to learn the craft of writing that is much better than training in "English". In real life writing it is more about information being digestible than about perfect form.

As far as free lance writing the best way to do it is as a sideline or second income. Get a writing job, news, PR, advertising, radio/TV etc. This will allow you to practice the craft and then look for markets for the free lance work you do,

dylanmarsh

An English degree is a good stepping stone for a master's or PHD. If you can learn how to form a complete sentence and know the difference between "affect" and "effect", you should be able to do whatever you want in life.

I am a English major, actually graduating in a hour, and I'm going to be interning at the state capitol writing speeches and what-not for legislatures. So, I mean that just goes to show what you can do with an English degree. Most of my friends who chose journalism can't find jobs and are looking into a second undergraduate degree.

Just some food for thought. Do what make you happy and not what will make you the most money.

shakran

here's some other advice for ya. If you wanna be a freelancer it's a good idea to get established in the field before you go out on your own. This will get you recognition, and it will get you some cash to buy what you will need.

Minimum equipment for a freelancer:

Newspaper:
Police scanner. Preferably several of them, all mounted in your vehicle, which is now your newscar. Each scanner should be monitoring a set band in the following order of importance: one for city police, one for state police, one for city fire, one for airport, one for citizens band. If you only have one scanner, you can miss news - for example if the city cops are talking about where to go for their coffee break, and meanwhile the airport is talking down a disabled 747 that has 2 engines engulfed in flames and has lost part of the tail, you might just miss the airport because the scanner has locked onto the police chatter. Your objective here is to get to stories BEFORE the papers do. Otherwise, they'll use their photographs rather than paying more money for yours.

Laptop computer. Preferably with cellular modem capability - unless you live in a city with a lot of wifi nodes. This lets you write your stories in the field and get them to the paper fast.

A GOOD camera. Pay the most attention to the lens. You can have the crappiest body in the world, but if your lens is awesome, you'll be able to get awesome pictures.

A mini-dv video camera - most newspapers have online content now which includes video. This will give you a competative edge.


For radio: All of the above (including the mini-dv camera because many radio news outlets, including NPR, are putting video content on the web) plus:

A minidisc recorder. I recommend the Sony portables because they're small, they take one HELL of a beating, and their battery life is phenomenal. Make sure you get one with a mic input though - some of them don't have one.

At least one GOOD microphone. Preferably three. You should buy them in this order: Omnidirectional. This is your all purpose mic. It'll pick up sound well from just about every direction, it's rugged, and it can be used in any situation. If you can't afford a shotgun (more about that in a second), wrap a piece of paper in a cone around the omni, and you have an instant pseudoshotgun. Your second microphone should be a wireless lavaliere. These are the little tie-clip microphones. You want it wireless because you can then stick it on your subject (for example, the chief of police who's working the homicide you're covering), then sit back and record the sound. Your interview subject will soon forget that he even has a microphone on, and his conversations with you and others will be much more natural. Next purchase would be the shotgun mic. This is a very directional mic which will greatly reduce sound coming from any direction other than where you're pointing it. These are GREAT for capturing sound in noisy environments or where you can't get close to the sound you're going for. This one's expensive - a decent one is at least $600.

Spare batteries for EVERYTHING.

Gaffer's tape. If you have to run mic cables, tape 'em down with this stuff so people don't trip over them.

Leatherman. This will become your best friend if you use radio or TV equipment in your freelancing. All the tools you need in one little toy. Don't get the cheap imitations. They fall apart too fast, and usually they don't have locking blades.


For television freelancing: Everything above (except the minidisc recorder) plus:

A camera. (duh). At MINIMUM you want a Sony PD-150. This is a 3-CCD mini DV camera. Its lens sucks so be ready to buy a crapload of adapters to make it useable. You really want either a DVC or DVC-Pro camera. A good starter one is the Panasonic AG-200, which is only $5000 to $7000 depending on lens (and you'd better get a very good lens). When you get to the big leagues of freelance TV photography, you'll be looking at the $60,000 betacams.

Camera security. Now that you have that expensive camera, you need to secure it when it's in your car. Best best is with a camera safe. Remember that no security system is undefeatable. Best rule of thumb is to carry your camera whereever you go.

Lights. First light to get is a frezzi or anton-bauer on-camera dimmable spotlight with a dichroic filter and barn doors. Then get a light stand for it and don't use the damn thing on the camera or you'll flatten your subjects out and they'll look terrible. That will pretty much do you until you start working in-depth pieces (read: on-assignment-freelance rather than "hey i just got this video that no one else has" freelance)

Tripod. Get a DAMN good tripod. If it doesn't have a fluid head, it's not a good tripod. Make sure it can support the weight of whatever camera you end up with. Make sure it's sturdy enough that it won't wiggle around when you touch the camera.

Portabrace. This is kind of like a sweater for your camera. It goes around the camera, protecting it from the elements, while also providing pockets here and there to store crap in.

Steadybag. It's basically a bean bag. If you have to shoot without your tripod, you can plop the bag down and put the camera on it - instant steady shots. You can spend $100 for the store-bought cinnesaddle ones, or you can make it yourself.

Fishing vest, or utility belt. You've got to carry a LOT of crap around as a freelance TV photographer. You'll need something to carry it in.

Training. All this stuff is useless if you shoot like crap. The stations can get their own photographers to shoot like crap. You'd better be able to shoot really well or they won't want your stuff. You might look into attending the NPPA's annual Workshop in Norman, OK. see www.b-roll.net for information on that.





Like I said, all this stuff is the absolute minimum you'll need as a freelancer. Breaking in to freelance is very difficult because you first have to be accepted as an ethical and reliable journalists by your news organizations, and you then have to sell your kidney to afford all the crap you need.

If you're looking for story ideas, check www.poynter.org and look at Al's Morning Meeting. He always has some really good story ideas.

www.powerreporting.com and www.journaliststoolbox.com are both VERY powerful resources to use in researching your stories.

need info on a person? Try www.virtualchase.com You can dig up all sorts of cool stuff in there

researching a legal matter is easier through findlaw.com.



Good luck! like I said before, it's a very exciting field to be in!

Rodney

I was a journalism major who left journalism very long after graduating; but I have never regretted the major.

The journalism major taught me how to gather facts, organize them quickly, and communicate them in a way that is both rational and easy to absorb. These are skills that are valuable in practically any field, and almost no one is as good at them as a trained journalist.

So I would recommend the degree in any case, at least if your university's j-school includes a lot of hands-on learning: a daily student newspaper, daily news broadcasts on the student radio or TV station, mandatory summer internships, and so on.

Why did I leave journalism? I wasn't competitive enough, wasn't persistent enough with sources and leads. I could do the job, but it just wasn't me. So you do need to talk to some reporters and free-lancers to find out if this is a job you're really suited to by personality.

losthellhound

freelance writing can be very enjoyable.. You have to remember though, as a "starter", you need to keep your eyes open. Since you have not been published, you can't be picky about what you write about, or do... Remember though, if you really want to write, you can get enjoyment out of writing no matter what the subject matter.. Then, after alot of hard work and foot work, you can get the projects you really want to do and when you go to editors and they see that you have been published several times bu several houses, they will pay more attention to you..

And good luck, I wish any writer all the success in the world

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samiam

I have been a freelance writer for about 40 years. It is fantastic. You learn new things with every article. You have a job that is mostly done in your head, which keeps the brain cells from wasting away. However, were it not for my day job, I couldn't afford to be a freelancer. I do earn money at it, but not regularly enough to maintain myself.
My advice, for what it's worth, is do it. But do it as part of a plan that will not leave you starving. You can market yourself more effectively if you don't depend on it. Keep at it and people (editors and such) will begin to realize that you are there and start to call.
Good luck.

sadatx

Don't do it unless you love writing, period.

It's one of those professions that can be extremely fulfilling, but is hard work and doesn't usually pay well.

GakFace

Shakran, I think you forgot something...

Car Alarm
If you're going to be working out of your car... make sure its secured too.

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images

Hey everyone. I'm also considering journalism as a major; I enjoy writing and being able to add that element of self-expression in writing. However, like the original poster, I'm a little tentative about this field. What I'm worried about most is the monetary instability and overall unreliability of the field. I've heard many horror stories of people happily employed as magazine/newspaper columnists, and then one dark day, bam - they're layed off. Of course I'm gonna have a backup plan, that is, either business or pharmacy (gasp). Is freelance writing the only career opportunity that stems from getting a degree in journalism, or could any of you veterans suggest other related occupations? Also, could you list a few tips for being "competetive?" (shakran, your post was very enlightening!)

Just for the record, I'm considering print journalism, and will be taking an introductory course and course in news reporting/writing this coming spring semester at community college. Hopefully, I'll transfer out by the Spring of '04.