In this article, I would like to share
- What is freelancing writing?
- Where and what to write?
- How much can a writer earn?
- What is freelance Journalism?
- Types of journalism?
- Difference between a writer and a journalist
- How to start a career in freelance journalism?
- What are the ethics of a journalist?
- Conclusion
What is freelance writing?
Freelance writing means Independent writer or self-employed working on his/her terms. If you like to become a freelance writer, then you can start working at your convenience.
You can choose this as your passion or profession both can help you earn money. If you love to write, then what are you waiting for...!
From the above sentences, you must've got an idea about freelance writing. If you are still unable to understand, don't worry, I will explain with an example.
Let’s think you are searching for “How to make money online” on the internet.
Approximately you got 4 billion results.
Yes! Now let me ask you a question...!
Who wrote all this 4 billion stuff?
You are right 'content writers, Writer, Bloggers etc..' wrote it. There is a tremendous demand for content writers in the market.
Where and what to write?
The most significant question people ask me is what to write and where to write?
As a freelancer, you need to decide what you want to write.
Let me tell you how I started,
I was good at social, spiritual, finance, technology, entertainment, and education so I started to write articles about the topic I mentioned.
Some times I write articles for self-satisfaction and happiness, sometimes I write articles for my leaving.
Now, It's your turn...
- What are you good at?
- What's your favorite subject or topic you love to write?
- Pick your niche and start writing.
But where to write...!
If you are a beginner then follow the basic steps.
- Start writing small articles in social media.
- Answer some questions on the quora.
- Start writing your articles in self-publishing website like pratilipi.
- Create your medium account to publish your article and try to understand the reader's pulse.
- Note* The above mentioned sites are free to use.
If you are already expert or have good skills then you can start your own blog or work with websites like freelancer.com, upwork.com or truelancer.com to make money.
One thing you should love to do while writing...!
Be ready to accept negative reviews and comments, This is one of the greatest educational tools to make yourself shine.
How much can a writer earn?
It's an exciting question but also challenging to answer, an average writer earns $26 per hour and varies based on there skills, talent and experience. Today I am going to share an example of a 'iWriter' website and show how much money people are happy to pay.
A Standard writer can earn $1.40 to $46.50 per article.
A Premium writer can earn $3 to $99 per article.
A Elite writer can earn $4.70 to $132 per article.
A Elite Plus writer can earn $13 to $435 per article.
Note*: The payment source is for reference and education purposes only. Payment varies from website to website and person to person. Even it depends on how much a writer charges and how much client pays.
If you like to start freelance writing, I wish you all the best for your career. You can follow my website regularly for new updates.
Till now we have tried to understand about a freelance writer, Now let's know about freelance journalism.
What is freelance Journalism?
It would be valuable to define what is journalism and what journalists do, before going on to freelance journalism.
Lets see the dictionary meaning of journalism.
According to dictionary.com, journalism is the occupation of writing, editing, reporting, broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business.
Journalists can work for newspapers, magazines, blogs, TV, and radio as full time or part-time. The journalist usually works with publications or channels discussing what they are going to cover with the editor before they start reporting. Journalists report on trends, event, and issues on time to reach public. few focuses on day-to-day relevant stories and news to report.
So, how does Freelance Journalism differ?
A freelance journalist is the same as mentioned above, but they work independently rather than working for a salary or employment.
Types of journalism?
The principal types of journalism are investigative, news, reviews, columns and feature-writing.
Every journalist writes for a different type of audience. Lets us know more about these types.
- Agricultural journalism
- Business and finance journalism
- Crime journalism
- Cultural journalism
- Cyber journalism
- Weather journalism
- Sports journalism
- Political journalism
- Scientific journalism
- Lifestyle journalism
- Education journalism
- Entertainment Journalism
- Fashion journalism
- Environmental journalism
- Comic/ Graphic journalism
- List goes on...
As there are many types of journalism, it’s necessary to pick the one best for your career. All this type of journalism will be moral to the society and also grabs attention of the audience.
I personally like to work for tech, finance, entertainment and education journalism.
Difference between a writer and a journalist
The Journalist relies on facts, truth, and current events.
The writer relies on art, fiction, and imagination.
Journalists focus on news articles, feature stories in magazines and other news belong to journalism.
Writers focus on novels, poems, plays, short stories, fiction, etc.
The Journalist must find credible sources and truth behind current issues to publish it.
The writer can start writing creatively with imagination stories no need for sources.
Journalist news should be informative and honest.
Writers combine the art of literature into their works.
A journalist should bond to the true incident and reality.
Writers always find freedom in exploring the mind and expressing innovative thoughts.
You may find many other difference between journalists and writers which I have not mentioned but both are helpful and necessary to bring latest news to the society.
How I started my career in freelance writing and journalism?
I am a writer
I always love to be a writer,
A few months back I started to write movie and business reviews and understood it's not easy to write a personal and public opinion about the movie or business.
With proper efforts, I started to learn the art of writing for writing and journalism by starting my own website.
Now I started to write tech, finance, entertainment, and education articles on my website.
I am not declaring my self as a Journalist, I just started my career writing the facts about tech, business, entertainment, and education.
What are the ethics of a journalist?
In this infinite world, journalism is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy. Journalism can impact people's lives in several ways, the impact can quickly turn from a positive to a negative or negative to positive. To impact positively journalist need to follow some ethics.
The main ethics of journalist are
- Seek Truth and Report it
- Minimize Harm
- Act Independently
- Be Accountable and Transparent
Principles of Journalism
- Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
- Its first loyalty is to citizens
- Its essence is a discipline of verification
- Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
- It must serve as an independent monitor of power
- It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
- It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
- It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
- Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
- Citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news
One thing to remember - Journalism is a very competitive field. If there is a job that you want, you have to take action to try to get it. This is not a field for shrinking violets.
Good luck in pursuing your career in freelance journalism. Remember, you do not have to be Hemingway to make a living at writing. There are plenty of ways to make money when pursuing a journalism career, especially if you are open to internet or freelance writing.
If you are competitive, willing to work hard and learn about the field of freelance journalism, you will find much success when you choose this as your career, no matter what your long term goal is for your future.
By continuing to gain experience, build a portfolio and also take additional schooling, you can rise to the level you desire in the field of freelance journalism.
I wish you good luck
Thank You
