I read on three different blogs today how hard it is, these days, to make a living as a writer. Then I laughed hysterically at the grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes in the blogs that commented about that. Probably is hard for them.
I want to tell you a story about the time I walked 10 miles, barefoot, uphill, in four feet of snow just to sell one article.
Before the internet, before email being what it is, as recent ago as a few years, writers didn’t have the opportunities to write and sell their writing the way that we do now. The internet has changed–and some might not agree for the better–the face of writing as a whole, and in particular, the meaning of what it is to be a freelance writer. There was a time when freelance writing meant you actually went on location, interviewed, researched, dug deep and then wrote, revised, edited, perfected, and then edited some more, before you dressed in your best interview clothes, trekked your way in person to an editor’s office, praying to get your foot in the door, on the off chance you MIGHT make a few bucks on your writing. If you didn’t go in person, then you typed it up, printed or typed it out, carefully put it in a large envelope, meticulously wrote and edited a query and cover letter, addressed the envelope, added the appropriate postage and trekked your way into the post office to deliver the package. Then you waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.
This was the face of freelance writing for the newcomer not so long ago. Read the rest of this entry »