You Like?...You Write!

Being a freelance writer is like that old cliché: "Have your cake and eat it too." Write about things you like and you'll combine work and pleasure every day.

Where do you want to go?

A great way to manage a dream vacation is to pitch a get-away article to an editor. Lots of magazines and newspapers need travel articles. A friend of mine writes a day-trip column for the local paper. She had long wanted to visit a day spa. For her recent article, she got paid to try the services of four.

Not all publications will pay expenses so check with the editor up front. Keep your receipts for tax purposes too. Some, if not all, of them are deductible.

Places to pitch travel articles, beside obviously travel magazines, include local papers, city magazines, parenting magazines, women's magazines and others.

What do you want to do?

Several years ago I began thinking about getting a tattoo. I had seen one I liked, but I had so many questions I wanted answered before I took the plunge. So I pitched a story on tattoos to the editor of our city magazine. I got the assignment and interviewed tattoo artists in town and their clients and got paid for getting answers to my questions.


Another writer friend, a senior citizen, wanted to parasail and learned that some places offer tandem parasailing, where she could go up strapped in with an experienced "sailor." She sold an informative feature to a seniors' magazine and a first person essay to her local paper.

So look at what you want to do or what you're planning to do and see if there's a story there. If you have always wanted to do it, chances are someone else has, too, and would like to read about it.

Places to pitch these types of stories vary widely. You may, like the senior writer I mentioned, be able to pitch two different articles about the same dream. Always look for personal experience markets. Look for demographic markets. For instance, old-young, male-female and location (both yours and the story's) can help narrow down potential markets.

What do you like to do?

I have a friend who is a bookworm in the truest sense. At one point, she didn't have a nightstand beside her bed, just a stack of books. If you have a passion for books, write book reviews. Movie and DVD reviews are opportunities for the movie buff/writer, as are CD reviews for the music-loving writer.

If you like dogs, there are dog magazines as well as cat, horse, fish, ferret, rabbit, rat, and reptile magazines (according to TheMagazineBoy.com).


Do you knit, sew, crochet, or other needlecrafts? You guessed it, there are magazines for each of those looking for how-to's and tips among other story ideas. In fact, if you name any hobby, I bet you there's a magazine for it. In addition to those already mentioned, TheMagazineBoy.com lists magazines for such hobbies as beading, ceramics, doll making, jewelry, woodworking, painting, coin collecting, model making, trains and teddy bears plus more.

Now that you're mining your life and dreams for story ideas, here are some sources for potential markets:

NewsVoyager.com - free database of daily and weekly newspaper websites from nearly every city in the US and some international papers too.

TheMagazineBoy.com - free directory of magazines, including some international magazines, titles are sorted by category and subcategory.


WritersMarket.com - a subscription database of print and online magazines, newspapers, trade journals, and it includes a "dashboard" to set up folders and track your submissions, about $4/month or $30/year. (I know I mention it a lot--I am not paid to tout this site. I just use it often.)

Finally, go to your local newsstand or bookstores like Borders or Barnes and Noble and look through the periodicals section. Your local library is another great place to research potential markets. Don't forget to check your own coffee table. You can write for any magazine you read because you already know the target market.






Irish author Paul Kildoff will answer your questions about writing and his new book Ruinair as he kicks off his Virtual Book Tour here at 3 Questions...and Answers May 19. Read more and leave your questions here by 6pm EDT Friday, May 16.