How I Got Started Freelance Writing

An interview from years ago!

© Susie Kearley

I was interviewed by a book blogger some years ago, about how I started out as a freelance writer. Here is the Q&A…

How did you first start to make a living as a freelance writer?

I took redundancy from a career in marketing and had a couple of short-term jobs, one of which opened my eyes to the possibilities as a freelance writer. Basically, I was much better than the freelance writers that this company was using. So when that doomed job ended (and no-one else wanted me) I decided to set myself up as a freelance writer. Getting started was hard work, but I’ve never looked back. I’m really glad I did it.

I started pitching article ideas to the editors of magazines that I wanted to write for — all day long, relentlessly. I got rejection after rejection initially — and those that didn’t reject me, offered ‘exposure’ in return for working for free. Well I was serious about a career, so ‘exposure’ wasn’t enough. I needed to chase the money.

Among those offering ‘exposure’ was a glossy women’s magazine called Marie Claire. I agreed to cooperate with a short interview piece for Marie Claire, just so that I could say I’d been published in that magazine (or on their website technically). But as a general rule, I was very focused on the money…