The answer is probably not newspapers, although I regularly hear from writer friends and newspaper denizens that the traditional newspaper is on its way out.
I have written for newspapers. I got my start writing for an entertainment paper and I recently wrapped up a multi-year stint doing a medical column for a local paper. In-between, I have written for a couple of newspapers and even had a period where I was a drama critic.
I love newspapers, but I’m pretty sure nobody but William Randolph Hearst and that guy in Australia ever got rich from them. Newspapers are not a top-paying gig for a writer, and sometimes don’t even pay at all. Remember when I was a drama critic? I was young and foolish enough to work for free. I only did it for a short while and I did get a lot of free theater tickets. But the newspaper did not pay me because it was struggling to stay alive. Like a lot of newspapers, it eventually went under.
For freelance writers, it’s a big loss. Newspapers did not pay much but since they had relentless publishing schedules, a decent writer could often land a steady series of assignments. Today, publishing constraints, cost pressures, and the demise of the newspaper in general means that freelancers today don’t have this market.
Or do they? If you are a writer and your town is fortunate enough to have its own local newspaper, it’s a great place to start your career. Here’s how you do it.
- Figure out what the newspaper lacks. I went to my local paper and proposed a health/medical column because I had credentials to write that kind of thing and the paper was very weak. Look at your own paper–is there a local movie reviewer? Is somebody writing about technology? Health? Sports?
- Propose something that you can write–don’t offer to be a reporter (that’s another job) but propose a weekly or twice-weekly column.
- Gather your credentials. If you have them already, great. If you don’t, get them. Start writing on blogs, local newsletters, or even do some writing on spec that demonstrates you know the subject. For instance, let’s say you want to be the movie reviewer at your local paper. Write an article (don’t publish it, keep it as an article) on something like, “The Top 10 Movies of All Times” or “The Five Movies That Changed the World” or “Six Movies You Should Not Let Your Kids See.” You know why? This kind of article is virtually irresistable–you have to read it. The newspaper will like it and if it’s original you can say, “Hey, this is the kind of thing I can produce regularly.”
- Find out the name of the editor at your local paper. Don’t go to the publisher, find the editor. Call him or her and say you’d like to pitch a column. Chances are you’ll get an email address in return to send your ideas.
- Write a short, very to-the-point email. “Hi, I’d like to do a movie review for your paper. I can do three reviews a week. Attached are two sample columns for your consideration; one is a round-up and one is a review. Thanks for your consideration.”
- Wait.
You can do this even if you’re in the middle of a freelance career. A lot of freelancers write periodically for periodicals because it gives you a chance to write on a new platform and really explore a subject.
What do they pay? Don’t be surprised if the pay is zero. You may be surprised, though. Some papers offer anywhere from $10 to $50 for a column and you may get more than that if you can land a major column at a major paper. If you are offered something that you think is too low, you can try to negotiate (be gentle–these papers don’t have a lot of cash to work with) or you can leave it. Don’t get mad, though. It’s the nature of the beast.
Why would anyone write for free? Well, you can parlay a newspaper column into more:
- It creates lots and lots of clips. If you’re writing a column on small business, for instance, you can use this as a clip machine that you can, in turn, use to land more lucrative writing jobs or even a book deal.
- Sometimes columns get syndicated. That means a column appears in more than one paper. You can do this yourself or you can work with a syndicate. Most columns do not start out syndicated–if you think you got the stuff, you can start your column and see if you can attract more buyers.
- If you retain rights to your column, you can get the content to build a book or great website.
- If you do something else, you can use the column for credibility. For instance, if you write a weekly column on travel, you can use that to bolster your travel business or help give you credibility when you go for travel-related projects.
I hope newspapers stay around a long time. They’re great for writers, and I have been a reader my whole life. When I was a kid, I learned to read on the New York Daily News (we lived in New Jersey but that’s the paper we got). Today I read the Houston Chronicle and the Brazoria County Facts.
If you’re a writer, you need to consider newspapers as an unusual and possibly vanishing but venerable market.
