Build your writing resume

(and get paid to do it!)

What’s your next step as a writer?

I think the answer is always: get more experience writing. But make that experience strategic.

The most valuable writing experience:

• Pays you (even if it’s only a small amount)

• Gives you the opportunity to have your work edited (painful but necessary)

• Teaches you how to write for a specific audience

I’m currently mentoring a group of writers, each of whom is working on a book. I talk all the time to people who want to write a book, who want to share their story or ideas with the world. It seems like everyone wants to be a writer. Specifically, everyone wants to write a book. Or even more specifically, they want to have written a book, since the actual writing of one, as it turns out, is hard work.

I believe that if you have a story you want to tell, you should tell it. However, writing, like any skill, takes practice. How can you practice? One way is simply to write. But improving and honing that skill means learning and getting feedback. Why not do that, and get paid to do it?

(Photo by George Milton: https://www.pexels.com)

The apprentice

Imagine if you aspired to be a plumber. (Don’t laugh, most plumbers make more than the average writer). Would you simply buy some wrenches, and wait for the phone to ring? Would you just start tinkering with your kitchen sink? Or start calling a few friends, asking if you could come and fix their leaky sinks or clogged toilets?

Nope.

In any trade, you must first:

• learn the basics

• practice your craft

• learn from someone with more experience

A plumber goes to trade school, then apprentices with another plumber, gradually learning the ropes (or in this case, learning the pipes, I suppose)—gaining knowledge and experience. They work, get feedback, learn from their mistakes. As an apprentice, they earn some money, but also gain valuable experience.

Anyone can write (badly)

As a writer, I meet many people who want to write a book—and get published. But they’ve never taken the essential first steps of learning and practice that build a foundation for a writing life. People mistakenly think writing is easy, and you don’t need training to do it. They’re only partly right. You don’t need training to write. You do need training and practice to do it well. Almost anyone can write badly.

You don’t necessarily have to get a degree in English or creative writing—but every writer can benefit from learning the basics. How? Any of the following are great steps:

•  Take a community college course on writing.

• Join a writers’ group that provides instruction and critique.

• Read books about writing.

• Attend a writers’ conference. (more on that here)

Collecting a lot of information about writing will only take you so far. You’ve got to practice writing. Many people begin writing a book and have trouble finishing it. it’s much easier to start with short assignments.

Short assignments

However, I think the best place to learn to write is not by writing a book, but by practicing with shorter pieces—blog posts, magazine articles, website content. You can create an apprenticeship for yourself by writing short pieces for publication—even if it publication on your own blog, oran op-ed piece for your local newspaper.

I started my career as a newspaper reporter. I wrote every day. I honed my writing and interviewing skills by, well, writing and interviewing. Malcolm Gladwell famously said that you become an expert at something by putting in at least 10,000 hours. I was a newspaper reporter for about a decade. Assuming I worked 50 weeks per year, more than 40 hours per week, I accrued at least 20,000 hours of writing, editing and reporting before I even began freelancing.

The next step in my career was writing for magazines, newsletters and online publications. While many people read content online today, magazines are still a huge market. Many publications (or websites) accept freelance submissions and pay for them. (I put in another five years of freelancing before my first book was published—likely another 10,000 hours.)

Even when I began publishing books, I kept writing magazine articles, blog posts, website content. I practiced my craft every day. (I’ve lost track of the hours 24 books and hundreds of articles later.)

If you look at author bios on the back of books, you’ll often see that the authors “is a contributor to…” and then a list of magazines. Writing for magazines and websites not only provides writers with valuable experience, it helps them build a platform.

If you want to write, create an internship for yourself by exploring freelance writing. If you can’t land a gig, start a newsletter like this one. Or create a newsletter for your church, your neighborhood, your book club, your pickleball league.

What do you love?

A great place to start is to think about what you are interested in and see what publications (print or online) cater to that particular interest. You might have expertise to share, simply because you enjoy certain activities or hobbies. Whether you enjoy cross-country skiing or cross-stitch, there is likely a publication or website related to your favorite hobby that you could write for. The Writers Market, published annually, lists publications looking for freelance content.

If you want to write about faith, the Christian writing market has plenty of opportunities. You simply start by researching what is out there, and what those publications are looking for. And that is key: what are they looking for? A magazine focused on Christian parenting is not going to take an article on how to train your dog, even if it is brilliantly written.

By writing short pieces, you not only hone your writing skills, but you learn to write for a specific audience about a specific topic—which is also, by the way, what a writer must do with a book. You also gain an important experience: working with an editor (another requirement for book authors).

If you’re interested in freelance writing for faith based publications, The Christian Writers’ Market Guide can help you navigate the market, telling you which publications accept freelance articles, how much they pay, the topics they are looking for, and so forth.

If you want to write for general market publications, check out The Writers Market

Any profession requires training and practice. Creating an apprenticeship for yourself through freelance writing will provide that, along with a little bit of income, all while doing what you love.

What’s your next step as a writer? It may not be a book. It just might be creating an apprenticeship for yourself by freelance writing.