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Nine Ways to Make More Money—Instantly
By Mridu Khullar
While writing isn't, and shouldn't be, solely about the
income, money does play a large life in a freelancer's
life, mostly because of the lack of high-paying markets
and the fluctuating pace at which checks arrive.
If you're looking for some quick ways to increase your
cash flow, here are some tips.
1. Always negotiate for more. It's pretty simple. They say,
"We can give you $500," you reply with, "How about $600?"
and you agree on $550. An extra $50. If you're feeling even
braver, you might ask for $700, they bring it down to $600,
and you earn an extra $100. Regardless of how high you go
and how low they try to bring it down, it's more money. For
no extra work.
2. Sell reprints. Go through your files, make a list of
the articles and essays to which you still own rights, and
make a focused effort to sell them to new markets. Reprints
are an incredibly easy way of earning more money, and
successful writers earn thousands of dollars each year from
this tiny effort. Build your inventory of new articles,
but don't discount the marketing potential of the old ones.
3. Revisit old research and interviews. Speaking of digging
up old files, do you have extensive research and interviews
on subjects you've been writing about? Any new stories or
ideas to be found there that could be quickly written and
sold?
4. One idea to many target audiences. I'm a big believer in
milking an idea for all it's got and pitching it to non-
competing publications. If I happened to come across new
research that linked creativity to motivation, for instance,
I wouldn't just pitch the idea to a writer's magazine and be
done with it. I'd find a way to use it in stories for
work-at-home moms, college students, even senior citizens.
5. Market ideas that never got off the ground. Look through
your sent e-mails folder for pitches that you sent years
ago when you were just beginning and not as talented or savvy
as you are now. See if you can find new research or developments
on these stories or if you could rewrite the pitches and try
selling them again.
6. Get in touch with old contacts. Remember that marketing
manager you worked with in your old job? The communications
consultant you once had lunch with? That editor who came to
stay in the hotel where you worked as a receptionist? Call
them. Ask if they might need a writer.
7. Make one marketing effort a day. Even when you already
have assignments, keep sending out those queries and letters
of introduction. Soon enough, those assignments will be
finished and you may be out of work. Fill the well before
it's empty.
8. Follow-up on your correspondence. E-mails get lost in
cyberspace, editors forget, things get busy and your
submission may be deleted without being looked at. It happens.
Follow-up on work you've sent out. It holds the potential
to bring good news.
9. Ask for help from sources. When you've finished interviewing
your sources, check out their websites, other books, and make
a note of their specialties. Better yet, ask if they might
have any other potential ideas to discuss with you. I've often
interviewed people for one thing and ended up getting ideas
for a whole different subject.
BIO:
Mridu Khullar, 26, is a freelance journalist currently
working in Accra, Ghana. She writes for Time, Marie Claire,
Elle, Ms., Parade.com, Women's eNews, and Writer's Digest,
among others. Visit her at
http://www.mridukhullar.com.
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