A few years ago, I had this dream of becoming a published writer, but I had no idea how to begin. I read books about how to write articles, and I made some attempts to write some myself, but nothing came together. Every time I wrote a piece, it didn't seem right to me. I couldn't see any of my articles being acceptable for publication.
So I read some more books and had the idea to take a writing workshop online. In this travel writing class, we researched and wrote a complete article from start to finish. Then we practiced composing query letters to print publications and researched possible markets for our stories. This process took about six weeks of working on one article and then figuring out how to market the piece.
When I left this workshop, I had a much firmer grasp on how to write an article. But the workshop was clearly devoted to writing and marketing articles for newspapers and magazines. I tried to market my article but I felt confused about where to begin. The process felt a bit overwhelming. Also, I had no other published pieces so I couldn't “query with published clips.”
I've long been an admirer of BootsnAll, a travel website that has launched the careers of several respected travel writers. I felt it would be very meaningful to me to have an article published on that site. Bootsnall works with beginners and professional writers, so I knew they would be open to my article. If the work was good, it wouldn't matter if I didn't have a handful of clips of my published articles.
I submitted my travel article (with photos) to BootsnAll and it was published in a few weeks. I felt so proud that day to see my work published alongside travel writers I really admire. That really got me hooked on writing content for websites. My next move was to start publishing a library of work on Associated Content, and very soon, I'll have one hundred articles published on that website.
Advantages of Being an Online Writer
I have really loved my one year of being an online writer. I find it offers several distinct advantages compared to writing for print. Writing for sites like Triond, BootsnAll, and Associated Content, I feel part of a creative community of writers and readers. Writing online, I get to know and communicate with fellow writers, meet some of my readers, and get some useful feedback about my articles. Not only is that a nice morale booster, it's good for my work. Constructive feedback is very important to growth as a writer, and the interaction with writers and readers helps overcome some of the isolation that comes with hour after hour of being at home writing articles.
If I wrote these articles for a newspaper or magazines, there might be some feedback or letters to the editor, but it wouldn't be as immediate or personal, in my opinion. Newspapers and magazines get tossed aside and discarded, but my library of articles will hopefully be live online for years to come. I feel that writing articles online is like becoming part of a tribe of people really passionate about reading stories and creating new content, and I've loved being part of that community.
Another plus of being an online writer is the immediate, regular payments for articles, whether it's an upfront cash payment or a share of ad revenues generated by a story. Browsing through my Writer's Market, I notice lots of magazines that say they “pay on publication” and some of them take months or longer to publish an article!
Print publications also tend to spring up and shut down with some regularity. There is always the possibility of toiling away on a great article idea, only to have the magazine fold without warning, leaving the writer hanging without payment. While there are plenty of reputable print publications, sometimes in this economy it's hard to predict what market will shut down next.
I like that review times and payments for online writing at reputable websites are usually swift, and I also appreciate receiving revenue based on performance of my articles. This money that rolls in as a share of ad revenues from my articles is like a passive income stream. I do the work once by writing an article, and years later I could still be receiving payments for my work.
Ease of entry is another thing I really appreciate about online writing. Because the internet is so vast with so many websites, there is always a market for an article. The web needs content and online writers. The bar may seem impossibly high at some print publications, if you don't have a doctorate, a masters, a degree in journalism or a stack of clips from prestigious magazines or newspapers. But there is something very democratic about the web--if your work is good, some website will publish you even if you don't have a journalism background or lots of previously published articles.
The Downside of Being a Content Provider
Lately, I call myself a content provider when I tell people what I do. I get a lot of blank stares, or I get questioned as to what that really means, or sometimes the reaction is silence.
When I mention I'm a freelance writer, I've had people respond “Oh, you write for local newspapers and magazines?” I answer that I'm published on several websites, and sometimes I see them deflate. Like being a content provider for websites is somehow less valid than being a writer for print publications.
I feel there is sometimes a stigma attached to being an online writer. The general public often doesn't realize the expertise that goes into writing for websites. Being a content provider entails different things than filing a print story with an editor. For example, I have to consider keyword density, subheads, discoverable titles for my stories, links, and how to edit photos to be published online with my work.
I've come to realize that being an online writer is really an art form and skill like any other. “Content is king” on the web, so it is the articles and information written by content providers that determine the potential success or failure of a site.
Keeping all this in mind, I can't help but cave into the pressure sometimes to get my first piece published in print. I've been a bit conditioned to feel like that one small article I might publish in my local weekly paper will somehow be more important and valid than my over one hundred (and counting) articles published online. It often bothers me that many people think it's no work at all to be an online writer and that content providers can sometimes get no respect (except from other content writers!)
So I'm looking into getting that first precious clip from a newspaper or magazine, but content writing will always be my joy. I truly enjoy being an online writer and I'm very grateful for the benefits I've received from publishing my work on websites. Online writing gave me my start, so no matter how many print articles I get published someday, I'll always be proud to be a content writer.
