You are writing full time. You crank out books and articles in your favourite genre and are published consistently.

Royalty checks are rushing in so quickly that your next investment will be a larger letterbox. The phone never stops ringing and they're hounding you for more…

Or not.

Will you ever reach this stage? It's possible.

Will it just happen if you wait long enough? Doubt it.

Can you make it happen? Definitely.

At this stage you probably have some idea of your writing

preferences. Your strengths may lie in writing fiction:

historical fiction, romance, sci-fi, adventure or fantasy.

You've decided whether you're more comfortable writing for

children or adults. Maybe you have a passion for history,

science or nature and prefer to write non-fiction. When

looking for work, keep your favourite genres in mind, but

limiting yourself to these areas will severely limit your

choices.

Presumably, you want two things from a writing business: The

freedom to write what you want, and an income. If you are

passionate about writing sci-fi screenplays and can pay your

bills with them, go for it! If, however, you publish the

occasional short story in your chosen genre or sell a random

article on sea-grasses of the deep, after a week of research

diving, you may have to widen your scope.

Like time management, work-search is another area where

planning comes into play. Ask yourself these questions:

"How much money do I need to make?"

Your financial situation is a huge modifier. If you have

an overflowing bank account, a wealthy aunt or a recent

Lotto-win, write what you like. If you have a supportive

family or a part time job, you also have some freedom to

make writing choices. If, however, you have taken the plunge

and must supply groceries, power and fuel each week, you may

need to compromise.

"How far am I willing to move away from my preferred

writing?"

This brings us to your personal expectations. If you

started writing from home because you were determined to

only write in one genre or about one subject, you may find

that your income is wanting. On the other hand, if you

decided to work from home to gain the freedom to make

choices and support your specific writing passion, you will

be prepared to write what is necessary to continue.

Individual situations will vary. Define your position and

drag out my favourite word: balance.

Balance can be can be crucial to running a writing business

that makes money but allows you the freedom to follow your

passion. Divide your time between preferred writing and

paying writing. Ideally, these will merge into one, but for

now, they may just overlap.

Don't allow your passion to wallow at the back of the

line. This is your motivation for working from home. Don't

lose sight of it in the scramble for money. Carve out a

specific time each day or each week for 'pleasure writing'

(keep in mind that this will possibly become paying work one

day). Stick to it. Empty your desk or computer screen of all

else. Don't check your emails and don't answer the phone.

Put your head down, bum up and write, plot, characterise,

research, interview…have fun.

Use the rest of your time to support your habit.

Join professional writing groups.

One of the first steps toward finding work is to become

informed. Join the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and

the Writer's Centre in your state. Not only are they a

wealth of information, but mentioning a membership on a

resume or CV shows your professionalism to prospective

employers.

Compile a profile.

When you start looking for work, you will immediately

realise that an author profile, biography or CV is needed.

Write an outline, stating your relevant experience,

education and publishing credits (if any). If your

experience or published credits look a touch undernourished,

make sure you've included everything. Don't ignore an

editorial in a local paper or a short story that was

published in a school magazine. As your experience grows,

you can drop these, but for now, show them what you've got.

Don't forget to add your memberships.

Spend some time on this. It's a valuable tool that will

ultimately sell your services. Different jobs will call for

different types of experience and different formats when

presenting your skills and experience. Some applications say

'Tell us a little about yourself' while others expect a full

CV. Your outline can be modified each time you apply for a

job.

Study the Australian Writer's Marketplace - or the

Equivalent Publication in Your Country.

A huge section of this annual publication is dedicated to

magazines and journals. It gives the contact details,

readership and submission guidelines for each. Sit down with

a highlighter and mark the ones that interest you. Who

knows? You may just find a magazine devoted entirely to sea

grasses.

Surf the Internet

The Internet is invaluable for a freelance writer,

especially if you don't happen to live in a booming

metropolis. With your list of skills and experience on hand,

log onto your favourite search engine and type in keywords

like 'freelance writing', 'writing work' and 'writing jobs'.

You can also click into 'advanced search' and use complete

phrases: 'write from home', 'finding writing work',

'freelance writing', etc.

Chances are, you will find a number of sites with

articles, tips and chat groups all revolving around working

as a writer from home. You will also find dozens of

freelance writing or work-from-home websites that require

you to sign up and send in your profile so that prospective

employers can find you. We will talk more about these next

month, but for now, we'll concentrate on actively finding

work.

Websites that post 'writers wanted' information are often

based internationally, but don't let that stop you. A

writer's opportunities are countless in the age of the

Internet. You may like to check out the following:

http://freelancewrite.about.com/  This site

features FAQs, article and links about freelance writing, as

well as regularly updated market listings.

www.writersmarket.com  Click on 'Search Markets' in

the left-hand column.

http://www.freelancewriting.com/  'Morning Coffee'

has a list of freelance writing jobs and is updated every

Tuesday AM.

http://www.absolutewrite.com This website offers a free

bi-weekly email newsletter with market guidelines

http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/  Another website

with a free marketing newsletter

http://www.ecola.com/  and

http://newslink.org/  These websites are homes to

the contact information of hundreds of magazines all over

the world. Find a few that interest you. Read the guidelines

and preferences for stories and then send off a query

letter.

These are just a few of the dozens of international

freelance writing sites on the web. Take some time to

familiarise yourself with a few of them. It's easy to make

the mistake of subscribing to everything in site. This often

serves to plop dozens of newsletters into your box each day

that often sit, unread for weeks. By then the market is cold

and useless. Choose one or two that look appropriate for

your needs and concentrate on these.

Volunteer your services.

Some of the offers of employment you come across from

these sources will ask you for your work experience and/or

samples of published writing. A good way to ensure that you

can provide these is to volunteer your services. Many small

journals and magazines offer little or no pay. This doesn't

mean that your work can be inferior, but it can mean that it

will be more readily accepted without a long list of

publishing credits to your name. Pad your experience with

articles for web sites or small publications. Prospective

editors aren't going to ask you how much you were paid for

each published piece, but they will feel confident that you

can deliver if you have a list of published credits in your

past.

Keep an open mind.

Above all, keep your eyes and mind wide open. Pay

attention to interesting occurrences each day. Take notes.

Encourage the innate and natural curiosity that many of us

have lost since childhood. Read the news, watch current

affair programs. Stay informed, not only about political

happenings, but also fashion, food and travel. Enjoy the

process of learning and become an expert in anything and

everything. Look things up, use search engines and

libraries. Become a research whiz.

Then, when you find a journal or magazine looking for

articles on fashion trends in the world of country music,

you will know how to find information on ankle tattoo fads

among C&W drummers. You will be able to put your finger on

the interview with Betsy Lee Ross that outlines her

preferences for glitter over sequins.

Don't give up

There may be days or even weeks when you feel that you

will never again land a paying job. Don't be discouraged.

Writing can be a fickle business, one day, one hour can turn

your career around. Keep your name out there and keep

submitting proposals and queries. Above all - don't forget

to send out your favourite manuscripts during your scramble

for paying jobs.

With perseverance and dedication, that larger letterbox

could be just around the corner.

Next month: Query letters: make the editors want you.

© copyright Ann

Harth .