How Do Professional Freelance Journalists Get Articles Published?

There are varying degrees of freelance journalists. Freelance journalists, who write for a living, mainly concentrate on producing topical feature pieces for newspapers and magazines. Some do supply news copy, especially when they think they have got a big exclusive.

These days, freelancers usually "pitch" an idea to an appropriate news editor responsible for commissioning articles. This is commonly done by email, outlining the main thrust of the article and the interviewees involved. This 200 or 300 words of correspondence is often this difference between getting a commission or getting the idea "spiked" (rejected or put on file). The pitch is usually followed up by a phonecall to twist the arm of the editor concerned to publish the article. If and when the publication says yes, the approximate length of the piece is decided along with the all-important fee. According to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), a contributor should be paid within four weeks after publication.

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