Freelance Fiction Writing
Although most people see freelance writing as writing for magazines and websites, there is another area that you may want to consider: fiction. Personally, I do not write a lot of fiction, but I know many freelance writers who make a good living doing so. If you have a creative mind, you may want to consider this option. Even if you only compose fiction pieces from time to time, it can be a great way to break the monotony of fact based content.
I was recently offered a freelance fiction writing job by one of my regular clients. Although I do not have a lot of experience in this area, the project is intriguing to me for a couple of reasons. First off, it will give me the chance to break away from fact based writing and put my creative juices to good use. To go along with this, it is always nice to have both fiction and non-fiction samples. While I have hundreds of non-fiction samples to send out, I lack in the area of fiction. After I complete this project, it is safe to say that I will have plenty of samples for future clients who may be interested in fiction based content.
For me, writing freelance fiction is pretty new. For this reason I do not know a lot about how much I should charge, or how to get a project started. Although this can be intimidating, I am sure to figure it out one way or the next. The fact of the matter is that until I try, I will never know if fiction writing is something that is of interest to me. Who knows, this project could be the time of my life, and I could start concentrating more on fiction in 2008.
December 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Making siginificant money from short fiction is incredibly difficult. Compared to non-fiction, rates for fiction are low, from less than half a cent per word in semi-pro markets to a decent-but-not-so-great ten cents a word in major markets.
The big difference, however, is that almost all fiction is written on spec. You generally can’t pre-sell it, the way you do when you query for a non-fiction assignment. Fiction is all about the execution, not the idea.
That said, there’s nothing more satisfying than create a story from nothing more than your imagination and experience. I recommend http://www.ralan.com as a great starting place for market news, especially in science fiction and fantasy.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Hey Chris,
I’m originally a fiction and poetry writer, so if you need someone to do a proofread or edit, just have anything you want to work through, just let me know. I’d be glad to help. Have fun!
December 20th, 2007 at 1:41 am
[...] Freelance Fiction Writing - making stuff up for fun and [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hey Chris,I love to write fiction even though I get paid a bit less but I feel the freedom to express myself better with a broder horizon than content writing stuff.Do let me know if you come across something in fiction writing.Take care,
Misha