Editor Stole my Story! and How Do I Become a Freelancer?
I'm taking two questions from the forum that haven't had any comments and answering them. I invite our members to join in if they have helpful information as well:
Travis Braun asks:
Anyone have any tips for publications stealing queried ideas? I recently pitched a story to a publication and found it in the next issue, written by some staffer.
How do we protect ourselves against this?
Travis,
You don't say how often this publication comes out, but it is rare for editors to outright steal ideas. If this was a monthly magazine, they already had your idea in the works. If it was a weekly or daily newspaper, it's possible, but still unlikely. Usually what happens if an editor likes your idea and can't hire you, they will pay you a finders fee. Unfortunately though, ideas don't hold a copyright and editors are free to take your ideas if they want. However, in 9 years of doing this full time, I've never had that happen. You'll be limiting yourself if you're afraid to send queries. Instead of a negative, I would look at it that my idea hit the target and try pitching another.
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Emily Kostic asks:
I'm a college student that is double majoring in Journalism and advertising and would love to start freelancing. I've gone to a number of different sites but am confused about how to go about starting this up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Emily,
You probably already have the basics down of having a passion for writing and reporting skills. Next, to be a successful freelance writer, you have to have business knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit. Freelance writers are writers first, but we are also marketing agents, our own PR department, researchers, bookkeepers, collectors and overall, business managers. My advice is to first write a short business plan of your goals and then start local. Do you like sports? Maybe your local newspaper is seeking a sports reporter. Or local or school government, small papers often use freelancers to cover school board, park board or sometimes city council meetings. As you build a clip file, you can start researching larger publications and their freelance needs, as well as consumer magazines.
Good luck!