1. SETTING UP AS A FREELANCER

2. Must have money in the bank before you start up. Cheques may take months to come in. May need to borrrow money as firms don’t pay on time. Not advisable to use your bedroom as an office. Arrange a personal pension plan – provision for when you retire. Get yourself an accountant to help with income tax.

3. Essential pieces of equipment/stationary Cellphone Telephone Internet connection Email Computer with printer Fax machine Business cards Headed notepaper printed – looks professional and some may have Author and journalist, contributor to… Reference books Up-to-date Dictionaries System for filing cuttings – clip anything that seems useful, or sparks ideas. Fill a notebook with ideas for features – successful freelancers have dozens of ideas on file.

4. Working as a Freelancer No one commissions unknowns and that is why most freelancers work on ‘spec’ (speculative). Which means that they write a feature without been given a brief. The article is not guaranteed payment. Send a feature Attach a brief covering note – mentioning mag’s rates and set out special circumstances that this feature had written about your expedition to the North Pole. Before sending your work check who the current editor is. Enclose a self-addressed envelope – wait for a reply Magazines take a while to reply – you could wait three-four months to find out if its been accepted. Submit manuscripts on one side of white A4 paper and print in black ink. Add your name, address and telephone/email number on every page and leave generous margins all around the page. Number your pages, double-space your work and size 12 font size.

5. Writers guidelines or style books Guidelines used to guide the freelancer in the direction of the publication you will be writing for. You can ask for the publications stylebook This will help you to meet the requirements, presentation, etc. Each magazine has its own foibles (twists) which you must adhere to e.g. if they require you to double-space your words then do so. If photos are required then try to get the photos taken yourself instead of waiting. Ask for the stylebook to get the best possible chance of publication. Remember each stylebook is different. Observe the character of language – scholarly or adventurous, technical or general, personal or formal, humourous or serious. Taboos on subject matter and content – slang and some may not mention their competitors. When your research is completed, your story idea firmly fixed in your mind and your readership clearly identified, you are ready to begin writing.

6. Getting commissioned If you are lucky, one or more of your magazines will either accept an article from you, or express interest in seeing your article after you return from a trip. You will encounter some caution as expeditions can fail and the editor will be disappointed as he will have an empty sapce to fill. Upon acceptance from a mag – settle on length, how many illustrations, the delivery date and fee. Mags have scales of fees which can be adjusted by the editor – take it or go elsewhere. If you get two offers, inform both of the situation. It is possible to place articles on the same expedition in different magazines but some magazines may not wish to print in the same month and some may withdraw. You decide which is the magazine you want to freelance for – prestigious or largest circulation. When preparing the material – keep day by day notes of the expedition. These are good source of reference and material for your finished article. Write the article as soon as you the expedition is completed but not when you ar exhausted or can’t think straight. Write a draft and go over it several times until you are satisfied that you are conveying a particular message in the article within the word limit. It is courteous to show parties that you have quoted in your article to be shown the article before you submit. Articles for publication should be typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only with decent margins either side – editing can be done using hieroglyphics. Keep a copy of the finished article for own reference, send the top copy, with its illustrations in a stiff envelope or jiffy bag to minimise damage.

7. Marie Claire assistant editor Lori Cohen tips for freelancers

8. Writing a Pitch Letter Study and anlayse the magazine to sell an article. Then buy what they are already running. Read the magazine. Send in ideas that relate to what they are already covering.