The power of pen is greatest when in the hands of a writer. The words are loudest and clearest when a journalist writes them. If your words have the power to mobilize your audience, to tickle their mind and to stir a discussion, you need not be the world’s best writer, give freelancing a try. I assure that you have it in you. The tangible benefit is of course money which can go to any numeric value depending on your article, the intangibles include social status and recognition, a platform to make your voice heard, a chance to travel far and wide, interact with media personalities and many more.
How
it happened to me..
My proudest
accomplishment was when I was chosen as a freelancer for The Times of India (TOI)
newspaper. Since my childhood I had dreamt of seeing my name in the newspapers.
I was waiting for the day when it would come as a writer at the footer of
articles.
I was in college
when I read an invite for Travelogue in The Times of India. Like other
passionate writers, I too made an attempt. I wrote about my last trip with my
school friends to Nainital in Uttarakhand. The trip wasn’t that special but it
became the most cherished trips of my life after the travelogue got published
in the newspaper.
To my surprise,
the next day I got a call from the TOI’s office offering me a position of a
freelance journalist for them. I had never been so elated before as my dream of
becoming a writer was almost coming true. I had always wanted to pen down my
thoughts on issues close to my heart. I had wanted to make a difference to the
society in one way or the other.
At a very young
age of nineteen I wrote articles that could inspire the younger generation of
Northern India for the Youth section of the Newspaper.
If
I can do it, So can you..
Look for freelancing
opportunities, the newspapers and magazines keep giving ads inviting people to
give their contributions as freelancers in various sections of their editions.
The colleges often have posters put informing students about such
opportunities. If you have a great idea in mind, pen it down and try contacting
the POCs for various news dailies and magazines. It’s a very prestigious
opportunity to get a chance to write for a premier media publication. The
efforts you might have to put in to get hold of such an opportunity may be a
little more but the fruit is much sweeter and worth the effort.
To start with I
would suggest you send entries in reader’s digest. They have a special section
dedicated to articles from their reader’s and they pay you for it if your
article gets selected. Local newspapers also have area wise supplements which
invite readers to send in their opinions or observations about recent
developments in their area.
Let your
thoughts flow, let the words play. Your work will definitely get noticed. The
trumpets will blow, the drums will roll and the big bucks will pour.
PS: I started penning down my thoughts some 7 years back with the following blog
To starters, I advise
you to start blogging right away to make it big some day.
To know more
about blogging follow the link:
"Let your thoughts flow, let the words play. Your work will definitely get noticed. The trumpets will blow, the drums will roll and the big bucks will pour." I loved these lines apart from the wonderful concept.
ReplyDeletereminds me of my freelancing days for the HINDU And Indian Express.....
ReplyDelete