#Become a lance writer for free#

I mean, any type of freelance writing involves a learning curve as you develop your skills in a particular type of writing. But attempting to plunge into all of them simultaneously could be disastrous, because your energy will be scattered in too many diverse directions. As you learn about how freelance writing works, you need to think about exactly which entry point makes sense for you.ĭo you want to be a health reporter for WebMD? Do you want to create marketing materials for Cardinal Health? Do you hope to write CME? Or maybe you’re most intrigued about using your exceptional science skills to become a regulatory writer?Īll of these represent viable paths to success as a freelance nurse-writer. To name a few:Īnd that’s just skimming the top. The freelance industry contains many specialties. You need to do the same thing with your freelance career. What’s important is this: You thought about which nursing specialties interested you before you even graduated from school and then mapped out a tentative path to take through the early part of your nursing career. Indeed, I never worked one shift on a med-surg floor I started my nursing career in PACU. Traditionally, new graduate nurses have served on med-surg floors for a period of time to develop their core nursing skills before venturing into other specialties, such as critical care nursing. Step Two: Determine Your Initial Writing SpecialtyĪfter you graduated nursing school, you had a choice to make: Which unit did you want to seek employment on first?

#Become a lance writer for free#

For a peek at exactly how freelance journalism (reporting) works, you can download for free the first lesson of my Health Journalism Basics for Nurses workshop – no registration or credit card required.Īs you immerse yourself in learning about the industry you intend to enter, you’ll discover the world of freelance writing contains many specialties you can choose from – much like the nursing profession. To get started as a freelance writer, nurses should first learn all they can about how freelance writing works (which I’ve written about on this blog, and you also can find examples all over the web). It’s far more cost-effective for them to contract with freelance writers as needed to produce the work. In fact, it would be way too expensive for corporations and agencies to employ hundreds of staff writers. Even the New York Times uses freelance writers.Ĭorporations and marketing agencies also rely heavily on freelance writers because they cannot possibly employ enough staff people to produce the massive amount of content they need to effectively market their products or services. Most of the writers who create the stories you read in magazines like Self and Health are independent entrepreneurs: freelance writers. It’s quite the opposite in the freelance writing world. Editors everywhere rely on freelance journalists to cover stories for them.ĭid you know that most of the bylines (author names) you see attached to articles in magazines or online publications belong to freelance writers – not staff writers? Many nurses don’t realize this because they come from a background where most of their colleagues are employees. The freelance writing industry involves independent creators (like you) selling their services to publications, media outlets, brands, and corporations. Some of the most famous authors in history started out as freelance writers (hello, Stephen King). In fact, it’s a venerable industry that has existed for centuries. That’s right: Freelance writing is an industry. Step One: Learn All You Can About the Freelance Writing Industry Here’s a three-step plan to get you moving down the freelance path. The most common question I get from nurses on social media and by email is: How can I get started as a freelance writer?