Freelance Review

From Loolwa Khazzoom,

1) Invest in Quality

As with purchasing a good pair of shoes, this is not the place to pinch pennies. You need someone qualified to provide a simple concept, clean lines, and a sleek look — something that will catch editors’ eyes and make it quick & easy for them to navigate through your clips.

2) Convey Your Message Immediately

Editors – especially those at national periodicals – are very busy people, with hundreds of writers banging on their doors every day. On my site, I use periodical images to immediately convey where I have written. I also use a drop-down menu to immediately convey the genres I have written.

3) Select Impressive Clips

I have published an extensive body of work, but displaying all the pieces I have written will not serve to impress editors. It will simply give them too much to look at in their already-cramped schedules. The objective of a clips website is simply to demonstrate that a) you are a fully-competent writer and b) you have already proven yourself in the publishing world. Choose just a handful of clips to convey this message.

4) Show Who Loves You

Editors are herd animals: They look around to see who else has worked with you before deciding it’s worthwhile to work with you themselves. So as you climb the ranks from hand-copied underground ‘zines to full-throttle national glossies, be sure to update your site with clips from the most prestigious magazines, then send editors the link to the updated site. Remember: Don’t freak out and binge on cookies if the periodicals are obscure for, like, the first six months to a year; you gotta start somewhere! (And hey, leave cookie binging to me.)

5) Link Your Site in Your E-Signature

Create an automatic signature at the bottom of every E-mail — a mini-bio with a link to your clips website. As with your website, be sure to regularly update your signature with the most prestigious places you have published. Over time, your signature will move from #1 to #2 and beyond:

1. William Writer (WebsiteName.com) has published in Synagogue Newsletter A, Neighborhood Paper B, and Local Weekly C

2. William Writer (WebsiteName.com) has published in Local Weekly C, National Indie E, and National Glossy F.