[stylist] Introducing myself and seeking ideas on freelancing

Thu Feb 9 23:14:52 UTC 2012

Gerardo,
Welcome to the list. I want to add a bit to what Chris wrote. First of all,
I am Donna Hill and I write for the online magazine Suite 101, which does
revenue sharing with their writers -- you get paid based on the number of
distinct page views your articles get. It's not much, but has the advantage
of helping you develop an online presence or "platform" as it is sometimes
called. I've had a few things published locally and in NFB and other
blindness related magazines/newsletters, and I got a grant back in the '90s
to publish a book called "Unopened Gifts: Tales out of School" about the
inclusion of people with disabilities in church communities. I am currently
trying to find a literary agent for my novel "The Heart of Applebutter
Hill," which features a 14-year-old girl who is legally blind, along with
several other characters with disabilities. I'll probably self-publish it at
some point, but I'm giving the traditional route a try for now.

There are several online mags that have revenue sharing. I think that Suite
101 has a site in French and German, but not in Spanish. You do have to
submit articles and be approved, and then your work is checked prior to
publication by an editor for a while. Eventually, you just post your stuff,
but they still have paid editors who review it. 

If you're not ready for that yet, there are other online article directories
which you can write for with less oversight and fewer requirements. They
don't pay anything, but you are still getting your work out there, getting
experience and building a portfolio of writing you can use to approach
paying sources. 

With a degree in psychology, you are in a position to comment as an
authority on the subject. Perhaps, you have other experiences as an intern
in college, summer job or studying abroad that you can point to as part of
your resume. In terms of your local papers, write something, take it in and
see what happens. Sometimes papers will buy articles on a limited basis.
Even if it's an occasional thing, it adds to your resume and strengthens
your qualifications as an expert. Our papers in the U.S. have been having
trouble staying in business mostly due to the digital revolution, and I
imagine that papers in Mexico are as well. It's tough out there, but as you
say something is better than nothing, and if you really want to write and
"have to" write, just keep plugging away at it.

One thing I would advise, if you are willing to work in English, is that you
get a free subscription to HARO (Help a Reporter Out) as a source. They send
e-mails 3 times a day Monday through Friday containing queries from
journalists looking for sources on all kinds of stories. Most of them won't
apply, but when you find something in your area, you send a pitch to the
journalist addressing their stated needs along with your qualifications. It
takes a bit to get used to the format of the e-mail, but you can quickly
read through the subject lines by using your screen reader's key for "next
unvisited link." The full queries are below; the links often don't work for
me and I have to just page down to the one I want (they're all numbered).

These opportunities to be a source are few and far between for blindness
issues, but with your background in psychology, your status as a bilingual
person and perhaps other things in your life that you don't even think of as
all that important, you can broaden your net a bit. If and when you are
selected by someone to either comment for an article they're working on,
appear on an internet radio show (this is done from your home phone, but
usually costs you the fee for the long distance call) or submit a guest
blog, those things now become part of your resume and qualifications. 

Perhaps there are similar things in Spanish. There is a lot online with
regard to submitting to magazines. If you know a magazine you'd like to
write for, Google "submission guidelines" and the name of the magazine.
They're all looking for stuff to be presented in different ways, so you need
to be sure you know what they want and how they want it. Reading previous
articles to familiarize yourself with the styles of writing they seem to
prefer is also helpful.

The Writers' Division has a quarterly journal called "Slate & Style" that
takes submissions for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Bridgit is the editor
and she posts the submission guidelines and deadlines here on this list, so
look out for them. We recently passed the deadline for the next issue, but
you can start thinking and writing now. It doesn't pay, but it still counts
on your resume.

I know that we have more opportunities in the U.S. than you do in Mexico,
but I also know that many people who don't live here have an exaggerated
notion of how much more opportunity there is. For instance, only 3 of every
10 working-age blind Americans are employed, and many of those who are
employed are underemployed. This was true before the recession, and it's
probably worse than that at this point. This is just to say that many of us
are out there struggling, and the field of writing is something that works
out as full employment for only a very few. That said, many people on this
list will help you with information and by critiquing your work, if you post
it here. We're all working to help each other be as good as possible so we
can compete in a very difficult field. 

As for professional blind journalists, I know of only two in the U.S.
(Deborah Kendrick from the  Columbus Dispatch and Elizabeth Campbell in Fort
Worth, Texas -- not sure of the name of her paper). You might try Googling
them and reading their work. Elizabeth is a beat reporter covering local
news, and Deborah does columns on disability issues -- a rare thing for any
paper to offer. There is also a blind man from Pakistan named Sardar
Pirzada, who has been working as a journalist and writer for many years.
Best,
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Gerardo Corripio
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 1:10 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Introducing myself and seeking ideas on freelancing

HI listers: I'm Gerardo in Mexico, blind from birth and with a psychology
major; I hope to gain lots of info on the list; I've always loved writing!

My experiences in a country where the opportunities as a blind person aren't
the same as in the US has given me a unique perspective on seeing the world,
thus via my writing I'd like to share with everyone these experiences.

I've got a blog in Spanish in which I write at

http://mivozmimundo.wordpress.com

also I comment on diverse social networks like Twitter and Facebook on my
experiences, but I'd like to take this further: not only sharing as a hobby,
but as a way of being able to work from home, especially where everywhere
I've gone to apply for a job as a psychologist, I get the "It's very
interesting; we'll call you" mantra. An asset is my English is, I believe,
good enough to allow me to not only freelance here in Latinamerica but in
other countries!

Aside from already having my blog and social networks, an idea has been in
my head of somehow going to the local newspaper or some sort of magazine
that might have interests in my topics, but how would I go about starting?
What other guidelines or ideas can you guys give to begin moving along and
hopefully making freelance writing a job? Yes I'm aware it won't give much,
but something is something don't you guys think? 

Thanks in advanced for any ideas, and again I really hope to gain a lot from
the list!

Gerardo

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Writers Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.net <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

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