What can I do to become a freelance writer...like short stories or poetry?

Question

I really love writing. I want to start writing short stories and such but I'm not sure where or how to submit my work.

Answer 1

When you get a short story or poem published, it's extremely ego gratifying. You feel like a true artist. The downside of freelance writing is you are going to have to compete with all the others with the same dream. Anyway, to get started go to your local library's reference desk and ask to see the annual Writer's Market book. Or you could buy it. Inside the book are addresses of literary magazines and the sort of literature they want. To survive as a freelancer, you have to write for the publication, you have to give them what they want.

Answer 2

You should start reading fiction magazines, general interest magazines that also publish fiction, and poetry journals. This way you will get a feel for the kind of things they publish.

Submission guidelines explaining what kinds of work publications accept, payment, etc. are often available online. and you can also find information in a book called Writer's Market which is produced annually and should be available in the reference section of your local library (along with those magazines and journals you should be reading).

Most importantly, write. Write often. Write what you love. Find a good reader--someone whose opinion you trust to help provide feedback. Learn grammar, check your spelling beyond even what your word processor's spellcheck does. Learn how to format a manuscript.

Write and write and write...

Answer 3

Start with just submitting it to your school newspaper or literary magazine. If your school doesn't have either of those things--or you're not in school--then send them to your local newspaper or to another magazine that might print "sensation stories". If that doesn't work, you can always find places online.