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Researching and writing queries can be the most dreaded part of being a freelance writer. But the work and time that goes into creating pitches can go farther and net more income by taking one idea and reworking it for different publications.
To do this, freelancers must learn to look at stories, notes and interviews in a different way than they may be doing. Try implementing these seven tips.
At the Health Journalism 2015 session, “Freelance: Re-slant and resell ideas to multiple markets,” panelists offered eight tips for turning a story idea into multiple articles for various publications. To do this, they said, freelancers have to learn to look at stories, notes and interviews in a different way than they may be doing.
The first tip, offered by Kate Gammon, is to shift the audience. For instance, if a writer produces an article on an emerging science being studied on lab rats for one publication, he or she may be able to follow the research through its process and use the information for a consumer publication at a more advanced stage. If you are writing for a women’s magazine, think about ways the topic might be slanted for different ages to fit into a parenting publication or one like AARP.
Second, mine your notes. You never know when you might want to go back to get more information on a topic or an idea that didn’t work in one article but might in another. The panelists recommended using Evernote and Pear Note to organize notes and search for topics or subjects. Continue reading