Regular readers of this site may recall me complaining in my last Confessions entry about a good 50% of the replies, which are totally useless. I won’t be responding to any of them because of a simple inability to follow directions. I won’t even send a mean-spirited note to say, “Drop dead!”

A disturbingly large portion of the responses–with or without my automatic dismissal based on the above–also had shoddy grammar in the cover letter, and writing samples riddled with errors. Folks, here’s a FREE WRITING SECRET for you straight from the desk of yours truly;

When you submit a writing sample there are two things to consider before clicking the “send” button. The first consideration is making the writing samples as relevant as possible to the gig at hand. If you don’t have related clips, send what you can, but keep the second consideration firmly in mind–the writing sample should be some of your BEST WORK.

If you send in a writing sample that is completely on target in terms of style, tone, and relevance but is full of problems and errors, you have wasted your time. Sending an unrelated, but well crafted piece gets you closer to “yes” because the editor can clearly see that your writing work DOES NOT SUCK.

I’ll say it again–two considerations;

1. The samples must be as relevant as humanly possible to the gig in question.

2. The samples MUST NOT SUCK.

Here’s the thought process of an editor at work while reading an on-target sample which sucks:

“Ahh, let’s see here. ‘What George Lucas Did At Last Night’s Party’. OK, that’s on target since this is a fictitious celeb gossip magazine I’m the editor of here, let’s read the rest.  Whoops! Mistaken use of the apostrophe. Bad sign, there. Not the end of the world, let’s read on. Oh, no…wait. You did NOT just write “chalk full of fun” when you meant “CHOCK ful of fun.” Kiddo, don’t use a phrase you don’t know how to spell properly.”

“Oh, hey, lookie here! This dweeb writes, ‘Carrie Fisher drove Ed Harris, Tina Turner and Vanna White to the station. The actor shouted at oncoming traffic and threw soda cans out the window.’  Too bad we’ll never know whether this writer meant Carrie Fisher, Ed Harris or Tina Turner was throwing cans and shouting.”

By this point, it’s over. I roundfiled four resumes today for just these sorts of infractions. I am cruel, but I refuse to saddle myself to a writer who not only can’t help the poor reader figure out what’s going on in these articles, but actually submits these disasters to ME as an incentive to HIRE THEM.

Don’t let it happen to you…DOUBLE CHECK YOUR COPY before submitting. Otherwise…well, now you know. One of these days I’m going to have to start charging money for these pearls of wisdom. Enjoy this column while you can, freelancers. One day it won’t be free any longer–but how long will it take for that to happen? Spread the world–my editorial advice is free while supplies last.

For me, the answer is still yes. I am actually seeing growth in freelance opportunities in the right sectors, but it takes a lot of looking to find those gigs. There are startups investing money in new ventures even as I write this, and these companies are looking for YOU. They don’t have unlimited funds, but I can tell you from experience and some insider knowledge of current investment behavior that there will be many more writing gigs to come–but there are a few caveats. Want to peer into my crystal ball and see what I see for the future?

5. Blogs are going to continue to be very important–but for writers the focus should be using them to leverage your career rather than trying to make money off them with affiliate programs and other monetizing schemes. There are going to be more opportunities for paid bloggers, but my prediction is that these bloggers will be the experts in their fields rather than writers trying to mine data FROM those experts. If you are not specializing right now, start.

4. Writers who can multi-task will survive our current financial woes. The marketplace for publishing is looking dire but only if you concentrate on the newsstand. It’s true that many mags are laying off people left and right, but if you don’t depend on print mags as your mainstay you will keep your head above water.

3. “Content” writing is not dead as the Dodo, but it is an endangered species in its current form. Companies are waking up to the notion that a web page full of lame, half-baked content is NOT helping them keep readers or customers. QUALITY content writing is going to be the next phase of the game. If you are currently turning out copy for a content mill and don’t really care about the kind of material you submit so long as they pay, you’re going to have a rude awakening soon. Many freelancers make a good, quality buck off content writing–the ones who get top dollar will always be the ones who write GOOD content.

2. Layoffs are a good thing, at least for freelancers. Many people forget that a full-time employee costs a company extra money in taxes (among other things). All those print mags who did the big layoffs this week? They will be happy to pay a freelancer for content that costs them nothing in terms of extra tax dollars or 401K matching contributions.

1. Poor writers–your freelancing days could be numbered. There may be plenty of gigs out there, but they will go to writers who know how to stick words together in easy-to-read, accessible ways. Be one of them and you will pay the bills. If your chops still read like you’re working on the college newspaper, grab a copy of Strunk & White and start improving. If good writing is to freelancing is to what freethrows are to pro basketball, here’s my advice–start practicing your game until you can hit nothing but net all the time. The first commandment: Omit needless words.

The market is getting tougher for serious writers, but you don’t have to give up and go back to your day job just yet. Times are tough, but if you are dedicated to the craft you can succeed.

5. Do your homework. Become a rabid consumer of all free market listing services including Craigslist, the Absolute Write forum section, and Writer’s Weekly. All of these offer excellent information for free.

4. Compare notes. Once you gather a nice collection of free market listing sites, compare any for-pay site with the information you already get for free. Are you seeing more duplicated markets than new opportunities? A good writer’s market service will give you something for your money you can’t get for free. The nature of the writer’s market listing business insures there WILL be duplication–that’s not the issue. If you see too much duplication, that’s when you should start considering a different service. Believe me when I say there ARE writer’s market services worth subscribing to. You just have to evaluate each one according to your research.

3. Always take the trial version first. Chances are you read #4 above and wondered, “how the hell am I supposed to compare the freebies to the for-pay without shelling out?” Take the no-risk or trial version. Pay the absolute minimum and do your comparison. Good sites offer some listings for free, and if you are seeing plenty of surprises before you even sign up, chances are you’ve found a winner.

2. Take the road less traveled. The most popular market guides are sometimes slower to update with current information. The ones who suffer from this problem the most are hamstrung by their own volume and can’t wade through the hundreds of market listings to update editor names, contact e-mails and other critical data. Smaller market guides are often a better value if they have both good updating and fresh content.

1. Obey your instincts. If you read a market guide that feels too overwhelming, or has a confusing layout, find one that works better for YOU. Never mind that the most popular market guides all look a certain way. The two most important things in your writing work are time management and access to critical data. Combine the two by using market guides that are the most accessible for YOU. Some people prefer to get market info in e-mail updates instead of wading through a huge database of names. If that approach works for you, use it–and never mind what everybody else is doing. Don’t stay married to an approach for finding new places to sell your work if that approach is eating up your valuable time.

Don’t forget that any writer’s market you subscribe to is a business expense, and therefore a tax write-off. If you shelled out large dollars for a market guide book or web subscription you regret later, you haven’t really lost any money. You can never get back your time, but at least you can add another figure in the “deductions” column.

Kid Magazine Writers popped up on my editorial radar while searching for completely unrelated material. How it got into my search results is a mystery, but I am glad it did, as this is a great resource for anyone with such a specialized niche. From an outsider’s perspective, writing for kid magazines is fairly under-represented when it comes to writer’s resources; Kid Magazine Writers fills that gap nicely. Editor Jan Fields writes, “Most children’s magazine writers suffer from a bit of an inferiority complex. To borrow a metaphor from my Southern roots, we’re the redheaded stepchildren of the children’s writing world.”

Thanks to her work at KMW, Jan Fields goes a long way towards eliminating that feeling of inferiority. For most Freelance-Zone readers, the most valuable part of the site is the Editors Speak section where kid magazine editors explain what they’re looking for, how to submit, and what topics are hot at present. There’s also an excellent archive of these for you to explore. Great stuff. I don’t write for children’s magazines, but if I decide to take it up one day, Jan Fields and KMW will be my first stop on the research trail.

For new writers, this site is a treasure trove. Jennifer Chait’s “So What” should be required reading for anyone who presumes to put up a blog about…anything. I am also a big fan of “writer beware” articles, and the piece warning about a content site called Giant Wow made me about as happy as I can get without a “paid on acceptance” check involved.

As a full-time writer, I find FreelanceWritingGigs.com quite useful in a number of areas. Anyone who doesn’t scour a fellow writer’s links section is cheating themselves out of gigs and networking opportunities. It’s also the chance to meet new people in the same boat–all still waiting for paychecks due two months ago, hunting high and low for another chance to throw some words together for money and make them stick. Your friends might not understand your job, and your family may still think you’re on some kind of extended vacation, but your fellow writers understand.

If you aren’t familiar with this excellent resource, hop on over and get acquainted with FreelanceWritingGigs.com. Highly recommended.