How to Freelance for a Local Paper

Newspapers appreciate the work of freelance writers because it allows them to acquire material for their newspaper without hiring a full-time reporter to do the work. To become a freelancer for a newspaper, it will require work and possible rejection.

1. Decide what you want to write about before you begin. Freelance writers often don’t cover “hard news” stories. Rather, a freelancer is more likely to cover a “soft news” story in an area that they have expertise in. For instance, a freelance writer often won’t write about a recent arrest in town. Rather, they will write about a human interest story.


2. Make a list of several different newspapers that you want to target. Depending on your story, you can look nationally instead of simply looking at local papers. Decide on four or five papers that you want to target. You will not send your proposal to all of them at the same time. Instead, you will move from one to the next until you find one that takes you up on your offer.


3. Contact each editor by email and briefly introduce yourself to them. Let them know about the work that you have done in the past. Do not include articles you have done in the past, simply let them know that you can provide them with sample work that you have done in the past if they are interested. Let them know about what kind of article you would like to write. Continue to contact editors until you find one that will hire you to write the piece.